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Chapter 23

Author: G. Grey
last update Last Updated: 2025-12-19 15:24:58

Soren's Pov

When I got back from my shower, the guest room was quiet. Catherine and Esme were already asleep. Catherine was lying on her side, one arm curled protectively around Esme, who was sprawled out on her back. One of Esme's chubby legs was flung up on the pillow Catherine had used as a makeshift barrier to keep her from rolling off the bed. They were both breathing softly, the rise and fall of their chests in sync.

I haven't seen Catherine sleep in years. I had always enjoyed the sight of it, back when things were different. I loved how her hair would be all ruffled up after a wild night, her lips swollen and parted slightly as she breathed gently. I especially loved how her eyes would squint up at me when she first woke, soft and confused before the day's sharpness returned. I'd give anything to be back in that bed with them right now, to feel that simple warmth again. But I know better. I've already ruined that chance, at least for now.

My mind drifted back to what she said
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    Catherine's PovI couldn't find the right word then, and honestly, I still don't. I still don't fully understand how we went from bleeding among shards of broken ceramic littered all over the floor to… this. To his hands on me, his mouth on mine, my body pressed against his like no time had passed at all.My body was still buzzing from the aftershocks, trembling with a raw, exposed need that had built up over so many lonely months. That need was finally out in the open now, and it left me desperately craving more of him, more of this, more of us.I had let my emotions take over completely, and now I had to seriously debate whether I had made the right decision. Was choosing him all over again really going to be the right thing to do? I knew it would take a long time to truly win back my trust, but didn't moments like this already make him feel victorious? Didn't letting him this close hand him the win before the real work had even begun?I bit my lower lip even tighter, almost tasting

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    Soren's Pov“It started way before I married Evander,” she said quietly, her voice so low I had to strain to hear it.“What started?” I asked, keeping my own tone just as low and gentle. I reached for her hand, slowly intertwining our fingers together. I needed to ground her, and maybe I needed to ground myself too for whatever I was about to hear. She didn't fight my touch, her fingers curling slightly around mine as she kept going.“The sleepwalking... the hallucinations and the nightmares. For a little while, it all stopped during the time that we were together. But it got so overwhelming again when I had Esme. We couldn't afford a cot at the time, so she stayed with me in my bed.” She bit her lower lip hard, worrying the skin between her teeth. “At first, I didn't touch her or anything. I would just wake up in the living room or the kitchen. But one night, I think her crying must have alerted me while I was still asleep, and I almost did it... I almost hurt her. Not until Emma fou

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