Chapter 14: Truth, Power, and Healing
The evening had fallen quietly, brushing the office windows with a golden hue. Most of the team had left, but I stayed behind, sorting reports I had already read twice.
My thoughts were scattered. Ever since the confrontation with Sabrina and the looming invitation from HR, unease clung to me like static.
Jonas appeared in the doorway with two mugs.
"Chamomile tea. You looked like you needed a break."
I accepted it, surprised.
"Thank you."
He didn't sit immediately. He just stood there, watching me carefully.
Then he said, calmly, but with a firmness in his voice:
"Lina, I asked to speak to you after work because there's something I've kept from you. From everyone, actually. But especially you."
I froze slightly, my grip tightening on the cup.
He exhaled.
"I'm not just the project manager here. I'm the majority owner of the company."
Silence stretched, long and quiet.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked eventually.
He stepped closer.
"Because I didn't want that to define how we worked together. Or how we saw each other.
MI wanted you to see me for who I am, not what title I hold. And I knew your past... I knew power had been used against you, not for you."
Tears pricked at the back of my eyes.
He went on, softly:
"But I want more than professionalism with you. I want us to be public. Real. No secrets, no hiding."
I looked away.
"It's hard for me... to trust what's real. For so long, I lived in silence, ashamed of what I'd been through. The bruises healed, but the fear stayed."
He sat beside me, gently taking my hand.
I swallowed.
"There's something you don't know. Something I've told very few people. Back then, during the worst of it... I was pregnant. I lost the baby."
Jonas's face tightened in grief, his hand firm around mine.
"I didn't know how to grieve. I didn't allow myself to. Because everyone around me pretended it didn't happen.
Or worse, blamed me. I started believing I was the problem. That I broke everything I touched."
He squeezed my hand, gently but firmly.
"You didn't break. You survived. And you're still here, Lina. That means everything."
My voice cracked.
"The first person who saw me—really saw me—was my former director. He didn't ask questions, he just offered help. It was the first time someone believed me without needing proof."
Jonas leaned closer, pressing his forehead to mine.
"There's always someone who will believe you, Lina. Always. I want to be that person now. For you."
The tears slipped free. But this time, they weren't from shame. They were from release. From relief.
I leaned into him, and he wrapped me in his arms, steady and warm.
That night, I felt lighter. Not whole. Not healed. But heard.
And that was more than I'd had in a very long time.