Ryder:
I didn’t let her go.
Even after she stopped crying, even after the silence settled like soft ash between us, I held her. Arms wound around her waist, forehead tucked to hers, the world falling away until all I could feel was her breath on my skin.
Phoenix Wilde. My first thought every morning. My last thought every damn night.
And she was here.
Not because I chased her.
Because she chose me.
I’d imagined this a thousand different ways. Maybe she’d show up cocky and smug, teasing and sharp-tongued, ready to play the game we always danced around. Maybe she’d fight me for control, make me prove I wanted her badly enough to keep chasing.
I never imagined she’d break like that.
Never imagined her crying in my arms, handing me the one thing I didn’t think she’d ever surrender—her
