The visit from Lucas, Elias, and Gideon left a soft, lingering feeling in the house. No one had said anything that changed the rules, no one had pushed them to move faster. But now, the quiet connection between Cole and Elara felt a little more visible, a little less like something they had to hide even from themselves.
The teasing hadn’t embarrassed Cole; if anything, it had made him more at ease. He stopped treating every moment of closeness as if it were something to be carefully hidden away. And Elara, sensing this shift, relaxed even more, letting her own guard fall further without fear.
They still kept their separate rooms, still respected every line of privacy, but the space between them felt less like a barrier and more like a choice they both made to let things unfold naturally.
