Re: Reading Between the Lines [Ili]
Posted: Sun May 31, 2026 3:24 pm
Iliana stayed quiet once Rachel and Oliver arrived. This wasn't her conversation anymore. The Wrights had spent years carrying pieces of this burden separately, and for perhaps the first time, some of those pieces were finally being laid on the table where everyone could see them. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't comfortable. But it was necessary.
So she simply remained beside Nate. Her hand never left his. When Rachel looked at her and quietly admitted she was glad she was back, Iliana's expression softened immediately. She gave the younger girl a small nod. "I don't think I ever truly left, Rach." The words were simple, but there was a weight behind them.
Even after the breakup. Even through all the distance and hurt and silence. She'd still listened when Nate needed someone to listen. Still kept the things he trusted her with. Still worried. Still cared. The only thing she'd failed at had been letting him carry her burdens too. Her gaze drifted briefly to Nate before returning to Rachel, a faint smile touching her lips.
Then she let the conversation continue. Sophie's apology visibly pulled at something in her chest. Not because Sophie was wrong to feel guilty, but because Iliana knew exactly what it felt like to discover someone you cared about had been suffering in silence while trying desperately to protect everyone else. It was such a painfully Nate thing to do.
When Sophie finally seemed to understand at least enough for the argument to stop being an argument, Iliana let out a quiet breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. The tension in the group shifted. Not gone. But different. Less explosive. More sad than angry.
After a moment, she gave Nate's hand a gentle squeeze. "Nate?" Her voice was soft. When he looked at her, she tilted her head slightly toward the castle. "Can I borrow you for a minute?"
She wasn't really asking permission from the others so much as giving them space. Rachel and Oliver weren't likely to let Sophie vanish now, and Sophie herself looked rooted to the spot as she tried to process everything she'd learned. So once Nate followed her a short distance away, far enough for privacy but not so far they couldn't still see the others. Iliana finally stopped.
For a moment she simply looked at him. Really looked at him. The exhaustion. The fear. The relief. The years of carrying things alone. Then she reached up and brushed her fingers lightly against his cheek. "What do you need from me?" No assumptions. No advice. No attempts to solve it.Just the question.
Because everyone else had spent the last several minutes talking about what Nate had done for them, what he'd protected them from, what he'd carried. And very few people ever stopped to ask what he needed. So Iliana did. Her thumb brushed gently along his jaw. "I mean right now, at this moment..." Her eyes softened. "What can I do for you?" Being there was obviously a given for her, but she would do whatever else he needed as well.
So she simply remained beside Nate. Her hand never left his. When Rachel looked at her and quietly admitted she was glad she was back, Iliana's expression softened immediately. She gave the younger girl a small nod. "I don't think I ever truly left, Rach." The words were simple, but there was a weight behind them.
Even after the breakup. Even through all the distance and hurt and silence. She'd still listened when Nate needed someone to listen. Still kept the things he trusted her with. Still worried. Still cared. The only thing she'd failed at had been letting him carry her burdens too. Her gaze drifted briefly to Nate before returning to Rachel, a faint smile touching her lips.
Then she let the conversation continue. Sophie's apology visibly pulled at something in her chest. Not because Sophie was wrong to feel guilty, but because Iliana knew exactly what it felt like to discover someone you cared about had been suffering in silence while trying desperately to protect everyone else. It was such a painfully Nate thing to do.
When Sophie finally seemed to understand at least enough for the argument to stop being an argument, Iliana let out a quiet breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. The tension in the group shifted. Not gone. But different. Less explosive. More sad than angry.
After a moment, she gave Nate's hand a gentle squeeze. "Nate?" Her voice was soft. When he looked at her, she tilted her head slightly toward the castle. "Can I borrow you for a minute?"
She wasn't really asking permission from the others so much as giving them space. Rachel and Oliver weren't likely to let Sophie vanish now, and Sophie herself looked rooted to the spot as she tried to process everything she'd learned. So once Nate followed her a short distance away, far enough for privacy but not so far they couldn't still see the others. Iliana finally stopped.
For a moment she simply looked at him. Really looked at him. The exhaustion. The fear. The relief. The years of carrying things alone. Then she reached up and brushed her fingers lightly against his cheek. "What do you need from me?" No assumptions. No advice. No attempts to solve it.Just the question.
Because everyone else had spent the last several minutes talking about what Nate had done for them, what he'd protected them from, what he'd carried. And very few people ever stopped to ask what he needed. So Iliana did. Her thumb brushed gently along his jaw. "I mean right now, at this moment..." Her eyes softened. "What can I do for you?" Being there was obviously a given for her, but she would do whatever else he needed as well.