Deniz stares down at me. The shock on his face isn't simple surprise; it's a total systems failure. His world, the one where he has carefully placed me in a category labeled 'unreachable,' has just cracked open.
The silence isn't empty. It's full of the whisper of snow and the deafening roar of my own heart in my ears.
"Deniz," I say again, and my voice is softer now, more fragile. A thread offered across the chasm.
"I love you."
A tear betrays me. It doesn't fall dramatically; it wells, overflows, and traces a single, burning path through the cold on my cheek.
It is the most honest thing I have ever shown him.
"I love you so much," I whisper, the words gaining strength from their own truth.
"I've loved you since the first moment I saw you. I want to spend my whole life with you. I want to stay by your side, no matter what happens."
I have to pause. My throat is too tight. The next words are the most terrifying I have ever spoken, a plea that lays my entire soul bare.
