<h4>Chapter 356: Never Let Go</h4>


    <strong>Evaline:</strong>


    Kieran had always been quiet, but tonight his presence was louder than thunder to me.


    I froze when I realized he was watching. My hand stilled on the half-undone button of my nightshirt, my breath caught as if he had stolen the very air out of my lungs. One look from him... one look into those warm golden-green eyes... was enough to tell me he understood. Without a word, he turned away and returned to his side of the bed.


    Relief washed over me in waves. He had given me space without needing me to ask. That simple gesture, that quiet care, made my chest ache in the gentlest way.


    I turned my back toward him, finally unbuttoning my nightshirt and guiding my son to nurse. The room filled with silence, except for the soft suckling sounds of the pup, the faint rustle of fabric, the whisper of my own heartbeat against my ribs. Slowly, curiosity got the better of me, and I peeked over my shoulder.


    What I found made me smile.


    Kieran hadn’t just turned his back to me. He had curled onto his side, his broad shoulders a protective wall, his back a silent shield. It wasn’t distance, it was protection, a way to make me feel safe even while I fed our child.


    The smile on my lips came unbidden, soft and tender. He always did this... he made room for me, gave me choices, respected the spaces I didn’t know how to ask for.


    Once the baby was done, I shifted him gently in my arms to nurse on the other side, careful to prevent the ufortable ache of milk leaking. When his belly was finally full, I fixed my nightshirt and carefully adjusted my hair, tucking it behind my ears. My heart felt lighter somehow.


    "Professor," I called softly, my voice hardly above a whisper. "You can turn now."


    He rolled onto his back first, then to his side, his gaze immediately seeking out our son. By then, the little one was wide awake, kicking his tiny feet and waving his fists in the air as though he was ready to wrestle the world.


    Augh escaped me. The sound drew a small smile from Kieran - one of those rare, unguarded ones that melted his usual solemnity. He sat up and crossed his long legs on the mattress, scooting closer until he was directly in front of me. Hisrge hand reached out, careful and deliberate, and he wrapped his fingers around our pup’s tiny hand.


    My breath caught again, though for apletely different reason this time.


    Every now and then, our gazes locked. And every time, I felt my heart stumble in my chest, skipping beats, tumbling over itself as though it couldn’t keep up. Just a week ago, I never thought I could look at him like this without feeling weighed down by guilt. But things had changed. He wasn’t just my mates’ brother or my professor anymore. He was mine now. Entirely, wholly mine.


    "If your heart doesn’t calm down soon," he murmured suddenly, his thumb stroking the baby’s hand, "it might end up jumping out of your chest."


    My mouth fell open. Heat red up my neck and into my cheeks, and I instantly pped my free hand against my chest, as though I could muffle the wild rhythm he had noticed. His lips twitched, a shadow of amusement tugging at the corners.


    The mortification in me doubled when he tilted his head, his eyes gleaming with a quiet curiosity. "Tell me, Evaline... when exactly did you fall in love with me?"


    His question was like a lightning strike - unexpected, sharp, and impossible to ignore. My throat went dry. Words tangled on my tongue, caught somewhere between truth and anxiety.


    "I..." I gulped. "I don’t have an exact time. It wasn’t one moment... it was... everything. Over time, I just realized what I felt for you wasn’t just respect or gratitude anymore. It... it was more."


    The weight of my confession hung between us, fragile and delicate like ss. I feared he might press me, ask for more I wasn’t ready to unravel. But he didn’t. He simply gave me a soft nod, epting my words for what they were, no questions asked. Relief flooded me again.


    Instead, we turned our focus to the pup. His little fingers curled around ours, and for half an hour, time lost all meaning. We yed with him,ughed quietly at his small antics, and just... existed. Together.


    When his movements grew sluggish and his eyes fluttered drowsily, I whispered to Kieran, "Here, let me show you a trick."


    I shifted the pup onto myp, his tiny head restingfortably against my thigh. Gently, I swayed my leg side to side, slow and rhythmic. Within minutes, his eyelids grew heavy, and then he was fast asleep.


    We both chuckled softly, the sound mixing in perfect harmony, before I carried him to the crib and tucked him in.


    <fn0725> Official source is findnovel</fn0725>


    When I returned to the bed and slid beneath the nket, I realized quickly that sleep wouldn’te to me easily a second time tonight. Not with Kieran lying right beside me. My thoughts were an endless storm - memories, confessions, the way his eyes had burned into me.


    I tried closing my eyes, tried breathing slowly, but my heart betrayed me every time.


    That was when I felt the movement. A shift in the mattress and the soft rustle of fabric. I turned my head and found him turning toward me, edging closer until there was hardly any space left between us.


    Then, without a word, he reached for my hand. His fingers slipped between mine, warm and steady, entwining them as though they belonged there all along.


    "Close your eyes," he said gently.


    I obeyed.


    "Take a deep breath."


    I inhaled shakily, then released it, my chest loosening under the weight of his voice.


    "Again," he murmured. His thumb brushed over my knuckles, grounding me in ways I didn’t know I needed.


    When my breaths steadied, he continued, "Now... imagine tomorrow. Imagine how you’ll spend it... with our son."


    Images filled my mind without resistance. Morning sunlight spilling into the room, the pup’s tiny fingers grasping mine,ughter echoing through the house. Kieran’s voice guided me through each breath, each thought, until my heart finally slowed to a gentle rhythm.


    Somewhere between his words and my own imagination, sleep tugged at me. Myst conscious memory was of his hand holding mine, steady and warm, as though he would never let go.