Alina’s POV
After dinner, we walked along the porch, letting the waves wash over us in sound and motion. Leo ran ahead one last time before bedtime, shouting to the seagulls and chasing the tide.
Sebastian and I remained behind, walking slowly, letting the quiet of the evening settle around us. He did not reach for my hand. I did not offer it. We simply existed together, patient and present, letting the night hold us.
“I never realized,” he said softly, “how much I took for granted. Not just you, not just Leo, but life itself. I was focused on appearances, on control, on power. Now I see how fragile and precious each moment is, how vital it is to choose carefully.”
I listened, feeling the weight of his words and the truth within them. Healing did not arrive in grand gestures. It arriv
