Once he placed her on the sofa, he stood up and retrieved a medical kit, preparing to tend to her injury. She couldn't help but feel a wave of sadness wash over her as she settled into the quiet of her small apartment. The warmth of the space, the familiarity, made her heart heavy with guilt. She couldn't shake the feeling that, by dancing tonight, she had somehow dishonored her mother's memory. She felt she had betrayed the very essence of her mother's dance, and the weight of that guilt weighed on her deeply.
The pressure on her ankle grew more intense with each of his movements, causing sharp pain to shoot through her. Without warning, tears began to fall uncontrollably, each drop splashing onto his large hand as he applied the medication. He froze, and for a moment, the room was thick with tension. His eyes narrowed as he looked at her, his gaze so piercing it almost felt as if it could burn a hole through her.
