her's facades. They began to notice the small cracks in each other's

to on his desk. It was an old picture of him and his family, taken before his parents'

ely above a whisper. "I'm sorry about your

reen, his expression guarded. "It was a lon

he anger, the sense of abandonment that still lingered. A

," she said gently. "But I'm here for you

t each other. Emily saw the vulnerability in his eyes, the

she couldn't ignore. She felt a sense of understandi

lly, his voice barely above a w

yan's behavior. He was more relaxed around her, more open and v

about their fears and their dreams. And with eac

their growing bond was abo