Damian's voice came out quieter now, but the intensity hadn't diminished at all.
"Let me tell you something about guilt and responsibility... About choices and consequences."
He leaned back slightly, his gaze becoming distant for a moment, seeing something she couldn't.
"In my past life, I knew someone who took me in when I had nothing. Someone who saved me from dying on the streets, taught me everything, gave me a place to belong."
Elizabeth stayed quiet, sensing this wasn't rhetorical anymore.
"One day, they sent me away on an errand. Just normal business. Nothing unusual… And while I was gone..."
His jaw clenched, real pain bleeding through his control for just a second.
"They were killed. By the time I got back, it was already over. I found them dead, and there was nothing I could do except stand there knowing I wasn't there when it happened."
He paused, his voice dropping.
