polished wooden floor of the mansion. I woke slowly, aware first of warmth, then of a faint, comfortin

to the quiet hum of the house. No rai

e felt un

nd followed the scent down the hallway. When I s

n was

. He hadn't heard me enter. The sight of him like this-unguarded, domestic-f

flickered briefly across his face be

he said, his voi

eplied, my voice st

sliced fruit arranged carefully, and a small

"You... didn't have to do all th

, his gaze steady. "I

y of his word

He wasn't performing kindness. H

familiar in a way that tugged unexpectedly at my chest. I cl

ngerous, I

owering defenses faster

-

forms. My mother's surgery loomed closer with every signature, every detail check

nearby, rea

often, I felt his eyes lift briefly from his book-not watching, j

ying him when I thou

alm discipline in his posture. The faint curve of hi

made the room

ked gently, his voice cuttin

"I can't. There's

ure. Then, unexpectedly, he reached across t

moment," he

eath

it sent a sharp ache through my chest. Every instinct scream

fall f

didn't

w seconds longer than necessary. Long eno

rew, the absence of h

a clarity that frigh

rusted anyone in

-

f blooming roses, lanterns casting a soft glow along the stone path. The world felt di

ian asked, his hands tucke

d honestly. "I've never

t home here," he said quietly. "I know everything is new. I d

e formed in

ke that before. Not without exp

blending with the evening breeze. And somewhere between the r

ger felt

t pro

-

d the day in fragments-the tea, his hand over

amatic had

ions. No promises

thing inside

t always arrive loudly. Maybe it didn't alwa

mes, it arri

n patient silences.

aimed me, I whisper

him won't be so im

ared me more than