Alexander POV
I never thought I’d be the kind of man to crave silence.
Not this kind.
Not the kind wrapped around soft morning laughter and sleepy glances across mismatched mugs of tea. Not the kind filled with pages turning softly while she read beside the fire, her lips moving just enough to give the words breath. Not the kind of silence that made me want to stay in the moment just a little longer.
Eliana was still healing.
But she was laughing again quiet, fleeting things, like smoke slipping through her fingers before she could catch them.
And every time she smiled even the small, uncertain ones I felt something uncoil in my chest.
I wouldn’t trade this for anything.
Not even the illusion of safety.
Because I knew we weren’t safe.
Not really.
Not for long.
Three days. That
