She didn’t cry. Zara never cried in front of him. Instead, she placed her palm on his chest, right over his heart.
"No," he said, his voice low. "I love like a soldier defending his last fortress. You are that fortress."
When the Army handed Zara the folded tricolor and the letter, she didn't open it for three days. She was afraid the words would kill whatever was still alive inside her.
Her neighbors think she’s lonely.