She gripped the sides of the sink so tightly, as her shoulders quaked. She shook her head, while tears wrecked her. When she looked up in the mirror, meeting his eyes in the reflection, his heart stopped. She was beautiful. Her pain, exquisite. What she had been willing to sacrifice was somehow heroic and he was drawn to her. In the past, he had been pulled toward women because of their weakness, because he felt protective, and felt obligated to save them. In this moment, he felt nothing but admiration for her strength. He wished his children had a mother whose love knew no limits; whose sacrifice had no boundaries. In her, he saw power; even though he could see her depletion on her face. He walked over to her, standing behind her and wrapped his arms around her body. His height, his sturdiness, behind her was what she needed. It was what every woman needed… a man to carry the weight when it got too heavy. Too many black queens were forced to play the role of king because of the absence of the men in their lives. Some man had put her in a position to parent alone, and now that she needed someone to hold her up, she was left on stuck. Ethic couldn’t leave her. Shock shone in her eyes, as he stood behind her, holding her up, arms securely around her, as they both faced the mirror. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, as he lowered his face in the groove of her neck, inhaling her scent of honey. The way his strong arms cocooned her transferred warmth to her body, defrosting the cold that had set into her bones ever since the moment she found out her daughter had died. This hug felt life-changing. Suddenly, it didn’t feel like she had to stand up all on her own. He felt her legs give way, as her body melted into his. She closed her eyes and exhaled, as she wrapped her arms around his. Ethic’s heart beat wildly in his chest, when she turned around to face him, throwing her arms around him. Ethic closed his eyes. Instinctively, he fisted her hair and tightened his grip, as her face rested in his chest. He wanted to absorb her, press her so close to him that two became one, so that her pain became his. He barely knew this woman, but this moment was so intimate that it felt like he had been her rock all his life. Her cries pulled at his guilt, drawing it out of him like a syringe, and his eyes burned with emotion. Damn, he thought, the culpability of his actions mounting as he witnessed her grief firsthand. He knew he didn’t deserve to touch her, but he held her tighter anyway because he knew she needed this hug. “Let it out,” he whispered. When was the last time she had been held like this? The energy she was transferring to him had been building up for a long time and he accepted it all. They didn’t know each other, but her need for him was transparent as she wept. He fisted her hair tighter, and the arm that circled her waist drew her in nearer. Everything in him told him to walk away, but he couldn’t. She had him at hello.