CHRISTIAN
The night before had been… complicated.
I hadn’t expected Isabella to let me sleep in the same bed as her, but she had been too exhausted to argue when I suggested it. That didn’t mean it wasn’t awkward.
I had kept my distance, staying on my side of the bed, barely moving. Not because I wanted to—I ached to be closer—but because I knew that pushing her would only drive her further away.
But that hadn’t stopped me from noticing everything. The way she curled up under the blanket, her hair spilling over the pillow, the steady rhythm of her breathing.
At some point in the night, Nova had woken up crying. Instinctively, I had reached for him, lifting him onto the bed between us. He had snuggled into Isabella’s warmth, his tiny fingers clutching the fabric of her shirt.
And I h
