Chapter 43 The Morning After Always

• The first light of dawn spilled through the gauzy curtains, casting a soft, golden glow across the cabin. Emma stirred, the warmth of the covers cocooning her, the scent of firewood and pine still lingering in the air. But more than anything, she felt him — the steady rise and fall of Lucas’s chest beneath her cheek, the protective weight of his arm around her waist, the quiet rhythm of his breathing.
• Her fingers brushed over his bare skin as she slowly woke. For a moment, she didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Just listened — to the sound of their breaths, the creak of the settling cabin, and the birds beginning to chirp outside.
• This was peace. Real, bone-deep peace. The kind she’d once thought was only a myth.