Chapter 150

• Damien awoke to the soft light of morning seeping through the curtains, casting gentle patterns across the room. The warmth of Charlotte in his arms anchored him to the moment, wrapping him in a cocoon of safety and love. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her face, serene and unguarded in sleep, was a balm to his frayed nerves. The past few days had felt like a relentless storm; now, here she was, safe beside him, and he couldn’t shake the overwhelming gratitude that washed over him.
• It had been a harrowing experience—Charlotte’s kidnapping, the terror of feeling as if he might lose her, and the fear that their son, Leo, could have been left alone to navigate a world without either of them. The thought of what could have happened made his heart clench, a cold grip of anxiety tightening around him. He had faced danger before, but nothing had ever struck so close to home. Losing Charlotte and the baby growing inside her was a nightmare he wouldn’t allow himself to entertain, not ever again.
• As he lay there, breathing in the scent of her hair, a tangled mix of shampoo and something uniquely her, he allowed himself to bask in the comfort of this moment. It was a stark contrast to the chaos of the warehouse, where shadows had danced around them with threats that felt all too imminent. But now, her breathing was steady, and the sounds of the outside world—cars passing, distant laughter—seemed a million miles away from the fears that had tried to consume him.