The First Calm

Massimo stirred first, his lashes lifting slowly. For a moment, he forgot the chaos, the blood, the grief because the first thing he saw was her.

Camilla.

Her face relaxed, her breathing soft, her hair spread across his pillow.

Something inside him eased.

He let out a small, tired smile. A real one. The kind he didn’t allow himself often.

He shifted closer, brushing a stray strand of hair from her