Lex did not cry.

He didn’t cry at funerals, during personal tragedies, or when life dealt him a particularly cruel hand. Emotions were vulnerabilities, and vulnerabilities were things he preferred to keep buried beneath layers of composure and carefully constructed indifference.

His little sister had learned that from him.

She’d always been emotional as a child, wearing her heart on her sleeve and crying over things Lex considered insignificant. But she’d admired him. Wanted to be like her older brother. And somewhere along the way, she’d learned to swallow her tears, straighten her shoulders, and pretend nothing could hurt her.

Over the years, she’d become frighteningly good at it.

Lex had noticed. Of course he had.

He’d watched his baby sister grow into a woman who could endure heartbreak without letting her voice tremble, accept disappointment without letting her expression falter, and walk away from painful situations with her chin held high.

He’d been proud of her.

He’d also never considered how much of herself she’d taught herself to hide because of him.

But today wasn’t about the past.

Today was her wedding.

Lex sat in the front row in an impeccably tailored suit, having already criticized the floral arrangements, questioned the seating plan, and privately threatened to replace the wedding coordinator over a minor organizational failure.

Everything was under control.

Until the vows began.

He watched his sister standing beside the person she’d chosen to spend her life with, looking happier than he’d ever seen her. And suddenly, he wasn’t seeing the grown woman in a wedding dress anymore.

He was remembering the little girl who used to follow him around their childhood home. The child who’d fallen asleep beside him during thunderstorms, clutched his hand when she was frightened, and stubbornly insisted on keeping up with him no matter how exhausted she became.

His baby sister.

All grown up.

Somewhere between one vow and the next, his composure cracked.

A single tear slipped down his cheek.

Lex immediately brushed it away, jaw tightening as he attempted to regain control. It was barely a moment. Almost nothing.

But she saw it.

And her perfect composure faltered.

Her eyes widened slightly, her lips pressing together as tears gathered almost immediately. She’d never seen him cry. Not once. Not through the worst days of their childhood, not through personal losses, not even when life had given him every reason to break.

Yet here he was, shedding a tear because she was getting married.

Because she was growing up.

Because, no matter how much he irritated her or how mercilessly he teased her, she would always be his little sister.

Their eyes met.

Lex’s expression softened. He gave her a small, reassuring nod, though his own eyes remained suspiciously bright.

“Don’t you dare start crying because of me, sweetheart. I’ve got a reputation to maintain.”

Naturally, that only made things worse.

He sighed, reaching for his handkerchief while she struggled to hold herself together.

He’d spent years teaching her how to hide her feelings, never realizing she’d mistaken his composure for something she needed to imitate.

But perhaps she’d finally understand.

She didn’t have to be strong every second. She didn’t have to swallow every tear or pretend nothing could hurt her.

Not with him.

He could endure the embarrassment of crying at a wedding. He could survive the inevitable teasing.

But watching his little sister begin a new life, knowing she’d never again be that little girl trailing after him through the halls?

That was something he hadn’t prepared himself for.

And for once in his life, Lex wasn’t ashamed of having a heart.