Page 154 of My Husband’s New Fiancée

He settles between my thighs, lifting me slightly to align us. The anticipation is almost unbearable.

And yet, despite the fever of it, despite the urgency, he stops. Right there, at the edge, his eyes searching mine.

“Yes?” he asks, his voice wrecked.

“Yes... come here.”

He enters me slowly, with a tenderness that nearly undoes me, as if he wants to memorize every sensation, every breath, every shiver.

We both moan, pleasure and desire intertwined.

It feels so good.

I feel whole, finally.

Locked together, we stay motionless for a moment, eye to eye, letting this reality catch up with us.

Then, slowly, he begins to move.

His thrusts are deep, demanding, driving me straight toward an implosion.

I feel every movement of him inside me, every burning friction.

It’s almost too much… and yet I surrender to it completely.

And as the pace quickens, as his hips accelerate, he crushes his lips against mine. He isn’t kissing me anymore; he’s devouring me.

We make love with an urgency laced with tenderness—as if our bodies wanted to make up for everything words had failed to repair.

And as ecstasy seizes us simultaneously, I realize with absolute clarity that, for the first time since coming back from the dead, I’m no longer imagining survival.

I’m imagining a future.

38. Seychelles

Dante

Monday, December 26

I barely slept all night. The fear of almost losing her again kept me awake for hours. I still can’t quite believe she’s here, that she came back to me.

She’s still asleep, and I can’t stop looking at her, admiring both her beauty and her strength.

No, that’s not true.

It’s her strength that amazes me most.

She survived betrayal, the partial loss of her identity, of her life, and yet she’s still here. Still standing. Her determination remains intact. That ability she has to take problems head-on and face them without flinching.

It’s both wonderful and terrifying.

Because I’m beginning to understand the depth of the trust she places in me.

Now it’s my turn to be worthy of it.

Seized by a sudden impulse, I decide to take her away from here for a few days.

I carefully get out of bed and leave the bedroom to make a phone call from the living room.