Richard faltered.
"You clothed me," Dakota continued. "Fed me. Trained me to obey. That's not sacrifice, Father. That's obligation. You sacrificed nothing. You just… expected returns."
"Dakota!" Luna Winters snapped, her composure cracking at the seams as Thomas groaned weakly beneath her hands. "Watch your tone!"
Dakota's gaze shifted to her mother.
For the first time, Luna Winters flinched under her daughter's stare.
"You taught me something important, Mother," Dakota said quietly. "You taught me that love is conditional. That I only deserved it if I performed well enough. Stayed quiet enough. Didn't inconvenience anyone with feelings or grief or needs."
Her lips trembled slightly, but her voice held.
"So I learned."
The room felt colder.
"I learned how to survive without it."
Silence crushed down, suffocating, absolute.
