“Go ahead,” Edward says, but his voice cracks just slightly. “If this is too much… I won’t stop you.”

You freeze in the doorway, hand on the knob, heart breaking.

He’s staring at the floor like he can’t bear to look at you—because if he does, he knows you’ll see it. The fear. The desperation. The silent plea not to walk away.

“I’d understand,” he adds, softer now. “But I don’t think I’d recover.”