Sophia POV
The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor had become a strange kind of comfort.
Sophia sat in the chair beside Alessandro’s bed, her fingers absentmindedly tracing patterns on his bandaged hand.
“Still sleeping, huh?” she whispered.
The doctors said it was normal. His body needed time to heal. The second-degree burns, the trauma—it had all taken a toll. But still, she couldn’t shake the unreasonable hope that he’d just open his eyes and say something infuriatingly arrogant.
“You’d hate this,” she murmured. "Being stuck in a bed. Not being able to argue with me.”
Her lips twitched into a small smile, but the weight in her chest remained. She leaned forward, resting her head lightly against his shoulder, closing her eyes. Just for a minute.
The warmth of his skin beneath he
