Riley's POV
The past week with Caleb has been pure heaven. Every stolen moment finds us tangled together, our bodies speaking a language that needs no words. Something shifted in me that night when the flames consumed my childhood prison. When he whispered those three words against my skin, everything clicked into place like pieces of a puzzle I'd been struggling to solve.
This morning we sit at Elena's dining table, sharing breakfast and secret touches beneath the polished wood surface. His fingers trace patterns on my thigh while I pretend to focus on my coffee. The normalcy of it all feels surreal after everything we've endured.
The emptiness where my mother used to be still aches like a phantom limb. Some mornings I wake expecting to hear her voice calling from the kitchen. But the love surrounding me now makes the grief bearable, even if thoughts of her visit me every single day.
