CHAPTER SEVEN : The Morning After52Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdnovCH71o6
(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.52Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡutJXaKdAZx
Eyes closed. Hair a mess. Lips slightly parted.
No perfume.52Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCxsYyOqU7s
No shield.52Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjOtjCofv3q
No script.
Just her.
And for the first time in years…52Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXI25YfW49h
he didn’t want to move.
She stirred gently, one arm stretching above her head.
He should’ve pulled away.52Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtb4M6o4dm
Should’ve faked sleep.
But he didn’t.
Because when her eyes opened, still heavy with sleep, the first thing she looked at—52Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6H0DG5y3b7
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.52Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7NZmISZhtP
Not empty.52Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiJwWvaOxX2
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—52Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKpgvdheYtk
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:52Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYygmfaVaxv
The push. The pull. The panic.
He’d seen it before in others.52Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkzvNSJyRTX
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?52Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlDfCydB1Pa
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.”52Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAF0bCRgAVb
Not yet.
But when she leaned into him—forehead to his chest, heartbeat to heartbeat—52Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs0VDKtnREW
they both knew:
ns216.73.216.238da2They weren’t doctor and patient anymore.52Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJT7uIejrb
They were everything else.
