Her breathing.
Her hesitation.
The way she had looked at him before everything began, as if standing at the edge of something irreversible.

“Valentina…” he said softly, unsure whether to step closer or give her space, caught in a hesitation he wasn’t used to feeling.

She didn’t look at him immediately. Her shoulders trembled slightly, and her fingers clutched the sheets as if trying to hold something together.

“I didn’t know it would be like this,” she whispered, her voice breaking in a way that didn’t match the composed woman he thought he understood.

Sebastián stayed still for a second longer, then slowly approached, careful, almost cautious, like someone entering unfamiliar territory without a map.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, his tone lower now, stripped of its usual confidence, replaced by something closer to concern.

Valentina shook her head, but the movement was uncertain, as if even she didn’t fully believe the answer she was giving.

She didn’t look at him immediately. Her shoulders trembled slightly, and her fingers clutched the sheets as if trying to hold something together.

“I didn’t know it would be like this,” she whispered, her voice breaking in a way that didn’t match the composed woman he thought he understood.

Sebastián stayed still for a second longer, then slowly approached, careful, almost cautious, like someone entering unfamiliar territory without a map.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, his tone lower now, stripped of its usual confidence, replaced by something closer to concern.

Valentina shook her head, but the movement was uncertain, as if even she didn’t fully believe the answer she was giving.

“No… I mean, yes… but not like that,” she murmured, finally lifting her eyes to meet his.

There was no accusation in her gaze.
Only vulnerability.
And something deeper. Something that unsettled him more than anger ever could.

“I should have told you,” she added, pressing her lips together afterward, as if the sentence itself carried weight she had delayed for too long.

Sebastián frowned slightly, trying to piece together what he already suspected, what now seemed obvious in hindsight, but had gone unnoticed in the moment.

“Told me what?” he asked, though part of him already knew.

“That I had never been with anyone before,” she said, the words landing quietly but firmly between them.

The room seemed to shrink around that sentence, as if everything else lost importance in the face of what had just been revealed.

Sebastián exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair, not out of frustration, but because he needed a second to adjust his thoughts.

“You didn’t have to say it like that,” he replied after a pause, choosing his words carefully, something he rarely did.

“But I should have,” Valentina insisted, her voice steadier now, though her eyes still carried the residue of tears.

“I agreed to something knowing what it meant for you, but not what it meant for me,” she continued, her hands now resting loosely in her lap.

Sebastián sat down on the edge of the bed, leaving a small space between them, enough to show respect, but not distance.

“I thought you knew what you wanted,” he admitted, not defensively, but honestly, as if that was the only thing he could offer now.

“I thought so too,” she replied, a faint, almost ironic smile appearing for a brief second before fading again.

Outside, the city was beginning to wake up.
The storm had passed, but the streets still glistened, holding onto the memory of the night.

Inside that room, however, the real storm had only just revealed its aftermath.

“I didn’t regret coming,” Valentina said suddenly, surprising even herself with the clarity of the statement.

Sebastián turned slightly, studying her face, trying to understand whether those words were a shield or a truth she had just discovered.

“No… I mean, yes… but not like that,” she murmured, finally lifting her eyes to meet his.

There was no accusation in her gaze.
Only vulnerability.
And something deeper. Something that unsettled him more than anger ever could.

“I should have told you,” she added, pressing her lips together afterward, as if the sentence itself carried weight she had delayed for too long.

Sebastián frowned slightly, trying to piece together what he already suspected, what now seemed obvious in hindsight, but had gone unnoticed in the moment.

“Told me what?” he asked, though part of him already knew.

“That I had never been with anyone before,” she said, the words landing quietly but firmly between them.

The room seemed to shrink around that sentence, as if everything else lost importance in the face of what had just been revealed.

Sebastián exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair, not out of frustration, but because he needed a second to adjust his thoughts.

“You didn’t have to say it like that,” he replied after a pause, choosing his words carefully, something he rarely did.

“But I should have,” Valentina insisted, her voice steadier now, though her eyes still carried the residue of tears.

“I agreed to something knowing what it meant for you, but not what it meant for me,” she continued, her hands now resting loosely in her lap.

Sebastián sat down on the edge of the bed, leaving a small space between them, enough to show respect, but not distance.

“I thought you knew what you wanted,” he admitted, not defensively, but honestly, as if that was the only thing he could offer now.

“I thought so too,” she replied, a faint, almost ironic smile appearing for a brief second before fading again.

Outside, the city was beginning to wake up.
The storm had passed, but the streets still glistened, holding onto the memory of the night.

Inside that room, however, the real storm had only just revealed its aftermath.

“I didn’t regret coming,” Valentina said suddenly, surprising even herself with the clarity of the statement.

Sebastián turned slightly, studying her face, trying to understand whether those words were a shield or a truth she had just discovered.