Chapter 346 The Cracks

• *Sylvester's POV*
• Driving back to Ingram Manor, I felt whole. Not just content, not merely satisfied—whole. Like the man I was always meant to be. The kind of man who leaves the shadows for just a moment to bask in the light of the one woman strong enough to hold his darkness without fear.
• Last night had taken everything out of us and given it all back tenfold. I had expected sentimentality at my family's private island—soft words under moonlight, longing glances across glittering Christmas tables. But it seemed our hunger had other plans. That kind of craving doesn’t wait for festive breaks or good timing. It devours the moment. And us with it.