Page 128 of When a Soul Cries

“All of it.”

Her face closed almost immediately.

“Rome—”

“I watched you almost come apart when you saw that woman today.” I kept my voice low. “And I watched you spend the rest of the day pretending you didn’t.”

Her lips pressed together.

“I don’t need every detail. I don’t need you to tell me anything you’re not ready to tell me. But I need to understand what happened to you.”

Her eyes became shiny.

I waited.

Didn’t push.

Didn’t fill the silence.

Finally, Sol inhaled slowly.

“That woman was my aunt.”

I nodded. “Trice?”

Her head lifted sharply.

“How do you know her name?”

Shit.

I leaned back.

There was no point lying.

“I had somebody look into you after the night at your apartment.”

Her expression hardened.

“You investigated me?”

“I had Darius find out who you were.”

“Why?”

“Because I heard you crying behind that door and didn’t know enough about you to know whether you were in danger.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You could’ve asked me.”

“You wouldn’t even tell me why you were crying.”

“That’s because it wasn’t your business.”

“I know.”

That answer stopped her.

I rubbed my hand across my beard.