"I thought I was going to die," Vera whispered, her voice raw and cracking as she leaned into Carl's embrace. Her entire body trembled as she clung to him, the sobs rising from somewhere deep and hollow. Her face pressed into his shoulder like she was trying to disappear inside him.
Carl held her close, steady as a rock. "You're alright now," he murmured, his voice low and grounding. The kind of voice that could pull someone back from the edge. "You made it through."
She sobbed harder.
I stood a few feet away, arms folded tightly across my chest. I tried not to let it bother me—tried to remind myself that she was hurt, scared, and clinging to the one person who made her feel safe. But the knot in my stomach twisted tighter with every second.
Then, through swollen eyes and tear-streaked cheeks, she looked at me. And the look she gave wasn't soft or grateful. It wasn't relief.
It was smug.
