He seemed lost in his own thoughts, running his hands through his hair fitfully, and he didn't respond to her pleas, lost in a place she couldn't reach him. Victor's focus shifted, and he finally turned to face her. His expression was a mix of wildness and desperation. His question came out in a rush.

"Why did you stay?"

It was a question she hadn't expected. It burned the air and it left her feeling hollowed out. The weight of it settling in her stomach like a stone. It was a question she had avoided for months, a question that had haunted her in the silence of the night. Why had she stayed when it had been so clear that her love for him had not been reciprocated? She had known that even before they married, but it had seemed wrong somehow to abandon him.

"I... I stayed because I am your wife," she faltered, her voice trembling with uncertainty. It was the simplest answer, the truth, but it didn't address the depth of the emotions and the complexities she felt. Belle wanted to save his feelings, but how could she convey the unspoken sentiments that had bound her to him, even if they were not always reciprocated? She couldn't find the words to explain the myriad of emotions that had kept her by his side.