Caden stayed still for a moment, feeling Rose’s arms around him, her warmth grounding him when everything else felt like it was slipping away. He wasn’t used to this—having someone care for him this much, offering comfort when he felt so utterly broken. He was always the one who had to be strong for others. The one who held it all together. But now, with Rose’s gentle embrace, he felt the walls he’d built for so long start to crack.

Her words hit him deeper than he expected. I still love you. It was simple, but it was everything. Everything he hadn’t allowed himself to believe he could have, especially not after all the mistakes he’d made. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, trying to steady himself, but the weight of everything seemed to press harder against his chest. It was almost too much to bear, but having her here—with him—was something he didn’t know how to handle, but didn’t want to let go of.

"I don't deserve you," he muttered, his voice thick, hoarse. He pulled her a little tighter, needing the comfort, needing the connection. “I promised you balance, and I’ve failed. I promised I’d be enough, but I’m falling apart.”

Caden’s hand trembled slightly as he wiped his face, the vulnerability rising like a tide he couldn’t hold back any longer. He hadn’t realized how much he’d been holding in until this moment. It felt like everything—everything—was crashing down on him at once, and Rose, the one person who had always been there, was offering him something he wasn’t sure he could accept.

But as her head rested on his shoulder, and her words lingered in his mind, he allowed himself to finally exhale, letting some of the tension that had held him hostage for so long slip away. He pulled back just enough to look at her, his face softening, a trace of uncertainty in his eyes.

“I don’t know what to do with all this... with me, with us,” he whispered, the confession like a weight lifting off his chest, even if just a little. “But... I’ll try. I’ll try to be the man you deserve, Rose. Even if I’m not sure who that is anymore.”

He rested his forehead against hers, his voice quieter now, softer, almost as if speaking the words aloud made them real. “Thank you for being here. For still loving me, even when I don’t know how to love myself.”

Rose nodded slightly, listening to him. She felt his forehead touch hers and she smiled a soft, small smile. "Of course" She said quietly

Caden stood, the weight of his thoughts dragging him down as he moved away from where he had been sitting. His body felt heavy, like lead, his muscles tense and tight, still wound up from the confession he’d just poured out. His hands trembled at his sides, fingers curling into fists as though he could hold everything inside if he just clenched tight enough.

But it didn’t work.

Without thinking, he found himself standing, his chest heaving as he tried to calm his breath. The room felt small, as if the walls were closing in on him, trapping him with the suffocating pressure of everything he couldn’t say. His heart raced, and the more he tried to steady himself, the harder it became to breathe.

He didn’t know what he was doing. Didn’t know why he couldn’t keep it together anymore. He had spent his whole life perfecting the mask—the businessman, the confident singer, the one who could handle everything. But now, it was slipping, crumbling, and all he could do was stand there, fighting the rising tide of emotions he couldn’t control.

And then the tears came, soft at first, barely a whisper against his skin. He wiped his eyes, trying to push them back, but it was too late. They fell, slow and steady, an endless stream of frustration and guilt. His breath hitched, a ragged sob escaping before he could stop it. He didn’t know why, but it felt like his heart was cracking open. The tears were the release he hadn’t known he needed, but that didn’t stop him from feeling like a failure.

Caden squeezed his eyes shut, turning away from the room, from everything that felt like it was slipping away. He hadn’t expected to feel like this. Didn’t know how to handle it. It wasn’t supposed to be this hard. He had always been strong, always the one others turned to when they needed help. But now? He didn’t know how to help himself.

The sobs came harder, though he tried to stifle them, tried to push them down. His shoulders trembled, the weight of his emotions crashing over him in waves. He was angry at himself—angry that he couldn’t keep it together, angry that he wasn’t enough for anyone, for Rose, for himself. The anger only made the tears flow faster, as though everything he had been holding in for so long was finally breaking free.

He felt small, vulnerable in a way he hadn’t allowed himself to be in years. There was no confidence, no strength. Just a man who was tired, tired of pretending to have everything under control, tired of holding the pieces of a life that didn’t feel like his own.

And still, the tears kept coming.

His knees buckled slightly, his hands reaching out to steady himself against the nearest wall. He slid down to the floor, his head bowed in defeat. The rawness of it all—the weight, the pain—was more than he could handle in this moment.

"I don’t know what to do," he whispered to the emptiness of the room. It felt like he was speaking to no one, like the silence around him was suffocating him even more than the pressure had.

The room remained still, as if time had stopped in this fragile moment of release. Caden’s sobs quieted after a while, but the tears still fell, the sting of them a reminder that he was, for the first time in a long time, just... human.

The quiet settled around him, not peaceful, but not as suffocating as before. He wasn’t sure what would come next. He wasn’t sure how to pick himself up from this. But for now, he let the tears fall.

Rose watched him carefully, unsure of what was coming next. When he slupmed to the floor, she walked to him and wrapped her arms around him again. She wiped away the tears, her eyes concerned

"Thank you" She said, now understanding the weight of everything and how it was for him. "Do you need anything?" She asked softly after a while

"No,just,I don't know.You know what?I have enough money,not enough motivation to finish the tour,and enough going on at work.If you could go anywhere in the world,where would you go?" He asks,looking at her after wiping his face.

"I don't know.....never really thought of it, I guess."

"Rose," He starts,rubbing his face before plastering on a fake tone,pulling his walls back up. "Anywhere in the world,where would you go?For me,it'd be Russia.Back to Moscow,back to the streets where i've almost been killed oh what?50-ish times?Eh,those were the good times.But anyways,anywhere in the world."

Rose thought for a moment. "Probably Ireland. I've heard it's beautiful, but i've never been."