Elle's Pov
As he hits the wall with a thud and Damian's fist drops, everything inside me just… shuts down.
All I can say is:
"I said no… I said no…"
The words barely make it past my lips. Not a performance. I was broken.
A security guard rushes in. Another follows. Damian steps forward, hands raised while explaining the scene. People begin to gather.
But I'm already walking away. Voices smear into static. I can't breathe.
I drift through the lobby, not searching for help just for a safe place to fall apart. I find Camila in the children's corner, fixing a crooked crown on a girl. That soft mother-warmth in her eyes.
"Cam…"
She turns and instantly reads everything on my face.
She doesn't gasp. She doesn't go dramatic.
She just steps into me and holds me.
"What happened?"
My throat trembles and the tears come. I can't stop them.
"I told him no," I whisper. "I said no, and he wouldn't listen…"
She doesn't question it.
Doesn't search for "context."
Doesn't soften it.
