**“You good, jewel?”** My voice was rough, husky from exhaustion, but the words came out softer than I expected.
She blinked, her fingers pausing for half a second before resuming their soothing rhythm in Alek’s hair.
Then, finally, she turned her head, her gaze meeting mine in the mirror.
And f***k.
Her eyes. Her soft blue eyes. Left me breathless.
They were so fu.cking deep, filled with something I couldn’t quite name. Not fear. Not pain. Just… something else. Something I wanted to understand, wanted to unravel, wanted to fix if it was broken.
**“I’m okay,”** she said softly.
And I wanted to believe her.
I really fu.cking did.
But I didn’t. Not completely.
She gave me a small smile—just a tiny thing, barely there—but it was enough to make my heart stumble ins
