Then—he blinked. Once. Slowly.
Another blink, faster this time. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple.
I stepped closer. “So it’s true,” I whispered. “You’ve been pretending all this time. Why?”
At first, there was silence.
Then—his chest rose with a deeper breath. A sound. His voice, cracked and dry.
“I can explain.”
I felt dizzy. “You can explain?”
“I didn’t mean… for it to go this far.”
“TWENTY-THREE YEARS, Julian!” I screamed. “I gave up everything! I buried myself alive for you!”
He held up a trembling hand. “It started as a mistake… but then it became a trap.”
“What kind of mistake lasts two decades?”
He lowered his eyes. “The accident was real. I really was paralyzed. For three years, I couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. I heard everything, but I was trapped inside my body.”
I wept.
“Then, one day… a twitch. Then another. I started regaining control, slowly. Quietly. I didn’t know what to do. I was afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
“Of life. Of questions. Of pain. Of disappointing you. Out there, I was nothing. But here—with you—I was safe.”
Safe.
