I jerked awake, my heart already racing before my eyes were fully open. Something felt wrong. The room was dim, quiet, except for the soft, rhythmic breaths against my chest. Ajax. His small body lay curled into me, his head rising and falling with every inhale, every exhale. The night had been long. After dinner, he hadn’t been able to sleep. The shadows made him flinch, every creak of the building had set him trembling. I’d rocked him for hours, whispering nonsense and lullabies until finally, at dawn, exhaustion dragged him under. I’d expected to sleep well into the morning myself, but unease pulled me awake. I listened carefully, holding still so as not to wake him. And then I understood. The sound was faint but unmistakable—the shuffle and murmur of a crowd. Even from the top floor, behind the insulated walls of the VVIP ward, it was clear. Reporters. “Simon,” I whispered. His eyes blinked open instantly, alert the way they always were. He scanned the room before turning to me
 Last Updated : 2025-08-06
Last Updated : 2025-08-06