. Every step was cautious, calculated, as if his limbs had to relearn their own rhythm. But it wasn't just his body that was broken. The real healing was happe

gaze softened, and she took a small step closer to him, her eyes searching his face as if looking for something she might have lost. "You're right," she said slowly, "you're not the same man. Neither of us are." Jack looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?" She shrugged, her smile tinged with sadness. "We were both broken, Jack. We were both lost long before the accident happened. It wasn't just you. It was me too. We... we lost ourselves in each other. In the pain." His heart clenched at her words. He had known, on some level, that their marriage hadn't just been his fault. But hearing her admit it-seeing her vulnerability-it made everything feel more real. More painful. "You didn't deserve what happened," Jack said hoarsely. "I didn't deserve you." Mia's lips pressed together in a thin line, and for a moment, Jack thought she might pull away from him. But instead, she reached out, her hand brushing lightly against his arm. It was a small gesture, but it felt like a bridge between them. "I know," she said, her voice quiet but resolute. "But neither of us deserved to be in that place. Neither of us deserved to hurt the other the way we did." Jack closed his eyes, the weight of her words crashing into him like a wave. He had spent so long blaming himself-so long thinking that he alone was the one who had failed. But Mia had suffered too. She had been hurt just as much as he had, if not more. He had always believed their problems were his fault. But now, seeing the sorrow in her eyes, hearing the way she spoke with a quiet understanding, he realized something important. They had both been broken by circumstances beyond their control. They had both been victims of their own inability to communicate, to reach each other, to stop the slow drift that had begun years ago. --- The next morning, Mia came by early, a coffee in hand. Jack had gotten used to the sight of her-still a little guarded, but undeniably caring. He had also gotten used to the way she didn't ask him to explain everything at once. There was no rush to get everything out in the open. She was giving him space, and for that, he was grateful. But today, there was something different about her. Her eyes held a quiet resolve, something she hadn't shown before. "Jack," she began as she sat across from him