He looked up at her, voice low. “I would do anything to see you happy.”
The words settled into the space between them, warm and devastating. Her lips parted slightly, but no words emerged. A hand fluttered to her chest, as though to still the rapid pounding of her heart. Her eyes widened, shimmering with a heat she had not expected, the intensity of his words stealing the air from her lungs.
He set the cloth aside. “Rest. We have more road ahead tomorrow.”
But she could not look away from him. From the man who had broken her heart once and now held it so carefully it hurt.
She rose slowly, walked to the window, and stared out at the rain, letting out a long, slow breath as though releasing days of pent-up tension. Each drop of rain trickling down the glass mirrored her own quiet resolve, washing away lingering doubts and leaving clarity in their wake. She saw the path ahead—uncertain, perilous, but hers. She was not running anymore. She was walking into something new—wild, terrifying, and thrilling. “You know they will never let us go quietly.”
He clasped her hands in his. “Fear not, I will protect you. You have my word. Now you need only trust this scoundrel.”
“You are not a scoundrel.” She brushed a kiss against his cheek.
Inside, a shift had begun—subtle but certain. Where fear once reigned, a fragile sense of agency stirred. The ache of betrayal no longer overshadowed the glimmer of trust she was beginning to rebuild—not only in Johnathan, but in herself. She no longer moved through life, merely reacting to others. Now, she reached for it—boldly, deliberately. And that, she realized, was the most terrifying—and exhilarating—change of all.
As she began to lean into that spark of hope, a sudden creak echoed from the hallway beyond the door—footsteps, hesitant and muffled. Her breath caught sharply, muscles tensing as her gaze snapped to the door. She glanced toward Johnathan, meeting his equally wary gaze. The past was not done chasing them. Not yet.
