“What Chloe did to you wasn’t about your shortcomings,” Sophia said, her thumb lightly brushing the back of my hand. “It was about her own limitations. She lacked the maturity, the patience, and the capacity to handle someone like you. To handle all of you. You have been carrying this ridiculous shame as if you are broken, when the truth is, you are simply more than she could handle.”
Her words were like a physical touch, stripping away layers of defense I didn’t even know I had built. The relief was so intense it felt dangerous.
