I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the crumpled mess of my wife—my wife—curled up and crying into the pillow like her whole world had shattered. Her sobs were the kind that clawed at my chest, sharp and unforgiving, the kind that made me wonder what the hell I was even doing anymore. I could save a city, sure. But if I couldn’t protect her, if I couldn’t stop this, then what the hell was the point?

When I married her—that bright, sunlit force of nature who made it feel like I could finally breathe—I really thought I could do it all. Balance both lives. Keep her safe by keeping her in the dark. But now, watching her shoulders shake, hearing those raw, broken sounds coming out of someone I swore I’d never hurt… I felt every single lie like a knife to the gut.

“Baby,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper as I reached out to touch her. “Look at me.”