CHAPTER SEVEN : The Morning After16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsbvZFTyFGw
(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.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8qkgtFwGvt
Eyes closed. Hair a mess. Lips slightly parted.
No perfume.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr6975zaUTF
No shield.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZpDr8XQCwg
No script.
Just her.
And for the first time in years…16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfdMrAvpJM
he didn’t want to move.
She stirred gently, one arm stretching above her head.
He should’ve pulled away.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDBDgPr0ZPi
Should’ve faked sleep.
But he didn’t.
Because when her eyes opened, still heavy with sleep, the first thing she looked at—16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn1oeTIF5f9
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.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJPSNMvQ9dg
Not empty.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPENNiKRXXK
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—16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHIbHPITMiN
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:16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeJWRpgRECM
The push. The pull. The panic.
He’d seen it before in others.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3k8jHUeOT2
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?16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5EJ30FFKy
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.”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfJhSmHhJF
Not yet.
But when she leaned into him—forehead to his chest, heartbeat to heartbeat—16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX14mo8cIPw
they both knew:
ns216.73.216.203da2They weren’t doctor and patient anymore.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4w27m9HbXf
They were everything else.
