تسجيل الدخولSophia woke up the next morning nit from pain, nit from panic but from warmth. Fir a few seconds, she stayed still, eyes half closed half sleep. The morning light spilled through the curtain. The rain from the night before was gone and everything felt calm. Then she realized she wasn't alone. Damien had slept right beside her bed, he was still sitting on the chair he had dragged close sometime during the night. He rested one arm across the mattress near her, his hand tilted slightly awkwardly against the edge of the bed like he had refused to leave even after she fell asleep.Soptstared at him quietly. She felt something painful in her chest, something softer and more dangerous because this man, the same man who once broke her, shattered her had stayed through her worst nightmare without asking for anything in return and she didn't know what to do with that.Her gaze moved across his face slowly, his sharp jawline, his lips, his eyes, the faint exhaustion beneath those eyes, his brows
“But …..I don't want you to feel like you're standing outside my life anymore”.“........what dies that mean?”.“It means……you can come by whenever you want and I won't stop you. And you don't have to ask”.“....... Are you sure”?.Damien expression shifted not dramatic but real.“I am not letting you back completely”.“I understand”.“But I am not shutting you out either”.“That's is more than I expected”.“I don't get used to it”. She smiled.“I won't”.They stood there for a moment then without thinking, Sophia hand brushing lightly against his. Damien didn't react nor move closer he left it happens on her terms. Sophia noticed and this time she didn't move her hand away immediately.For the first time in a long while, Sophia smiled. She laughed not loudly,nit too long but genuinely. It happened over small things when Damien had burned the tea so badly.“You forgot to add water?” She asked, staring at the ruined pot.“I did not. I sure added water”.“You literally boiled leaves”. S
There was a long silence.“You haven't asked me to come back again”.“I won't”.“Why”.That caught her attention.“Because you told me not to”. Damien said, meeting her gaze.She studied him longer looking for something like control, pressure,or expectation but she found none.“So what are you doing”?. She asked.“Waiting”.The word was simple but heavy.“You don't strike me as someone who waits”. She said,“I wasn't but I am now”.Sophia stared at him harder.“....why?”“Because you're worth it”. Damien said immediately he didn't hesitate.“You make it sound easy”. She said quietly.“It's not”.“Then why does it feel like you're so sure”.“I am not sure about anything. Except that I don't want to lose you again”. He leaned forward slightly.Sophia's breath caught slightly at the word “lose” and she hated that it did.Sophia's hand moved involuntarily to her stomach again.“You almost did”. She said,“I know”.“And now you're trying to fix it.”“Yes”.She looked at him again“What if
“That I am not just talking”.“Of what?”. Sophia is still confused. She reached for the folder slowly. Opened it carefully and her eyes read through the first page. Then the next she raised her face to look a Damien“Transfer of ownership?.........of the house”? She asked surprisely .“Yes”.“You gave it up?”“I changed it”.“What does that mean?”“It is in your name now”.“.......what?. Sophia asked, still confused and surprised.Javier stood where he was watching silently. The room went completely silent.“You own it”. Damien said softly.“Why would you do that?” She asked.“Because it was never just mine. And because if you ever go back there…… it should be yours”.Sophia stared at him blankly, her brain processing what she had just heard and she was trying to understand.“You think giving me this house fixes everything”?. She asked.“No”.“Then what is this”?“It is a start”.“You said you won't ask again”. She replied looking down at the folder.“I am not asking, I am showing you
“No. I want you to come back knowing that everything has changed.” He said calmly, fully knowing the weight of damage he had done.“You say that”. She said letting out a quick deep breath.“I mean it”.“How?. How has it changed”?.“Because you're not the same woman anymore”. He said choosing his words carefully.“And”?“And I am not the same man.”“You're still going to have to do better than that”.“I don't expect you to believe me”. He nodded.“Good”. Sophia replied sharply.“But I want you to see it. Everyday”. Sophia looked at him.“And bringing me back there proves that”?.“No. Let me show you.”“You don't understand”. Sophia said, shaking her head slightly.“Then help me”.“You're asking me to go back to the place where I felt completely alone?“You won't be alone this time”“You said that before. Remember?”.That hit hard because it was the truth. Damien couldn't defend it.“ I failed you and I won't do that again”.“You don't know that”.“I do”. He said immediately without h
“You don't have to drive me”.“I know”.“My father could have sent someone or come take me himself”.“I know”.“Then why are you here?”. She asked, looking at him.“Because I want to be”. He said softly.Sophia continued looking at him for a longer time before she looked away.“You……always say things so simple”.“They're simple to me”.“Nothing about this is simple”.“Then I will say it clearly. I want to be here for you”. He glanced at her briefly.“But you don't have to do everything”.Damien didn't argue.“ Then what are you doing”. Sophia asked, staring at him again.“I am showing up”. He said, exhaling slowly.The words were simple but powerful that Sophia had to look away back at the passing street.“.... You didn't do that before”.“No. But I am doing it now”.The car slowed as they entered a quieter street. Sophia's chest tightened.“We are close”. She said softly.Damien nodded.“I know”.They saw her father's gate in view. Sophia pointed that is it. Damien drove slowly towar







