Chapter 39
She woke to sunlight streaming through the windows and Adrian already awake, watching her. There was something different in his eyes. Something softer.
"How long have you been staring at me?" she asked, voice still rough with sleep.
"About an hour." He brushed hair from her face. "I kept thinking about leaving, getting up, starting the day. But then I looked at you and thought, this is what my mother wanted for me. This peace. This moment of just being human."
She turned to face him fully, their bodies close under the sheets. "How are you feeling? About yesterday?"
"Honest answer?"
"Always."
"Like someone ripped open my chest and rearranged everything inside." He was quiet for a moment. "But also lighter somehow. Like I've been carrying this weight my whole life without k
