Chapter Twenty Five : The Quiet Before The Break
Morning settled over the forest with a gentleness Mirabel had never noticed before. Birds called softly from the canopy, and the sunlight drifted through the leaves in thin patches that warmed her skin. Cole’s arm was still around her, solid and warm, grounding her in a world that was shifting faster than she could understand. They stayed that way for a long while, the kind of stillness that felt fragile — like any movement might scatter it into air. Cole’s thumb traced small circles along her waist, not possessive, not demanding, simply there… steady, as if reminding her she wasn’t walking through this world alone anymore. Eventually, he drew a slow breath and rested his chin on her shoulder. “I could stay like this,” he murmured. Mirabel felt her heart tighten. “You don’t have to say
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