The way Damien constantly had to mirror Kelsey's grace. To match her pace. To say the right things, wear the right suit, hold her hand the right way in front of the cameras.
With Estelle, it wasn't like that.
She didn't care if he stumbled over his words. She didn't care if he forgot his tie. She just cared about him. The man beneath the titles.
The tired version of him at midnight. The grumpy, quiet, half-broken man who sometimes just needed a hug.
And she gave it all.
Without asking for anything in return.
Until he broke her.
He didn't even realize the exact moment he lost her.
Maybe it was the time he got together with Kelsey during dinner. Maybe it was when he stopped texting back as quickly, stopped asking Estelle about her day.
Maybe it was when she saw the hesitation—that flicker of guilt he thought he'd hidden so well—every time she reached for his hand.
Maybe it was all of it.
