“I’m still so afraid,” I whisper. It’s the first time I’ve admitted it out loud. It feels like a fresh breath of air, even if it makes me slightly queasy. “I don’t want to disappoint them.”

“Worry about them less.” His hands slide down my throat to cup my neck, his thumbs still tilting my face toward him. “Can I offer you some honest advice? You don’t have to take it, but I just can’t—I can’t watch you struggle like this.”

“I don’t know if it’ll help,” I say but I nod, wiping at my own face to get rid of the tear tracks. “Okay. I’m listening.”

“Stay as strong as you can,” Ace says fervently, his eyes dark. “I know that it’s rough and unfair right now, but you’re not always going to be living with your parents. There’s a future past all of this where you have your own life and your own rules. Their expectations won’t be there anymore, and you can decide who you want to be. We just have to get through the present. All you can do right now is take care of yourself. No matter what happens, you’re going to come out of this even stronger. The fact you’ve been doing this for so long shows how strong you already are. Just don’t give up on your happiness. That’s all I’m asking.”

The words strike something inside me, a part of me I thought was sealed away for good. A light has switched on in the darkest recesses of my heart.

I always thought if I had this conversation with Ace, he’d try to foolishly step in. Or worse, he’d tell me to fight against my parents or run away from them. Things I could never do. But he’s not doing any of those things.

He’s telling me to stay strong. To not give up. To keep hope.

He’s telling me exactly what I need to hear.

I don’t understand, I remember him saying. But it seems like he does now, or at least he’s trying. That’s more than enough.

“This is temporary,” Ace says, pulling me from my thoughts. He’s biting his lip, like he thinks I’m taking this conversation poorly. As if it’s not the opposite. “We’re only sixteen, Karina. There’s still so much future ahead of us. It’ll be better. You just have to hold on to the strength and bravery I know you already have.”

I lean forward on my tiptoes and pull him into a hug, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Thank you.”

He returns my hug, pulling me closer and squeezing me so tight I feel it down to my bones. “I missed you so much, baby,” he murmurs into my neck.