Chapter 73

• Sometimes, love isn’t spoken in words—it’s felt in the way fingers intertwine, in the way eyes linger, in the silence that says everything the heart is too afraid to confess.
• ARLET
• Ruben opened the car door for me, his hand extended. I hesitated before placing mine in his. The soreness in my body made every movement slow, deliberate. As soon as my fingers touched his, his other hand wrapped around my waist, pulling me close.