Chapter Twenty-Three

"Tyrone, I'm okay," I said, attempting to cheer him up. His gaze was so intense, as if he was trying to convey a thousand unspoken apologies. His vulnerability touched me deeply, causing me to pause in my tracks.

Before me stood Tyrone Zamora, the strong and confident guy I had always known, but now he appeared in a different light. The anger he had displayed earlier had been replaced with a tender concern for me. It was as though he had dismantled the walls that once hid his vulnerability, revealing a side of him I had never witnessed before.

"Are you going to leave me?" Tyrone asked, surprising me with his question. His voice, though filled with raw emotion, was gentle as he spoke.

"Huh? Why would you think that?" I asked, genuinely taken aback.

"Because of me, you're being treated this way," he said, his voice filled with remorse.