Sarah

Hearing my straightforward response, the tension in Sarah's posture visibly melted away.

She let out a long, quiet breath, her shoulders dropping as she leaned back against her armchair. A faint, embarrassed flush touched her cheeks as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"Thank you, Seth," Sarah murmured, offering an apologetic smile. "I... I apologize if I sounded overly defensive or intense just now. I've had some particularly bad experiences in the past regarding status, expectations, and raising Dylan as a single mother. It made me instinctively build walls whenever personal relationships come up."

"You don't need to apologize for protecting yourself and your son, Sarah," I replied, shaking my head. "That's just you being a great mother."

I paused, looking at her with a slightly firmer, warmer expression. "But with that being said... you really shouldn't look down on yourself like that."