She simply felt better because she understood what was happening in her own account.

That news pleased me more than I could explain.

I had feared that telling my story would teach people to distrust everyone they loved.

But that wasn’t what I believed.

I still trusted Marcus, Nina, and Sam.

I trusted Evelyn to remember that I liked my tea strong.

I could even hope that Daniel was learning to deserve trust again.

What I no longer believed was that affection required ignorance.