Max didn't flinch. He stood there, stripped of his usual cold, calculated armor, looking at her with a raw honesty that was almost painful to witness.
"Yes, Ruby. It's you. It has always been you."
He took a tentative step forward, his voice dropping into a rough, emotional cadence. "That was the first time I saw you. I wanted to approach you, but I couldn't move. The way you danced in that rain, the way you laughed as if the world was the most amazing place... I fell in love with every shattered piece of that moment. It felt almost haunting, because I had never seen anyone smile with that much light."
He gestured to the walls, to the seven years of history trapped in silver frames. "When Seron showed me your picture later, I thought that was it. I was so much older than you, and the timing felt like a curse. So, I ran. I moved out of the country for seven years, trying to drown out the memory of you. But I couldn't. You haunted me, Ruby.
