Page 125 of Scaled Daddy's Secret Heir

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We sit there long enough that our breath syncs.

I close my eyes.

For a few hours, the war holds its breath.

No orders.

No weapons.

Just us.

Our child stirs once down the hall but settles again.

Leah exhales like she’s been holding that moment for years.

She whispers, “I didn’t think I’d get to want this again.”

I kiss her temple.

“You don’t just get to want it. You get tohaveit.”

And for the first time, she lets herself believe me.

That’s the terror.

That’s the miracle.

The stillness feelsearned.

And so gods-damnedpre-doomed.

But I’ll take it.

Because this—us—is the hill I’ll die on if I have to.

And gods help the bastard who tries to take it from me.

CHAPTER 36

LEAH

The afternoon light comes in sideways through the front slats, painting everything gold. It pools on the rug in warm patches, softening the edges of the world.

Clancy sprawls in the middle of it like a tiny king, legs crossed, a half-disassembled hovercrab in front of him. His tongue pokes out between his teeth in concentration as he tweaks one of the legs back into place. The toy twitches, chirps, then spins in a crooked circle before collapsing again.

“Don’t force it,” Kalev murmurs from beside me.

Clancy doesn’t even look up. “I’m not.”

“Looks like you are.”

Clancy huffs. “You can’t evenseefrom there.”

Kalev’s mouth tilts in that almost-smile I’ve only started seeing again. He leans forward a little on the floor cushion, elbows on his knees, watching. His eyes have that rare softness, like he’s letting himself breathe for real.

I sit cross-legged beside him, nursing a mug of lukewarm root tea I’ve reheated twice already. The smell is earthy and sweet. The breeze through the open panel carries salt and ozone, the sharp brightness of the sea just a short walk down the slope.

This—this moment—feels stolen.

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