The drive home felt impossibly long, yet impossibly short, as if time itself was unsure how to handle the two of us.

The city blurred past like streaks of memory, the sound of the tires against the asphalt a soft sound in the background.

I had been driven by Soren before, yes, during the Gala incident, but back then everything had been tense, charged with a mixture of scandal and shame. Now, it was different. Now, I was his. Officially.

I couldn’t help sneaking glances at him every few ...