Alexander:
For the first time in a long time, the world felt… quiet.
Not silent in the way that makes you brace for impact. Not the kind of stillness that comes before blood is spilled. But peaceful. Real.
Alessia was laughing.
That soft, unguarded laugh that made her eyes close for a second like she forgot the weight she carried for most of her life. Hope was asleep in her bassinet near the window, sunlight touching the tiny curve of her cheek, and Alessia kept glancing at her like she still couldn’t believe she was real.
I leaned back in the chair, watching them both.
Watching what was mine, and what I knew that I would do everything and anything to protect.
The word no longer felt possessive in the way it once did. It felt earned. Chosen. Shared.
Alessia caught me staring. “Why
