CHAPTER SEVEN : The Morning After30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGseqMMKNmj
(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.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6IsVHViOys
Eyes closed. Hair a mess. Lips slightly parted.
No perfume.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB3mX1E2BXh
No shield.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRlyWHg4WF
No script.
Just her.
And for the first time in years…30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWXYNckDRId
he didn’t want to move.
She stirred gently, one arm stretching above her head.
He should’ve pulled away.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYzsZbxJv3
Should’ve faked sleep.
But he didn’t.
Because when her eyes opened, still heavy with sleep, the first thing she looked at—30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtnkfyTqnBq
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.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNpf9H80uhX
Not empty.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSyLDccdW8U
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—30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjOGPqhpBgQ
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:30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyKR2cWYMBv
The push. The pull. The panic.
He’d seen it before in others.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyWm3Thggj6
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?30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ13gk2R8qq2
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.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgp9jlUTVU2
Not yet.
But when she leaned into him—forehead to his chest, heartbeat to heartbeat—30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfHHvBiKtNd
they both knew:
ns216.73.217.11da2They weren’t doctor and patient anymore.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZsN7ZG2Jn
They were everything else.
