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adn't slept much. My body was tired, but my heart was worse-tired, sore, full of noise and silence at the same time. I sat up slowly, my fing

our test results came back clean. You just need a little rest." I nodded, forcing a polite smile. "Thank you." She gave me the paperwork to sign, then walked out, leaving the do

smelled like coffee. "I brought this for you," he sai

an who stood like a wall in front of Grayson yesterday. Not the man with

re you going?" I hesitated. It was a simple question. But for me, it was a crack across the floor of my existence. One that I wasn't certain how to cross. "I... I don't know yet," I murmured. "I'll figure something out." "Do you have

red at him. "What?" He sat down slowly in the chair, his eyes firm but not threatening. "I'm not doing it out of sympathy, Vivian. And I'm not seeking anything. You simply need somewhere to catch your breath. To have a roof. Protection. Nothing else." "But... you're his uncle," I stuttered. "You're Grayson's uncle." "Yes," Dominic said, his

ken you were. I made a choice, Vivian. And I don't regret it." Tears burned behind my eyes. I tried to blink them away, but one dropped down my cheek. "I don't know ho

y are you being so kind to me?" Dominic's voice was quiet, steady. "Because no one deserves to be made to feel like nothing. And because I've seen people break, Vivian. I've seen how silence can eat a person alive." I covered my face with both hands. "I feel like a fool." "You're not," he said quickly. "You were just in love. That's

ing. I had no idea where this road would lead. I had no idea what the morning would see. But for the mom