For a moment, the world slowed. Not stopped—never stopped—but softened, like everything sharp had been wrapped in cotton.Above them, the stars burned quietly, distant and indifferent. Insects hummed in the brush beyond the porch, their rhythm steady and ancient. The faint scent of pine drifted through the air, mingling with smoke and damp earth, grounding Elena in the present when her thoughts threatened to run too far ahead.Nico flicked the cigarette away into the gravel, watching the ember arc briefly through the dark before dying. He crushed it under his shoe with a deliberate twist, like he was extinguishing more than just nicotine.He turned slightly toward her. Not fully. Not intrusively. Just enough that the shift mattered. His voice, when he spoke, was lower now—stripped of humor, stripped of the teasing edge he wore like armor.“Whatever happens tomorrow,” he said, “you won’t face it alone. I promise.”The words weren’t dramatic. He didn’t dress them up or hedge them with c
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