Third: School.
“Reminder: Mr. Kuraken filed for field trip clearance tomorrow. We still need your co-sign on transport forms. Also—Ben left his hover boots again.”
I almost smile at that. Almost.
Delete. All of it.
I rest my forehead against the fridge. The cool surface steadies me for half a breath.
What the hell am I doing?
Last night wasn’t supposed to happen. It wasn’t a plan. It wasn’t safe. It was... it was me stepping into the gravitational pull of a man I swore I’d orbit from afar.
And now?
Now I’m unraveling. Quietly. Completely.
The front door hisses open.
I whirl around, heart slamming up into my throat.
And there he is.
Jav Kuraken. In my apartment. Again.
He’s wearing a soft gray sweater stretched across too many muscles and carrying two cups of caf and a flat box that smellssuspiciously like croissant sticks and breakfast wraps. Ben clings to the back of his coat, grinning like he’s just been told recess lasts all day.
“Don’t freak,” Jav says casually, stepping in like he owns the place. “He opened the door. I didn’t hack your security system. Yet.”
“Mom!” Ben shouts. “Mr. K brought bacon that curls like snakes!”
I blink at him.
At both of them.
My son and… whatever Jav is.
They look—gods help me—they lookright. Jav’s got this barely-there smile on his face, the kind that says he knows how dangerous this is but he’s doing it anyway. Ben’s practically vibrating with happiness, tiny hands full of food and questions and zero concept of the stakes.
My throat closes.
This… istoo much.
I cross the room and snatch the box from Jav’s hand like it’s evidence in a crime scene.
“You can’t just—show up like this.”
He lifts a brow. “Why not?”
“Youknowwhy.”
He shrugs off his coat, revealing a black undershirt that fits him too well, then sits on the edge of the couch like he belongs here. Like he always did. “I figured breakfast is neutral ground.”
Ben hops onto the couch beside him, already pulling apart his wrap. “Mom, he taught me how to tell if you’re bluffing. Wanna play dice?”
“No,” I croak, voice thinner than I mean it to be.
I can feel Jav watching me.
