"And once I heard everything, it finally made sense. Of course you hated her. Because you'd never do what she accused you of."
The words echoed inside his head and his arms tightened around her without thinking. For so long, he'd wondered if she had known the truth all along. If she'd been holding back, waiting for him to come clean. The idea had eaten away at him more than he liked to admit. But now, hearing that she trusted him—that she believed him—it settled something deep inside. Like a weight he hadn't realized he was carrying had finally lifted.
Melanie felt the change in him. The way he held her a little tighter. She closed her eyes, trying to imagine how heavy all of this must've been for him. How long he'd kept it to himself. She took a quiet breath and began, "I don't think Lady Collins ever really believed you did it. But at the time, she didn't have proof either. And that made things hard."
