He dropped to his knees, begging the boy to listen.
But the boy had already made his choice.
“She was the only one who came to my side when I cried.”
Those words destroyed him.
Because he finally understood what he had lost.
While everyone else walked away, she had stayed.
While he was hurting, she had been there.
While he cried alone, she became the only person he could trust.
Then the boy said the words that broke him completely:
“Then she stays.”