Still, she didn’t ask. Instead, she put her cheek to my chest and cuddled just a little bit closer. “It won’t be easy, but I promise I’ll do whatever I can to get you free.” Fuck me, but this woman could be sweet under that brittle shell. “I know,” I told her because I did. “I’m happy,” she admitted after a minute, almost bashfully, adorably girlish. “For a long time, I’ve felt as if I didn’t deserve that.” Her words nearly winded me. I squeezed her, wishing I could extract the poison of her self-loathing through sheer will.
