Sophia’s P.O.V

The morning light filtered in gently through the tall glass windows, warming my skin before I even opened my eyes. I blinked slowly, stretching like a cat beneath the covers, my gaze drifting lazily toward the garden just outside. The estate’s vast expanse of green shimmered slightly under the new day’s sun, and I smiled faintly, remembering what Nathaniel had told me the night before.

“I planted a whole patch of sunflowers,” he’d said with this soft ...