Lily relied on him to feel safe, to get through the moments when her mind convinced her the threat was still out there, watching her. All the secrecy, the locked doors, the whispered conversations — they were her way of trying to survive a fear that had shadowed her life for years.
The truth hit Ethan with overwhelming force. While he had been working late nights, worrying about her strange behavior, Lily had been quietly fighting a battle he never even knew existed — a battle she believed she had to face alone.
