She took a long drink of her wine before moving on. "When I lost my brother in that fire, I thought I had to change who I was to stay alive."
"I wanted to become someone tougher and colder, someone who didn't need anyone else."
"But I was wrong, and it took me years to figure that out."
Marina looked him in the eye and said, "You're watching me do what I wish I had done."
"Not letting trauma define you. Choosing to build instead of tear down, and to protect instead of attack. It's both scary and inspiring."
"Scary?" Greg asked.
"Because I'm scared of losing you," Marina said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Seeing you get better over the past few days and knowing how close you came to dying reminded me that caring about people means being willing to lose them."
Greg didn't know what to say. He had dedicated much of his second life to proving to himself that he could be better than his past, but he hadn't truly considered how this would impact those around him.
