Semua Bab His Dead Wife: No Longer the Surrogate Bride: Bab 181 - Bab 186

A firmer knock came again.Before Althea could respond, the door opened.Michael stepped in, and with him came something steady. Whenever he arrives, he brings with him something grounding that could cut through the storm she had been holding inside.“You’re needed in the Consultation Room.” He said patiently.Althea straightened out of instinct, shoulders pulling back, composure snapping into place the way it always did when duty called.She took a steadying breath.“I’ll handle it.”“No.” Came Michael’s calm and immediate refusal.Althea frowned, her eyes narrowing slightly at him.“It’s only minor, Thea.” Michael added, his tone gentle but firm. “I’m sure that Helena will take care of it.”She stilled.For a moment, something flickered across her face, not just irritation, but the quiet recognition that she was bein

The walk back to her room felt longer than usual. Not because the distance had changed but because she had.Althea slowed when she reached Nicholas’ door and opened it quietly.Inside, the lights were soft, warm, untouched by the chaos that had consumed everything else.Nicholas lay asleep, peaceful in a way that felt almost unreal after everything that had happened. One arm was thrown over the blanket, his breathing steady, unbothered. The other one clutching her dinosaur plushie.His other dinosaur toys are lined up on the empty side of the bed with the wooden knight on the center.Seraphina sat beside him, clutching the book she must have read for her.Her gaze lifted the moment Althea stepped in, staying by the door.And for a second, nothing was said.Seraphina studied and saw everything from the redness of her eyes to the quiet exhaustion. She rose slowly and walked toward her. Then gently, she reached out, her fing

Morning came slowly to Blackstone with a quietness that felt earned after the past few days of storm within the walls.Light of the early morning rays slipped through the tall windows in soft bands, cutting across the room in muted gold. It settled over the bed where Althea and Dominic lay, still wrapped in the aftermath of everything they had chosen the night before.For a moment, nothing moved.Then Althea stirred.Her eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the light, to the stillness, to the unfamiliar absence of tension in her chest.She felt it still inside of her but relieved because it had somehow lessened and became quieter.She shifted slightly her eyes checking the clock on her bed and saw it read ten past six.And felt him. Dominic’s arm was still around her, firm even in sleep, his hold instinctive, unguarded in a way he never allowed himself to be when awake.His breathing was even and steady.