Chapter 110

• Hadrian covered me in tender kisses, each one light and deliberate. He wasn’t trying to ignite passion but to make me feel cherished, and in that moment, I felt it deeply. We lay there, bare and intertwined, doing nothing more than softly caressing one another. Smiles lingered on our faces as if we were trapped in a magical bubble, untouched by reality. For those few hours, my heart found peace, and I drifted into one of the most restful sleeps I’d had in ages.
• The faint rustling of movement woke me. I opened my eyes sluggishly, adjusting to the dim light, and saw Hadrian getting dressed. The window revealed that the night still lingered, with no signs of dawn.
• “You’re leaving already...?” I murmured, my voice heavy with the ache of waking up. As soon as the words escaped, the pain of yesterday’s turmoil came flooding back.