After the plates were cleared, I found him standing alone in the dim hallway, his eyes locked on that picture—the shot of Lily holding the sign, Mia blurred in the background, and me, crouched on the floor, weeping.

“I always believed love was supposed to make a man’s life easier,” he murmured without turning.

I leaned against the doorframe. “No. It just makes the hard parts worth showing up for.”

He nodded slowly. “I was ashamed, Caleb.”

“Of me?”

“At first.” His jaw clenched so tight I thought his teeth might crack. “Then… I was ashamed of myself.”