Their lips met and the world went silent.


    It wasn''t just a kiss-it was the kind of kiss that stripped away every defense, every mask.


    Soft, deep, and achingly pure... it tasted of something Alex had never felt before.


    Sweet like the first rush of young love, dangerous like a fire you couldn''t stop. His breath quickened, his heart hammered so hard it hurt.


    And he knew he knew-Josephine was kissing him back.


    For a few intoxicating seconds, the space between them ceased to exist. Until... it stopped.


    Her palm came to his cheek, warm and tender, but there was a quiet strength in it as she pushed him back.


    "You really are a yboy, Alex," she said, her voice low, almost teasing-but her flushed cheeks betrayed her. Her eyes, wide and luminous, were so pure it made him ache.


    "Josephine..." he whispered, his voice rough with something he couldn''t name.


    She pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him.


    "What you''re doing is wrong, Alex," she murmured, her tone almost scolding butced with concern.


    "You should only kiss the woman you love. And you... you already have so many -Jasmine, Sophia, Lyra... who knows how many more."


    Her hand slid through his hair, smoothing it back, lingering just a moment too long.


    "You''re dangerously handsome, Alex. And when you kiss a woman like that, she''ll believe you mean it. She''ll believe she''s the only one. And when she''s not... you''ll shatter her."


    The weight of her gaze-so unguarded, so fiercely kind-hit him like a punch to the chest. Without even thinking, he nodded.


    "Good." She gave a faint, almost wistful smile and stepped into his arms, resting her head against his chest.


    "I forgive you, Alex... for what you just did. But don''t do it again, okay?"


    He wrapped his arms around her, holding her as if letting go would break something fragile.


    And in that moment, something shifted. This wasn''t lust. It wasn''t conquest.


    It was something rarer-peace, in its purest form. A quiet, unshakable care. He''d never felt it before. And it scared him.


    Minutes passed, slow and heavy, their bodies warm against each other.


    Then Josephine''s voice broke the silence. "Alex... I think it''s time to let go." He didn''t move.


    "Alex?" she said again, tilting her face up.


    "Are you... asleep?"


    Her eyes widened. The man who had stolen a kiss from her was now sleeping soundly against her, breathing like he''d found his safe ce.


    "Oh, for heaven''s sake," she muttered under her breath.


    "Now you''re making me do all the work." Her annoyance was real, but her lips betrayed her with the faintest smile.


    Her gaze lingered on his face... then dropped to his lips. Heat rose to her cheeks all over again.


    "You''re lucky, Alex," she whispered. "I''ve been strong enough for heavy lifting since I was a kid. I''ll help you to bed... but you''d better thank me. And maybe give me a raise."


    She hooked her arms under his and half-dragged, half-carried him toward his


    room.


    With a firm kick, she opened the door and dropped him onto the bed-only to find his arms locked around her, pulling her down with him.


    "You are impossible," she sighed, bracing herself to push away-until his hand found hers and held it, tight, almost desperate.


    "Jo... please don''t leave me... Jo..." he mumbled in his sleep.


    The words froze her. Her eyes fell to his face-still beautiful in rest-and there, just at the corner of his closed eyes, a tear traced its way down. Something inside her broke.


    Slowly, she sank down beside him. "What are you dreaming, handsome... that could hurt you this much?" she whispered.


    Her voice trembled as she smiled faintly. This was the closest she''d ever been to a man.


    She''d never allowed herself to feel like a woman-always the strong one, the one no one could move.


    But lying here beside Alex, she found a softness in herself she didn''t recognize.


    Her fingers brushed back his hair. She traced the line of his jaw, memorizing him in the quiet.


    And then, without thinking, she began to sing-a low, tender luby meant only for him, her voice trembling with something she couldn''t quite name.


    Rest now, my sweetest wonder,


    Let your world melt into mine,


    Lay your head where my heartbeat lives,


    And feel our souls align.


    You are my moon, my morning sun,


    Myughter in the rain,


    Each breath I take is wrapped in you,


    Through joy, through ache, through pain.


    The night will keep your dreams, my love,


    The stars will guard your rest,


    And I will be the arms you know-


    Your safest, softest nest.


