Elena’s face crumpled. The tears that came were quiet and immediate and completely unhidden. She did not wipe them away.

“I know,” she whispered. “I know what I did. I know what I chose. I know that every careful answer and every edited sentence and every time I let you hug me while the marks were still dark under my clothes was a betrayal that sits in my chest every hour of every day. The guilt did not stop me. The love did not make the guilt smaller. Both of them are still here. And I am still choosing him. Even now. Even with you sitting across from me asking...