CHAPTER SEVEN : The Morning After29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9cYVCww8D
(Matteo’s POV)
Sunlight had no business being this soft.
It slipped through the blinds like a thief, painting her skin in gold and guilt.
Matteo watched her sleep.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgWt3hmEie5
Eyes closed. Hair a mess. Lips slightly parted.
No perfume.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVtzrc5LY6H
No shield.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrO87Y9MGl4
No script.
Just her.
And for the first time in years…29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADWtldLiYo
he didn’t want to move.
She stirred gently, one arm stretching above her head.
He should’ve pulled away.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD3MtX0XbWf
Should’ve faked sleep.
But he didn’t.
Because when her eyes opened, still heavy with sleep, the first thing she looked at—29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3RFam2qZ5i
was him.
“I stayed,” she whispered.
He nodded. “You did.”
“And you didn’t stop me.”
“I couldn’t.”
She blinked once. “Do you regret it?”
Matteo inhaled, held it, exhaled slowly.
“No,” he said. “I regret waiting this long.”
There was a long silence after that.
Not awkward.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhkcOfy388w
Not empty.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDezgJaS1Pc
Just… full. Of things unsaid. Of things both of them were too afraid to label.
Her fingers reached for the edge of the blanket, pulling it closer to her chest.
And in that small movement, he saw it—29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM0atJcuQvv
the fear.
Not of him.
But of everything that might happen now.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” she said finally.
He nodded. “I know.”
“I was just supposed to heal. Forget. Breathe.”
“And now?”
She turned to him. Her voice cracked when she answered:
“Now… I only breathe when you’re near.”
It broke something in him.
Because he knew what came next:29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeh9Bt7xV1G
The push. The pull. The panic.
He’d seen it before in others.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAa6KwVlpEA
But never felt it for himself.
Never feared losing someone he wasn’t even allowed to claim.
“Tell me this isn’t just a phase,” she whispered.
He didn’t speak.
Instead, he reached over—cupped her cheek with a palm that once touched a hundred women with indifference.
But this touch?29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAfQSUDr5hi
This was reverent.
“If this is a phase,” he said, “then I hope it ruins me permanently.”
She smiled then. Small. Broken. Beautiful.
They didn’t say “I love you.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBR5yyyDpNG
Not yet.
But when she leaned into him—forehead to his chest, heartbeat to heartbeat—29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpVTjxHa7sA
they both knew:
ns216.73.216.169da2They weren’t doctor and patient anymore.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlwqtcBZxNO
They were everything else.
