He doesn’t know the strength it took to survive—how every breath I take feels like defiance in the face of a world that’s tried to crush me over and over again.
“I’m sorry, but I’m no hero,” I reply, my words cold as ice. “I wouldn’t risk my life for a stranger.” It’s a lie, but it’s a lie I need her to believe.
His voice was like embers on her skin, melting away the icy barrier that was built up between them with the heat from every word that he spoke. She burned for him.