It wasn't much. Just a simple greeting.
But after waking up alone—after wondering if everything between us had already slipped back to what it was before—those four words meant everything.
We ate in a comfortable silence, the kind that felt easy. The kind that didn't need to be filled. The quiet wasn't awkward; it was full of meaning, heavy with things neither of us dared to say aloud.
Still, I noticed things.
Like how I caught Raiden staring at me more than once.
Every time I looked up, his eyes were already on me—watching, studying, holding something I wasn't sure I could name.
Each time, I smiled at him. And every time, his expression softened. But there was something else in his gaze—something raw and aching that sent a warmth curling through my chest.
Longing.
Something was di
