When Elise’s breathing started to steady, Jake spoke, voice low.
“You know,” he said, “I once kept my mouth shut when I should’ve spoken.”
Elise looked at him through wet lashes.
Jake stared past her, at nothing, seeing something old.
“My wife needed a doctor,” he said. “And the man in town turned us away because we couldn’t pay enough.”
His throat tightened, but he kept going.
“I walked out of that office without saying a word,” he said. “She died two days later.”
The words dropped into the cabin like stones.
Jake’s hands clenched, then loosened.
“I’ve had to live with that silence every day since,” he said.
He leaned forward, eyes steady on Elise.
“So believe me when I tell you this—if you’re brave enough to speak… I’m not going to let you stand there alone.”
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