Leah woke before the sun fully rose.
For a moment, she didn't remember where she was.
Then she felt it.
Warmth.
Solid. Steady.
Her cheek was resting against Izana's chest. His heartbeat thudded beneath her ear — slow, deep, rhythmic. One of his arms was still wrapped around her waist, his hand resting carefully at her side as if even in sleep he remembered the bruises on her shoulder.
She didn't move.
The room was dim, pale morning light filtering through the curtains. Dust drifted lazily in the quiet.
Izana was still asleep.
Truly asleep.
His black hair was slightly disheveled against her pillow. The white blindfold remained tied in place, though it had shifted faintly during the night. His breathing was heavy but even.
He looked different like this.
Younger.
Less untouchable.
Less like the man who commanded an empire with a single word.
Her fingers lifted before she could stop herself, brushing a loose strand of hair away from his forehead.
"You really don't know how to rest, do you?" she murmured.
He didn't respond.
Carefully, she shifted slightly to check the bandages at his side.
The fabric was faintly stained again.
Her expression tightened.
"You're impossible," she whispered softly.
His fingers tightened around her waist at the movement.
Even asleep.
She exhaled slowly and rested her hand lightly over his chest instead, feeling the steady rise and fall.
For once, there was no tension in his shoulders. No guarded posture. No readiness to strike.
He trusted this space.
He trusted her.
That realization settled deep inside her.
A knock echoed faintly somewhere down the corridor.
Leah's eyes flicked toward the door.
Another knock.
Not rushed.
Not loud.
Measured.
Then silence.
She held her breath.
Footsteps moved away.
Minutes later—
Somewhere else in the mansion, a door opened.
—
Elias stood inside the medical room.
Empty.
The bed was untouched from where Izana had left it the night before.
The discarded outer bandages lay in the basin where the staff had cleaned them. A faint smear of dried blood marked the floor near the doorway.
Elias did not react outwardly.
He stepped further into the room, observing quietly.
The window was closed.
The guards outside had not reported an exit.
Which meant—
He already knew.
He turned without urgency and walked down the corridor.
His steps were calm. Controlled.
He stopped outside Leah's bedroom door.
There was no raised voice inside.
No sound of argument.
Just silence.
He knocked once.
No answer.
He opened the door.
And paused.
The morning light filtered across the bed.
Izana lay there, half-turned toward Leah, one arm around her waist. His blindfold still covered his eyes. His breathing was deep, unguarded.
Leah was awake.
She was looking directly at Elias.
She did not move away.
She did not pull out of Izana's hold.
She simply watched him steadily.
The room was still.
Elias stepped inside and closed the door quietly behind him.
"He needs rest," Leah said first, her voice low but firm.
Elias' gaze shifted to Izana.
He took in the position. The closeness. The reopened bandage. The faint stain that had spread again through the fabric of his shirt.
"Yes," Elias replied calmly. "He does."
Izana stirred.
His brow furrowed slightly.
His grip tightened instinctively around Leah's waist.
Then—
His breathing shifted.
Awareness returning.
"…Elias."
His voice was rough from sleep but clear.
He did not remove his arm.
He did not sit up immediately.
Elias looked at him steadily.
"You left the medical room."
"Yes."
"You were instructed not to."
"Yes."
There was no denial.
No excuse.
Leah felt Izana shift beneath her, slowly pushing himself upright. She followed instinctively, sitting beside him but not moving far.
His arm remained lightly at her back.
"You reopened your stitches," Elias continued.
"I'm aware."
"You walked across the mansion in that condition."
"Yes."
Silence filled the room.
Elias' eyes flicked briefly to Leah.
Then back to Izana.
"You chose."
Not a question.
A statement.
Izana did not hesitate.
"Yes."
Leah felt the word settle heavily in the air.
Elias studied his grandson carefully.
Izana's posture was straight now despite the exhaustion still clinging to him. His expression was calm. Controlled.
But he had not moved away from her.
