Viola fell silent for a moment.
Her gaze lowered slightly, fingers curling faintly against her sleeve as memories she rarely allowed herself to revisit slowly surfaced again.
Old memories.
The kind she usually kept buried deep enough that she wouldn't have to think about them.
A faint hesitation crossed her face.
Not because she didn't want to tell him—
But because putting those memories into words meant reliving them again.
And some things were easier left untouched.
Her lips parted slightly before closing again.
Explaining this to him…
Wasn't going to be easy.
"You know… back when I was a teenager," she began slowly, her voice softer than before, "I was often ignored… or taken advantage of."
She let out a faint breath.
"My parents were there, but… they were always busy. I kept telling myself that maybe if I just tried harder—if I did everything right—someone would finally notice me."
A small, bittersweet smile appeared on her lips.
