Page 56 of Scars and Crowns

"I don't want to keep asking you for things."

Something twists painfully inside my chest. She still thinks like she's alone. Still measures every kindness against an invisible debt. Still believes accepting help comes with a price.

"Daisy." Her name leaves my mouth softer this time. She finally looks at me. "What you're saying . . . " I stop for a moment, searching for words that don't sound like anger. " . . . hurts."

Confusion flickers across her face. She hadn't expected that answer. I walk over and sit beside her. Close enough that our shoulders almost touch. Close enough that she can't pretend this conversation belongs to someone else. "When did we start keeping score?"

She doesn't answer. "You keep talking about school fees."

"A job."

"Money."

"As though I'm maintaining some account book in my head."

She shakes her head immediately. "I didn't mean—"

"I know." I take her hand before she can pull it away. It's still slightly cold. I wrap both of mine around it. "You don't owe me anything." My thumb brushes gently across her knuckles.

"Not money."

"Not gratitude."

"Not explanations."

"Nothing."

She watches me silently. "You walked back into my life carrying that tray . . . " I smile faintly despite myself. "Terrified."

"Trying so hard to pretend you didn't know me."

"You gave me a family back that day." My throat tightens unexpectedly. "I hadn't realised how empty my life had become until the two of you walked back into it."

Her eyes glisten. I keep going before she can interrupt. "Not when you agreed to marry me. The moment I saw you standing in my study. I already had more than I'd had in years."

She looks down at our joined hands. I tighten my hold just slightly. "Your pain has always been my concern." The words come quietly.

Steadily.

"It was when we were children."

"It is now."

"It always will be."

She blinks rapidly. A tear clings stubbornly to her lashes. "So don't hide behind your pride when you're hurting." I lift her hand slightly between us. "Not with me. Never with me."

Silence settles again. But this one feels different. Softer. Less guarded. "If you're falling . . . " I say after a while. . . . .let me catch you." A faint, helpless smile touches my mouth. "That's the only deal I've ever wanted with you."

She stares at me for a long time. The way she used to when we were younger. Studying my face as though trying to read the truth hidden beneath everything I wasn't saying. I watch the resistance leave her little by little. Her shoulders relax first. Then her jaw. Then the stubborn set of her mouth.

Finally . . . Without saying a single word. She leans forward.

Slowly.

Carefully.

Until her forehead comes to rest against my shoulder. I close my eyes. One arm slips around her without hesitation. Holding her exactly as she is. Not trying to fix anything. Not asking questions. Just . . . holding her.