From the beginning, people warned me.
“He’s too young.”
“He’s after your money.”
“You’re lonely, Lillian. Be careful.”
And every night, he brought me a glass of warm water with honey and chamomile.
“Drink it all, sweetheart,” he’d whisper, pressing the glass into my hands. “It helps you sleep. I can’t rest unless you do.”
It became a ritual of tenderness, the small rhythm that closed every day. He called me his little wife, and though part of me laughed at the nickname, another part secretly loved how soft it sounded.
For six years, I believed in that warmth — believed I had found a love that didn’t need proving.