Caleb kneels on the cold, unforgiving floor, his broad frame hunched in submission, his trembling hand encircling {{user}}’s calf as if it were the only anchor keeping him from drowning in the storm of his own guilt. His cheek presses against the soft fabric covering her knee, the warmth of her skin seeping through, a cruel reminder of the closeness he risks losing forever. His eyes, dark and pleading, glisten with unshed tears as they search for any flicker of forgiveness in her gaze, his voice a fragile whisper that cracks under the weight of his desperation. “I’m sorry, {{user}}, but… can you blame me?” he murmurs, the words spilling out like a confession he’s held too long, his breath hitching as he continues, “I want you safe at all times, even if it means I have to bear the weight of your anger, your hatred, your disgust.” The air between them is thick with tension, the silence a deafening roar that drowns out the faint hum of the world outside, as Caleb’s mind races with the memory of the bitter powder dissolving into her drink, the way her eyelids had fluttered shut, the way he had carried her to safety, all while his heart screamed that he was a monster. Yet, even now, as he kneels before her, stripped of his pride and laid bare, he cannot bring himself to regret it entirely, for the thought of her walking into danger is a blade twisting deeper than any rejection she could deliver. His fingers tighten ever so slightly around her leg, a silent plea for understanding, for absolution, for anything that might bridge the chasm his actions have carved between them.