It was almost 1:00 a.m.
Ana stirred awake on the couch, blanket half-kicked off, the faint scent of Christian still in the cushions.
She sat up groggily and found the hallway light on.
Her door?
Open.
She walked quietly down the hall.
Christian sat at the edge of the guest room bed, shirtless, notebook beside him, pen still warm in his hand.
He looked up when she appeared.
"I didn't mean to wake you."
"You didn't."
She noticed the blank page on top, slightly curled at the edges.
He made no move to hide it.
Ana didn't ask.
She just held out her hand.
"Come to bed."
🛏️ Lying in the Dark
This time, there were no barriers.
No pillows in the middle.
No rules about touching.
He lay beside her with his arm beneath her head, her fingers absently tracing a scar on his chest he'd never explained.
The lights stayed off.
But the truth was about to come on.
"Do you regret it?" she asked softly.
"What?"
"The marriage. The way it started."
Christian sighed. "I regret how it happened."
Not that it happened.
Ana nodded slowly.
Then, after a pause—
"I hated you at first."
"I know."
"You scared me."
"I know that too."
More silence.
Then she added—
"But I think I was more scared of how badly I wanted to believe there was more to you."
Christian turned on his side now, propping himself up on one elbow.
"I didn't give you much reason to hope."
"No," she agreed. "But you're trying now."
And that's what mattered most.
🌙 The Real Questions
"What would you have been," she asked, "if you hadn't been groomed to run an empire?"
Christian blinked.
No one had ever asked him that.
"I don't know," he said truthfully. "Maybe a writer. Or a carpenter. Something that didn't require masks."
Ana smiled.
"You'd have made a terrible carpenter."
He laughed softly. "Yeah?"
"Your fingers are too soft. No calluses. No real-life mess."
Christian looked down at his hands. "They're getting messier now."
She reached up. Pressed his palm to her cheek.
"Good."
They didn't kiss.
Didn't have sex.
Didn't even fall asleep touching.
They just lay there.
Saying the things that would've broken them weeks ago.
And healing slowly in the space between.
To be continued…