Page 99 of Grizz

Elias’s expression dials in.“You’re not afraid of anything.”

“Yeah… I was scared because he was everything I could possibly want, and somehow it seemed way too good to be real and for the long run.He’s painfully true to himself,” I continue.“He doesn’t curate a version that’s easy to digest.He doesn’t hide behind polish or charm.He just…is.Even when it costs him.”My voice wobbles slightly.“Especially when it costs him.”

I shake my head slowly.“He remembers things.Small things.”

Elias snorts.“That’s your bar now?Remembering things?Daisy, didn’t you tell me he once forgot his own birthday?”

“That’s not what I mean,” I say quickly.“He notices when I’m overwhelmed before I say a word.He listens—even when he pretends he doesn’t.”

Elias tilts his head, unconvinced.“He’s volatile and stubborn and holds grudges like a child.And let’s not pretend he isn’t emotionally allergic to talking things through.”

I laugh, but it’s watery.“He is.God, he really is.”

“So,” Elias presses gently, “why him?”

Because the answer is already there.

“Because he’s gentle in ways no one sees,” I say.“With kids and his sister.With me too.He makes space for people without knowing that’s what he’s doing.”

Elias doesn’t interrupt this time, but I can feel him listening harder.

“He carries so much pain,” I continue, quieter now, “and never uses it as an excuse.He just… carries it.And still shows up.Still fights.Still loves the people who matter, even when he doesn’t think he deserves anything back.”

Elias exhales through his nose.“You’re describing a man who’s a mess.”

“I know,” I say.“But he’s an honest one.”

I take a moment.

“And when he looks at me,” I add, my voice unsteady now, “it’s not like I’m something to fix or manage.It’s like he’s surprised I exist.Like I matter just by being there.”

I swipe at my cheek, annoyed at the tears.

“He scares you,” Elias says, not unkindly.

“Yes,” I admit.“Because he’s honest in a way that leaves no armor.Because he makes me braver just by standing next to him.”

There’s a pause—heavy, loaded.

“I started falling for him,” I say slowly, “because he trusts me with the parts of himself he hates the most.”

The silence stretches.

Then Elias says quietly, “Sounds to me like you love him.”

I shake my head instantly.“No.I—”

The word catches.

I freeze.

My breath stalls, the ground vanishing beneath me as the truth lands all at once—loud, undeniable, impossible to outrun.

Oh.

Oh my God.

I stare at the floor, my heart thundering.“I do,” I whisper, stunned.“I love him.”