Morning didn't so much arrive as it exposed everything.
Light spilled through the tall windows of Lucian's house—clean, unforgiving, illuminating the aftermath of a night where too much had shifted too fast.
⸻
Allison
Allison woke before her alarm.
Not because she had to.
Because her mind refused to stay still.
For a moment, she just lay there, staring at the ceiling, letting the quiet settle around her.
Then—
Memory slid in.
Lucian's voice, lower than she had ever heard it.
Stay.
Her chest tightened.
"…okay," she whispered to herself. "We're not spiraling this early."
She sat up, pressing her fingers briefly to her temple, grounding herself.
Last night hadn't been a mistake.
But it also hadn't been simple.
And nothing about her life right now allowed for simple.
⸻
By the time she stepped out into the hallway, she looked… different.
Not dramatically.
Not loudly.
But undeniably.
