Althea’s POVWhen I woke up, the rain had already stopped.The room was quieter than before, wrapped in that soft kind of silence that came after a storm, when the world still smelled faintly of wet earth and the air felt cooler against the skin. For a few seconds, I didn’t open my eyes. I only listened—to the distant movement of the staff somewhere outside, to the faint rustle of leaves beyond the window, and to the steady heartbeat beneath my cheek.Alexander had fallen asleep.That alone made me smile.He said he wouldn’t.He had sounded so certain earlier, like sleep was something he could order away the same way he ordered people out of his office, but now here he was, one arm around my waist, breathing slow and even, his face softer than I had ever seen it. Without the tension in his jaw and the cold control in his eyes, he looked younger. Not boyish exactly, because Alexander Winston probably came out of the womb looking serious, but softer. Human. Mine, whispered a quiet part
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