Victoria’s POV
I dozed off on the couch with Thalia resting on my chest until my phone buzzed.
Cadmus.
His face appeared on the screen. "Victoria, I needed to see you today. Oh no, did I wake you?"
"Thalia has a way of putting me to sleep," I said with a laugh.
Four months have passed, and he has called me every day. Not demanding anything. I never expected to hear from him so often, and yet each time my phone lit up with his name, I felt a warmth in my chest and a strange flutter of nerves. There was comfort in his steady presence, but an ache too, like I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Some days, I let myself hope. On others, I guarded my heart, afraid that letting him in too much would only make it harder if he slipped away again.
"I called to see if you’d like to g
