Joe Jukic: Nelly, listen… it’s okay to be a little obsessed when the feeling is mutual. When the person loves you back, that obsession becomes devotion. That’s not unhealthy—it’s just love.
Nelly: [smiling nervously] So you’re saying it’s not crazy if I think about you all the time?
Joe Jukic: Not crazy at all. What would be crazy is if I didn’t feel the same way. But I do. I’ve felt it from the start.
Nelly: [softly] You… you love me too?
Joe Jukic: [nods] Yes. And I want to make that very clear—my love for you goes both ways. You’re not chasing shadows here. You don’t need to doubt it.
Nelly: Then why did you bring up Potiphar’s wife?
Joe Jukic: Because love has to be honest. Potiphar’s wife tried to steal Joseph into sin. She wanted something that wasn’t hers, and when she couldn’t have it, she destroyed him. That’s not love, that’s desire poisoned by pride. I won’t let what we have become that kind of story.
Nelly: [teasing] So what you’re saying is… I should’ve just asked you out like a normal girl?
Joe Jukic: Exactly. No games, no tests, no nonsense. Just you and me, face to face. That’s the only way love works.
Nelly: [playfully nudges him] You make it sound so simple.
Joe Jukic: It is simple. You love me. I love you. That’s enough. No Paulo Coelho novels to romanticize it, no temptation drama to complicate it. Just us, being honest.
Nelly: [soft smile, eyes shining] Then… Joe, will you go on a date with me?
Joe Jukic: [grins] Finally! Yes, Nelly. A thousand times yes.
They both laugh, relief and warmth in the air, as if something heavy has lifted.
