she places her hand on my cheek, and her touch soothes me in a way nothing else ever has. For the first time in two years, the constantly simmering rage dissolves, as though her light traveled through her fingertips and seeped into me, just enough to smooth the edges of my fractured heart and soul. “And I would never ask you to. But if I stay here, I’ll convince myself that I can survive on any scraps of affection you throw my way. Don’t I deserve more than that, Lorenzo?”