Not even slightly.
"You slept," Elias observed quietly.
Izana's jaw tightened faintly.
"Yes."
"You do not sleep deeply."
"No."
"And yet."
Elias let the sentence hang.
Leah's fingers curled slightly into the fabric of the bedsheets.
Izana answered anyway.
"I was not concerned."
Elias' gaze sharpened almost imperceptibly.
"About her?"
"No."
The room grew very still.
Leah's breath caught softly.
Elias watched him for a long moment.
"You look different," he said at last.
Izana tilted his head slightly.
"How."
"Certain."
A pause.
"Committed."
Izana did not deny it.
"Yes."
That single word carried more weight than any declaration.
Elias' gaze shifted once more to Leah.
She met it evenly this time.
There was no fear in her posture.
No shame.
Just quiet resolve.
"She bandaged you," Elias said.
"Yes."
"Well done," he added calmly, addressing Leah.
She blinked faintly. "Thank you."
Elias stepped slightly closer, stopping a measured distance from the bed.
"If you remain beside him," he said to her evenly, "you must understand what that means."
Leah did not look away.
"I do."
Izana's hand shifted slightly at her back.
Protective.
Intentional.
Elias noticed.
"You were careful once," Elias said to Izana.
"I still am."
"No," Elias replied quietly. "You are not."
Silence.
"You are allowing attachment."
Izana did not react defensively.
"Yes."
"And you believe that will not weaken you."
"No."
Elias' brows lifted faintly.
"It will change me," Izana continued calmly. "Not weaken me."
The air shifted.
Leah glanced at him.
That was new.
Elias studied him carefully.
"And if someone learns of this?" he asked quietly. "If someone sees her as leverage?"
Izana's fingers tightened almost imperceptibly against Leah's back.
"They won't touch her."
"That was not the question."
Izana's voice dropped.
"They won't get the chance."
The certainty in his tone was absolute.
Not emotional.
Not reckless.
Certain.
Elias held his gaze for a long moment.
Then nodded once.
"Then do not make the mistake of dividing your attention."
"I won't."
"Your body is not invincible."
"I'm aware."
"Clearly not."
Leah almost smiled at that.
Izana exhaled faintly through his nose.
"I'll return to the medical room later."
"You will," Elias agreed.
Another silence settled.
Heavy, but no longer tense.
Elias turned toward the door.
Then paused.
"Izana."
"Yes."
"If you choose her… you protect her completely."
"I will."
Elias glanced at Leah once more.
"And you," he said quietly, "do not hesitate to speak if he does something reckless again."
Leah's lips twitched faintly.
"I won't."
For the first time that morning, the faintest trace of approval passed through Elias' expression.
"Good."
He opened the door.
Before stepping out, he added:
"Do not make her your weakness."
Izana's hand remained firm at Leah's back.
"She isn't."
Elias left.
The door closed softly behind him.
Silence returned to the room.
Leah exhaled slowly.
"That was intense."
"Yes."
She looked at him.
"Was he angry?"
"No."
"What was that then?"
Izana leaned back slightly against the headboard, wincing faintly at the pull in his side.
"He was measuring."
"Me?"
"Both of us."
She studied him.
"And?"
"And I didn't move away."
Her heart skipped faintly.
He turned his face slightly toward her.
Even through the blindfold, she felt the weight of his gaze.
"I won't," he added quietly.
The morning light grew brighter through the curtains.
For the first time, their closeness was no longer hidden.
No longer accidental.
It had been seen.
Acknowledged.
Accepted — with warning.
Leah shifted closer again without thinking.
"You're still bleeding slightly," she murmured.
"I know."
"You're going back to the medical room."
"Yes."
A pause.
"Later."
She rolled her eyes faintly.
"Stubborn."
"Always."
But his hand did not leave her back.
And she did not move away.
Outside the room, the mansion continued as if nothing had changed.
But something had.
Izana had chosen.
And now the world would eventually notice.