Cellie's POV
"Did I hurt you?"
His voice was so gentle it broke something open in me and I cried harder because of it, which was not the response either of us was prepared for and definitely not the one I could explain without saying the thing I was not ready to say.
I had not planned to cry. I had not planned any of this. One moment I had been fully present in the specific warmth of him and us and this room and the next something enormous had arrived in my chest without warning, something too large to manage, and my body had decided the only available response was to let it out in the most inconvenient possible way.
Demetrio turned me toward him and the concern in his eyes hit me directly in the chest and made things worse.
"You didn't hurt me," I said, and my voice came out steadier than I deserved given the state of my face. "I promise. I just." I exhaled shakily. "I'm fine. Women cry sometimes. It happens."
