Alina’s POV
Healing was not coming through dramatic declarations or grand gestures; it was arriving in the accumulation of small, careful moments.
Breakfast passed in calm rhythm: pancakes, fresh fruit, and tea. Leo rambled on about secret tunnels and hidden treasures while Sebastian and I listened, sometimes interjecting, sometimes letting him guide the conversation.
The ordinary, repeated acts of attention and patience were building a subtle but vital structure, one I had almost stopped believing could exist. Trust was forming, not in words, but in sustained action.
After breakfast, we walked along the shoreline. Leo ran ahead, picking up shells and arranging them into patterns, leaving behind footprints the waves would soon erase.
Sebastian and I followed, our steps naturally syn
