Criminal Hearts

Chapter 15: Fractured Confessions

The quiet of the precinct was suffocating. With the weight of the night's events hanging between them, Sophia watched Ethan, who was still slumped over the desk. The rawness in his gaze tore through her as he tried to gather his thoughts. He looked so lost, so vulnerable—so different from the strong, confident man she remembered.

Ethan took a deep breath and raised his head, his eyes locking onto hers with a mix of pain and resolve. "I've replayed it a thousand times in my head," he began softly, his voice hoarse. "The day you left, the weeks after... trying to figure out what went wrong. Why you walked away without a word."

Sophia felt her throat tighten, but she kept her gaze steady, refusing to look away. She owed him that much.

"Back then, I thought... maybe I'd done something," he continued, his voice faltering slightly. "Maybe I didn't listen enough, or I wasn't there for you the way you needed me to be. Hell, I spent months convincing myself that I could've fixed things if I'd just been better. Smarter. More... something."

The bitterness in his tone made Sophia wince, guilt twisting like a knife in her chest. She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up a hand, shaking his head slowly.

"Let me finish," he whispered, his eyes pleading. "I need to get this out."

She nodded silently, her heart aching as she watched him struggle to put his emotions into words.

"I eventually realized... you didn't leave because of me," he said softly, his gaze never wavering. "You left because you had to. Because staying would've hurt you more than walking away."

Sophia's breath hitched, and she blinked rapidly, willing the tears to stay at bay. How could he see so deeply into her, even after all this time? Even without knowing the truth, without knowing everything she had gone through, he understood more than she ever expected anyone to.

"And it killed me, Sophia," he continued, his voice breaking slightly. "It killed me to accept that I couldn't do anything to change it. That I couldn't fix it, or bring you back. But I did... eventually. I accepted that whatever it was, it was your burden to carry. Your decision to make."

Ethan leaned forward, his hands gripping the edge of the desk as if it were the only thing holding him upright. "You don't owe me an explanation. Not now, not ever. Whatever happened back then, whatever made you feel like you had to go... I trust you had your reasons."

A single tear slipped down Sophia's cheek. She quickly wiped it away, overwhelmed by the quiet acceptance in his words. He was giving her the one thing she'd always feared she'd never find: understanding. And the sheer generosity of it left her speechless.

"So I waited," he whispered, his gaze dropping to his hands. "I kept hoping that maybe one day you'd come back, that you'd be ready to talk. And when I saw you again... that first day at the precinct..." He swallowed hard, his voice filled with a quiet reverence. "It was like seeing a ghost. I thought I'd finally lost it. That I'd finally gone crazy."

Sophia let out a small, broken laugh. "I felt the same way," she admitted softly. "Like I was dreaming."

Ethan's lips twitched into a faint smile, but it faded quickly, replaced by a somber expression. "I knew then that it wasn't fair to push you. That whatever reason you left was still there, still raw. And I would never... never force you to relive that."

"Ethan..." Her voice cracked, and she reached out, placing her hand over his. He stiffened, the sudden contact seeming to jolt him. Slowly, he turned his hand over, intertwining his fingers with hers. A silent promise. A wordless vow.

"I don't know what happened," he murmured, his voice a low rasp that sent shivers down her spine. "And I don't need to know. Not unless you want to tell me. I just want you to know that I'm here, Sophia. I'll always be here."