Maximilian closed his eyes.
Hearing her say it was different… As a woman who had wanted something beautiful, something precious… something freely given… And then watched it become a bargain.
"I had to give it to the man I despised."
The words broke.
Maximilian immediately wrapped both arms around her, pulling her closer, holding her tighter.
Catherine buried her face against his chest as her body began to tremble.
The shaking was subtle at first, but then it got stronger, as though a wound she had spent years stitching shut had suddenly come undone.
And only then did Maximilian understand. He had thought she had healed. He had thought time… and this new life had helped her move beyond it.
Perhaps they had.
But healing was not the same as forgetting. Some scars never truly disappeared. Some injuries settled so deeply into the soul that they became part of a person.