    So close your eyes, my precious one,


    Let every worry go,


    For my love will hold you endlessly-


    More than you can ever know.


    Alex was falling- not through air, but into a memory so old and buried he''d almost convinced himself it wasn''t real.


    He was five again, small enough to disappear in his mother''s arms.


    Her warmth wrapped around him like a fortress against the world. Her voice was a soft, steady luby each note weaving into the fabric of his heartbeat.


    He could feel the slow rise and fall of her breathing, the weightless safety of belonging.


    Then-gone.


    The warmth vanished, the light drained away, and the world turned cold.


    He was alone.


    A windless silence pressed in from all sides, the kind of emptiness that made a


    child''s tears fall harder.


    The scene shifted. He was eight now, back in the orphanage.


    The bruises on his body didn''t hurt as much as the ones in his chest.


    The older boys had shoved him again, mocked him until he felt smaller than the


    bed he cried into that night.


    Then a shadow slipped in.


    Small. Quiet. Familiar.


    Josephine.


    She climbed onto his bed without a word, wrapping her thin arms around him like


    a shield.


    "Don''t cry," she whispered into the dark. "Everything''s okay."


    They were the same age-maybe she was even younger-but she was fierce.


    Leader of the orphanage kids.


    A fighter when she had to be.


    That night, and so many others, her hug was the safest ce he knew. When she


    tried to leave, he''d grip her hand with desperate fingers.


    "Please, Jo... don''t leave me. Jo..."


    And she''d stay. Always. Patting his head.


    Humming the same luby his mother once sang. Staying until the weight on his


    chest eased enough for him to sleep.


    He hadn''t let himself touch that memory in years.


    But now it returned, wrapping around him like the embrace of heaven itself— warm, weightless, and perfect, as if the world beyond it no longer mattered.


    Morning came like a gentle hand, sunlight spilling across Alex''s face in golden stripes.


    His eyes opened slowly. For the first time in forever, the heaviness in his chest was... gone.


    Or maybe not gone just lighter, like someone had taken half of it away in the


    night.


    He thought about the things he''d done-to Guise, to Henny.


    Moments of cruelty sharp enough to cut him when he remembered. Guilt that no


    apology could wash clean.


    Yet somehow, this morning felt like grace. Like mercy he hadn''t earned.


    "This... is my room..." he murmured, realizing he was lying in his bed-but Josephine was there beside him.


    She was still asleep, her arm draped over him in a loose, natural im.


    Her breathing was soft, steady.


    Her face, inches from his, was unpainted, unguarded-beautiful in the way sunlight is beautiful when it


    slips in through a crack you didn''t notice before.


    Maybe, with a little care andfort, she could stand beside Sophia or Jasmine


    without losing by a hair.


    But that wasn''t what struck him most.


    It was the way she loved-pure, steady, and without conditions.


    The way she cared for people like it was the most natural thing in the world.


    He imagined marrying Josephine-this woman who moved through life like an angel, always giving, never asking.


    As his queen, she wouldn''t need power or grand speeches to win hearts.


    She would rule through kindness alone, touching every soul she met until the


    whole kingdom loved her simply for who she was.


    And she''d love their children.


    He could see that in her eyes, even now.


    The thought softened him until he smiled. He let his eyes close again, letting her


    warmth pull him under.


    For a moment, the world was perfect.


    Outside the clinic, Sophia''s car pulled up. She''d juste from the hospital.


    She had a thousand questions for Alex-urgent ones. About his mother and jack, and Madam Henny.


    But when she couldn''t find him on hospital, she drove straight to Alex''s clinic.


    The ce wasn''t open yet, but the door was unlocked. She stepped inside and


    walked to Alex''s room.


    "Alex, I want to ask-"


    The words died in her throat.


    The door was ajar. And through the narrow gap, she saw them-Alex and Josephine, tangled in the


    ame


    bed her arm over his chest, his hand loosely holding hers.


    Both of them asleep, faces close, breathing in sync.


    Sophia froze. The world outside that doorway ceased to exist.


    Then Alex''sshes fluttered. His eyes opened slowly, finding hers in the doorway.


    "...Sophia?"