I bore my words like weapons. Knives that cut and left scars. I knew what I was doing. I knew the pain I’d inflict.

Heartbreak.

I did it anyway.

“Oh my sweet Prince. Did you really believe it to be true?” I circled the chair he was slumped in, his head hung low between his shoulders. “You honestly thought this would work? That we would have a happy ending?” Resting my hands on the back of the chair, I leaned forward, my face mere inches from his. “You don’t come back from what I’ve seen. What I’ve felt.” His breathing hitched when I turned towards him, my gaze tracing the line of his lips, jaw, neck.

He swallowed. “Did you ever mean it?” It came out barely a whisper, but I latched on to his every word.

I thought of my younger self, how she trusted.

How she lived.

How she loved.

Finally I replied. “Once, yes. But only once.”

And I knew I didn’t need to say more.