CHAPTER SEVEN : The Morning After17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWp76jhUoTu
(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.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyPjAH5gJCC
Eyes closed. Hair a mess. Lips slightly parted.
No perfume.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUGnbrIdc5
No shield.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB5owKnmNfN
No script.
Just her.
And for the first time in years…17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsKmn2HXeKe
he didn’t want to move.
She stirred gently, one arm stretching above her head.
He should’ve pulled away.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF4BTB7etE1
Should’ve faked sleep.
But he didn’t.
Because when her eyes opened, still heavy with sleep, the first thing she looked at—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7LHN6oqHG2
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.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXx9X3hRrOY
Not empty.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6AMQbTLjwv
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—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6fPy9YxEP
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:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXieLSSTwkU
The push. The pull. The panic.
He’d seen it before in others.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUh7YcJhFU
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?17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡztvhY52Ox1
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.”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3sHKLwgzSY
Not yet.
But when she leaned into him—forehead to his chest, heartbeat to heartbeat—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvCFgx5YfPj
they both knew:
ns216.73.216.239da2They weren’t doctor and patient anymore.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1a2d2NJ2q4
They were everything else.
