The Evening Between Them
She felt his gaze before he spoke.
"Sasha," he said quietly.
Her name rolled off his tongue like something precious—steady, deep, threaded with warmth that lingered in the air between them. It made her heart skip, made her breath catch for reasons she didn't dare to name.
She turned toward him, slowly, as if afraid the moment might shatter. The last streaks of sunlight draped across her, painting her skin in a soft, golden haze. Her lips parted slightly, unsure, and the faintest tremor fluttered through her chest.
Her face glowed faint red beneath the fading light. The setting sun stood behind her, gilding the air in a quiet halo. For a second, Victor just watched—silently, almost reverently—as the world folded around her presence.
She looked shy, but there was something different this time. Something deeper. The earlier awkwardness of their first kiss still hovered in her eyes, but it had changed—transformed into a tender, wordless understanding.
