The pressure around Maya and Leo didn’t go away. It was always there, like a tight rope stretched between them, ready to snap. Every move they made felt watched. Every word felt weighed. But somehow, in the middle of all that noise, they found peace in each other. A quiet kind of peace. Like a secret they were both holding onto with shaking hands.

Leo had gone to Sir Alistair and spoken up. He didn’t win. Not yet. But it mattered to Maya. It showed her he cared not just about her, but ...