“You make me feel good, Zara, and I haven’t felt good in a long fucking time. When I’m with you, it hurts a little less. It doesn’t go away, but I don’t hate life so much when you look at me like you’re looking at me right now,” he says. The pain etched in his features sends shivers down my spine. Reaching up, I run my fingers along his brow and down his cheek. Now that the walls are coming down, I see the pain underneath. “Am I allowed to be happy, Zara? Or is this my punishment? Loving you if I can’t have you.”
