CHAPTER SEVEN : The Morning After18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ZN2fGSxLc
(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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxbviIfzyB
Eyes closed. Hair a mess. Lips slightly parted.
No perfume.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHw3AbAKzkq
No shield.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLJic0AZ06w
No script.
Just her.
And for the first time in years…18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTjxCDTE29Z
he didn’t want to move.
She stirred gently, one arm stretching above her head.
He should’ve pulled away.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7JzJjxsUzZ
Should’ve faked sleep.
But he didn’t.
Because when her eyes opened, still heavy with sleep, the first thing she looked at—18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSnVr5xklxE
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdyeh94ObKp
Not empty.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu4O9yMKeim
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—18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4waySRKVOF
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:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiaEFf9J4fo
The push. The pull. The panic.
He’d seen it before in others.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRHdWuF8kDl
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?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2GF5HSgNCm
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.”18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrir6J99rTv
Not yet.
But when she leaned into him—forehead to his chest, heartbeat to heartbeat—18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxPT8qTNu98
they both knew:
ns216.73.216.239da2They weren’t doctor and patient anymore.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZdjT2U0OU
They were everything else.
