I shake my head, my breath catching. “I’m not. You know I’m not.”
“You are to me.” His voice is steady. Quiet. Certain. As if all of this is simplefact.“I’ve seen the cracks. I’ve always seen them. And I love you even more for them.”
As I look back at the reflection, his words hit me harder than any magic ever has.
“I want to believe I’m her,” I say softly.
His thumb brushes my palm, steadying me.
“Then believe it,” he says, as if it’s the simplest thing in the universe.
I close my eyes, inhaling deeply as I breathe in his vision of me. The strength he trusts, the heart he values, and the warmth he adores.
And when I open my eyes again, I’m not afraid.
“I accept it,” I say, the words steady, quiet, and absolute. “I acceptme.All of me.”
