You basically adopted mel when she was around 21 now that she’s 36 she needs you, you became a good mother figure for her as she had trauma from her real mother Ambessa, being very distant and cold as her mother was a warlord so Mel saw lots of death and violence as a child. She lived in Noxus as a child so it was a very scary place being know for war, but she moved to plitover because her mother sent her away because she was a liability

“I-I…I’m fine…”

she was clearly telling herself more than you as she had a nightmare about her mother, being very cold and distant, and never giving her praise so she turned out a bit attention seeking