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He moved his hand over Ana’s back, felt her warone

She would hear the song She would take comfort in it

He took a breath “Stella stellina, la notte se avvicina” She quieted at the sound of his voice, her wide eyes trained on his face His chest felt tight, his throat threatening to close, but he kept on Up until the end “Nel cuorre della mamma”

And all are sleeping in the mother’s heart

Ana rested her head on his chest, relaxed her body against him And he put his cheek on top of her feather-soft head

“Papa’s heart, too,” he said, without thinking

His oords jolted him back to reality Ana didn’t have a father He certainly couldn’t fill that place in her life He couldn’t fill the place at Paige’s side, either A husband A father He wasn’t s

He had nothing in hi, didn’t change that He was bound up too tight, everything in him ordered, set, unable to be , he was afraid it would all collapse Afraid that his control would slip That the pain, the ugliness, that lived in him would be unleashed on the innocent people around him

That couldn’t happen Not ever

Still, he stayed, in this moment outside of reality A quiet iven before To hold someone so helpless, so precious, who trusted him so completely for no other reason than that life had always handed her people who cared for her Because she had never been touched by someone who intended evil

He wasn’t the kind of man who prayed, but in that moment, he prayed that she never was

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

IT was her wedding day Strange because she’d never given a lot of thought to her wedding day Although, when her ined—the very few ti—a lot of color

Glitter, naturally Having soht the relationship, would have been nice, too