He leaned forward slightly, his voice softer now, but no less serious.
“Look… I’m not saying I don’t feel the pull. I do. I feel it every time I look at you. Every time I see Luca. It’s there… the bond. Real. Tangible. But I want us to build something that can last outside of it too. Because if we jump in and this falls apart…” He paused. “It’s not just us anymore. It’s him too.”
At that, Raya’s eyes dropped to the table again, her lips parting slightly as a silent breath escaped her. The thought of Luca, their son, woven into this delicate tangle of fate and confusion, of decisions not yet made, suddenly made it all the more terrifying. She couldn’t afford to fall harder, to hope deeper, only to shatter again. Not if Luca would be caught in the fallout.
“I understand,” she said finall
