Alina’s POV
The present belonged to us. And the future - fragile, uncertain, and full of promise waited. Healing came not through dramatics but through patient, deliberate accumulation of ordinary moments, milestones of trust, and shared life.
In that quiet, I felt hope return. Quietly, steadily, undeniably. For Leo. For the family we were building. And for the possibility of love, patient and deliberate, that might one day be fully realized.
Morning arrived slowly, spilling pale gold light across the beach house and turning the waves into threads of silver and amber.
I lingered by the porch railing with a mug of steaming tea, watching Leo chase the tide, his laughter carried by the wind.
The sight of him running freely, unburdened by fear or tension, stirred something deep inside me,
