I stared at him, and the words began to rain down on me, making me realise the gravity of the moment. He said he had a daughter. I knew she was dead. But I didn’t know that.
‘She died in an accident, along with her mum,’ he continued, his voice strained. “But sometimes I talk to her. I know it sounds weird, but I just… feel like she’s still with me. Especially today. I wanted her to know about you. I wanted her to see how happy I am.”
I didn’t know what to say. My chest constricted and I found it hard to breathe. The bitterness of his loss was palpable between us, and it made everything so hard.
But I wasn’t scared. I wasn’t angry. It was just…I was so sad. Sad for him, for everything he’d lost, for the way he carried it all alone. His pain felt like my own.
I sat down next to him, taking his hand in mine. ‘I understand,’ I said quietly. “I understand. You’re not crazy, Sergei. You’re grieving.”
He exhaled shakily, looking at me with such vulnerability that my heart nearly burst. “I’m sorry. I should have told you sooner. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
‘You’re not scaring me,’ I said, squeezing his hand tightly. “We all have something that haunts us. But now we’re together. We can carry it together.”
Sergei’s eyes filled with tears and I hugged him, feeling the weight of his pain, his love, his fear – all of it in that moment.
“Maybe… maybe we should talk to someone. With a therapist, for example. It doesn’t have to be just you and Stacy.”
He nodded, his hug growing tighter. “I’ve been thinking about it. I just didn’t know how to start. Thank you for understanding, Katya. I didn’t realise how much I missed it.”
I pulled back a little to look into his eyes, and my heart filled with love deeper than I’d ever felt. “We’ll get through this, Sergei. Together.”
And as I kissed him, I knew we could do it. We’re not perfect, but we’re real, and in that moment, that was enough.
That’s what love is all about, isn’t it? It’s not about finding the perfect person without flaws. It’s about finding someone you’re willing to share your imperfections with.