"Why the hell didn't you go to the cops?"
"I tried. Back in our hometown. But she's... her dad's powerful. Politician-level powerful. She got away with it. I was just... the big guy with muscles. Not exactly credible." I laughed bitterly. "And let's be honest. Look at me."
Mel frowned. "What?"
"I'm six foot three. Built like a damn tank. Not exactly the image of a 'victim.' No one takes a man like me seriously when I say a woman's hitting me."
"That's bullshit," Spence said quietly. "But I get it". Then, he leaned forward. "How did she find you here?"
"I don't know. Months went by after I left. Then one day—bam. She shows up. Bought the gym I was working at. Just like that."
Mel blinked. "Sheboughtthe gym?"
"Yeah," I nodded. "Like a sick power move, then the stalking began."
"And the girl in the bar?" Spence asked. "Why talk to her if Mira's always watching?"
I scoffed. "Because itwasa test. I saw that girl talking to Mira at the gym the week before. It was no coincidence. So I told her to tell Mira she's wasting her time. That I'm hers, always have been, always will be. And Mira? She washappyabout it. Thought I passed."
They both looked horrified.
"But then..." Mel started slowly, "why bring December into your life when this is happening?"
I looked down. My fingers were shaking. "I don't know. Part of it was shame. I didn't want December to see how broken I am. How... unmanned I've become and the other part?"
I looked at them, and something trembled in my voice.
"Love. I loved her. I love her still. I kept thinking... if she's closer, I can protect her better. If she's with me, I'll have something to live for. But I was wrong. I brought her into a war she didn't sign up for and I failed her. I broke her."
Spencer leaned forward, elbows on his knees, his tone gentle but unwavering.
"Okay, but help me understand this part, man, if you loved December that much, if you were practically breathing through her, why didn't you just tell her the truth?"
I stared at the floor like it held all my failures. The question sat heavy between us. I let the silence stretch. Mel didn't rush me either. Just sat beside her husband, quietly waiting, eyes full of something like compassion and something like disbelief.
I swallowed hard, my throat tight, my hands trembling slightly.
"Because... I am a coward," I admitted, the words tasting bitter on my tongue.
Spencer's brow furrowed, but I forced myself to keep going before the panic in my chest made me retreat.
"I thought... if I told her, if I opened that door, she'd see me differently. Not as strong. Not as the man she believed in. Just... broken. Just some guy who let a woman hit him, manipulate him, erode everything he thought he was. I imagined her eyes—the shift if she ever found out. From love... to pity. Or worse," I choked on the word, voice catching. "Disappointment."
I shook my head slowly, a bitter laugh escaping me. "I couldn't... I couldn't bear it. Not from her. The woman I love, the woman who saw something worth believing in... I couldn't stand the thought of her seeing me like that. Seeing me... fractured, helpless, defeated. It would have shattered something between us that I could never repair."
My chest ached as if it were full of lead, the weight of my secret pressing down, crushing me from the inside. Every heartbeat thudded in my ears, reminding me of all the moments I had hidden, pretended, survived silently. The cowardice wasn't justin my silence, it was in the fear that love itself could be withdrawn if my truth emerged.
Mel's voice was soft. "But she loved you. I'm sure she would've—"
I cut in, but not sharply. Just... tired. "I know she loved me. That's what made it worse."
I rubbed at my chest like the ache was something I could press out.
"I thought I could protect her better by lying. Mira... she's not just obsessive, she's surgical. She studies people. Finds their soft spots. If she eversensedthat December was more than a passing fling, she would've torn her apart. I thought—if December didn't know, then maybe Mira wouldn't either. That was my logic. Stupid, I know."
Spencer sat back, rubbing his jaw. "That's not stupid. It's survival. But still—why not trust her with the truth?"
I looked up, my voice raw, "Because I didn't think I deserved her and because I was ashamed. I let Mira take everything from me, and then I had this beautiful, soft, wild-hearted girl who looked at me like I was somethinggood.I thought—what if she finds out who I really am? A man who lets himself be controlled, hurt, caged."
