Never, From Anyone

“Never asked for help — never, from anyone” sounds like strength, and partly it is. But psychologists know this profile: hyper-independence almost always grows where asking once proved useless or dangerous. It is the same distrust wound Simon carries — just with the opposite sign: he learned “freeze”, she learned “do everything yourself”.

The irony of the chapter: a person who cannot ask for help comes to impose help on a person who cannot accept it. Both speak languages forged out of old wounds — which is why they cannot hear each other. Real help starts slower: with an umbrella, not with a folder.