XAVIER'S POV

Melissa and I were having the time of our lives.

That was the only way to describe it. For once in what felt like forever, things weren’t complicated. No hospital rooms, no paparazzi storms weighing on my chest, no guilt hanging over me. Just me and her, building something that felt real, steady, and unshakable.

The lights from the studio were almost blinding as we sat side by side on the plush couch, the cameras fixed on us. Melissa’s hand rested on mine, her nails ...