ログインAliya's POVI didn’t realize when I fell asleep.One moment, I was listening to the steady rhythm of his breathing beside me.And the next, the world had gone quiet, still.Safe in a way I hadn’t felt in a long time. When I woke up, it was the light that did it. Soft morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, stretching gently across the room in pale gold streaks. It touched the edge of the couch, climbed slowly over the floor, and rested against my arm like something warm and patient.For a moment, I didn’t move, didn’t open my eyes fully, because I was aware of something else first, warmth, solid, steady.Dylan.My head was resting against his shoulder, my body angled slightly toward him, like sometime during the night I had moved closer without even realizing it. And he hadn’t moved away, hadn’t shifted, hadn’t created space.He was still there, exactly where I had left him. My fingers were still loosely curled around his hand. That made my breath pause slightly, because that
Dylan's POVNight settled fully this time, not like earlier, when it lingered at the edges of the room, uncertain.This was different.The apartment was wrapped in it now, quiet, dim, softened by the warm glow of a single lamp in the corner. The city outside still moved, but it felt distant, muted behind glass and height and walls that kept everything else out.Inside, everything felt still, Aliya hadn’t moved far. She sat close enough that our shoulders brushed now and then, not by accident anymore, but not something either of us pointed out.Just… there.Natural.And I found myself noticing things I hadn’t paid attention to before.The way she tucked one leg slightly under herself when she got comfortable.The way her fingers moved absentmindedly, tracing small patterns against her own palm when she was thinking.The way she went quiet… not empty, not withdrawn…. But thoughtful.Present in a different way.“You do that a lot,” I said.She turned her head slightly.“Do what?”“Disapp
Aliya's POVFor a long moment after the kiss, neither of us moved.The world didn’t rush back in immediately.It lingered at the edges, like it wasn’t quite ready to interrupt whatever it was.My forehead rested lightly against his, my fingers still curled into the fabric of his shirt, holding on without thinking about it.His hand was warm at my waist.It was steady and grounding.And my breathing. It hadn’t quite settled yet.I became aware of it slowly. The rise and fall of my chest.The quiet, uneven rhythm that refused to calm down.“This is… new,” I murmured.My voice came out softer than I expected, almost like I was speaking more to myself than to him.“I know,” Dylan replied.He didn’t move away.He didn’t loosen his hold, but he didn’t pull me closer either, he just stayed. Right there, in the present.Like he understood that this moment didn’t need to be rushed into anything else.I let out a slow breath, my hand relaxing slightly against his chest, though I didn’t pull it
Dylan's POVI didn’t leave that night.Not immediately.Not like I usually would.There was no urgency pulling me away.No reason to check the time.No instinct telling me I had already stayed too long.Instead, I stayed where I was.On the couch.Beside her.The apartment had settled into a soft, quiet stillness. The kind that came after a long day, when everything had slowed enough to breathe. The lights were dim now, just a single lamp casting a warm, golden glow across the room, leaving the corners in soft shadow.Aliya leaned back slightly, her shoulder still brushing mine.She hadn’t moved away.Not even unconsciously.And that stayed with me.Her presence wasn’t hesitant anymore.It wasn’t accidental.It was chosen.I turned my head slightly, watching her.Her eyes were fixed somewhere ahead, not really focused on anything in particular, her fingers resting loosely in her lap, occasionally shifting like she was still thinking through something she hadn’t fully said yet.“You’re
Aliya's POVThe evening settled in slowly.Not all at once.Not dramatically.Just… gradually.The sunlight that had filled the apartment earlier softened into a warm amber glow, then faded into the cool blue of dusk. Shadows stretched longer across the floor, wrapping around furniture, settling into corners like they belonged there.Leo had fallen asleep on the couch.Not intentionally.He had been talking one moment about how his “garage” needed an upgrade and then his words slowed, blurred, until they stopped altogether.Now he lay curled slightly on his side, one arm tucked under his head, the other still loosely holding one of his toy cars.I stood a few feet away, watching him.There was something about this part of the day that always made me pause.Something quiet.Something fragile.The world outside didn’t stop, but inside this space, it always felt like it did.“Does he do that often?” Dylan asked from behind me.His voice was low, careful not to wake Leo.“Only when he’s p
Dylan's POVThe drive felt longer than it should have. It wasn’t because of traffic, not because of distance, because my mind wouldn’t settle. Every red light felt unnecessary, every slow-moving car in front of me felt like an interruption I didn’t have the patience for.I wasn’t used to that.Usually, I moved through things with precision, control, distance, but this, this wasn’t something I could manage like everything else, because it mattered, more than I was used to admitting.By the time I pulled up in front of her building, the sky had already dimmed into early evening, the last streaks of sunlight fading into a deep blue that stretched across the city.I sat in the car for a second, just a second, hands still on the wheel, breathing.Then I got out.When she opened the door, everything else fell away. It wasn’t dramatic, there was no rush. No immediate movement.She just stood there.Framed by the soft light of the apartment behind her, her hair loosely pulled back, a few stra
Aliya's POVHospitals always smell the same.A sharp mixture of antiseptic and something metallic lingers in the air the moment the automatic glass doors slide open in front of me. The scent makes my stomach twist slightly as I step inside.People move quietly through the large lobby—nurses in pale
Aliya's POV“I have moved on, I suggest you do the same.”He looked at me as if he was in an actual pin and, somewhere deep down, I felt like I had hurt him but when I remembered how he had looked at me the night he gave me the divorce papers, I knew that I could not believe anything from him, so I
Aliya's POV“You didn’t tell me you would come,” I said as I saw Dylan’s Porsche parked outside the school’s compound. It is another visitation at the school.“You did not ask.”“But we both agreed you wouldn’t come when he insisted.”“Yes, and then he called me and I could not turn him down.”“Oh
Aliya's POVI could almost swear I saw so many questions in his eyes that I was not going to answer. He most likely wanted to know if Richard’s claims were true, but I know he had a question or doubt something like that. He did not voice it and I felt he did not need to know that.Getting home that







