He shot the guards a look. They dragged Simon out, Nancy tossed right after him.
Once their whining disappeared, I glanced up. “Clark… what Simon said-
He shook his head, eyes soft. “Don’t. I love you. Science is wild now. If we can’t have kids, we’ll adopt. I just want you safe.”
I crumpled into his chest, tears pouring. That lost sense of safety? It finally came back.
Clark moved me into his private villa.
Cleared his calendar. Changed my bandages himself. Fed me. Barely let me walk.
I pushed back once. He held my chin, kissed my forehead, and whispered,
“Heidi, I can’t stop thinking about how I didn’t come sooner… in our last life.”
That fear in his eyes? Shut me right up.
The doctor said it’d take at least a month for the whip marks to fade.
Clark had everything–paperwork, meetings–sent to the villa. He never left.
Some nights, I’d wake up to find him watching me, fingers tracing my face like he was scared I’d vanish.
“Clark…” I whispered.
He leaned down fast, hand warm on my cheek. “You hurting?”
I shook my head, grabbed his collar, and pulled him close.
