The morning of the presentation rose like a gentle tide, soft yet inevitable. Alliah awoke before the first light touched the curtains of their modest hotel room. Her heart was restless, beating in uneven rhythms, as though it already knew the weight of the day ahead. She lay still for a moment, staring at the ceiling, breathing slowly as she rehearsed the words she had prepared, sentences she had crafted with care.
Beside her, Jamiro slept soundly, his breathing calm and steady, his arm protectively resting across her waist as though even in dreams, he never let her drift too far. She turned to him, studying the lines of his face that time had carved yet softened with love. There was comfort there, in his presence. It was as if the universe itself had placed him here to remind her that s
