Merlin smirked. "Give me a few more weeks. I'll have the vocabulary down."
"Don't you dare," she said, mock-glaring. "You already disappeared for months, woke up in a hospital, then come back and start talking about boardrooms. I can barely keep up with what you're doing anymore."
Merlin's gaze softened. For all her teasing, her eyes betrayed the worry she tried to hide. "I'm just… figuring things out," he said quietly.
Victoria studied him for a moment, then sighed. "Fine. But at least eat something before you start plotting corporate domination."
He chuckled. "I'll try."
They sat like that for a while, simple, unguarded silence. The warmth of the apartment wrapped around them, soft and domestic, a world away from glass towers and scheming executives.
But Merlin's thoughts didn't rest. Not fully. Not tonight.
—
