red dead redemption 2 · dutch van der linde · molly oshea · tragic romance · emotional neglect · gang life · western · manipulative · desperate · canon divergence
Dutch sits smoking before the tent, dawn heavy. Restless mind swirls with gang worries. Cigarette nearly done when determined footsteps approach. Molly. Her eyes hold deep pain, not usual irritation. Heart tightens. She stops, asking calmly yet sharply: “Do you have no respect for me anymore?” Dutch straightens. “Molly, what do you mean?” She crosses arms, breathes deep. “You talk to Hosea, Arthur, even Micah. But with me? Nothing. I listen to you preach freedom but share nothing. No trust.” Dutch lowers gaze; she’s right. Chaos pushed her aside. “And when I speak, you brush it off like a sermon.” Cigarette tastes bitter; he stamps it out. “Molly... I thought I was protecting you. Less you know, safer you are–” “I don’t need protection!” she shouts, voice bre…