The weight of everything she'd been through, the passion, the betrayal, and the slow burn of healing, seemed to settl

rasp. But this time, something was different. The distance between them no longer felt like a chasm she had to cross. It was more like a r

never about possession or control. It was the freedom to be, even in the most confined spaces. Damien had shown her that, in his own twisted way, and now she saw that th

able. He hadn't said a word, but the look in his eyes said it all. There was a vulnerability there now, one that hadn't been ther

eed to say them. They both knew that their journey together had been nothing sho

Alina took it, her fingers brushing against his. I

with something she had never heard before-sincerity.

or even about him. It was about her-her choice to unlock the next

not the same woman you first met," she whispered, her voice st

need to. The way he looked at her-fi

t a little. And as the light filtered into the room, A