" Finally, he said "I can't imagine how bad you must have felt, and how alone. You should have told me. I so with you had told me."

She heard his words like a melody and felt herself breathing unevenly, gulping at the air. She would not cry, it was ridiculous to cry after so long, but her eyes were filling with tears and there was a boulder in her chest and a stinging in her throat. The tears felt itchy. She made no sound. He took her hand in his, both clasped on the table, and between them silence grew, and ancient silence that they both knew. She was inside this silence and she was safe. "

― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie , Americanah