Chapter 65 – A birth mark

Seraphine had spent the entire drive quietly bracing herself for candlelight and polished silverware, for a romantic lunch tucked inside some quiet, expensive restaurant hidden in a sleek corner of Manhattan where conversations were low and intentional and waiters moved like shadows between tables.

She had imagined something soft and predictable, something that matched Leon’s polished image, something that would allow him to charm her properly over plated dishes and sparkling glasses.

Yeah, the was the usual way to woo a woman right? Just as the girls at the pack used to gist about. Except that, she wasn’t ready for any relationship either than friendship.

Leon surprised her by completely erasing her expectations when the car slowed in front of a wide open rehabilitation park, sunlight spilling across green lawns where movement looked different from what most people considered normal, yet just as powerful.

Children dotted the grounds in wheelchairs, some in braces, some guided carefully through exercises by therapists kneeling beside them on mats spread across the grass.

The air was alive with layered sound, laughter bursting out unexpectedly, the steady encouragement of professionals counting repetitions, parents murmuring reassurance with tired but hopeful voices that carried both exhaustion and faith.

Seraphine blinked, momentarily disoriented, her expectations dissolving in the face of something far more raw and real than white tablecloths.

"This is where I spend my free hours," Leon explained, his tone noticeably softer than it had been earlier, the playful edge smoothed away by something sincere.

He shifted the gear into park and looked at her properly, not performing now, not posturing. "I thought if we’re going to make an appearance together, you should know this side of me."

expected this, not from him, not

guiding limbs, counting steps, correcting posture, praising progress no matter

always ready to catch, always ready to encourage, their faces etched with a permanent mix

stepped out first and walked around to open her door, the gesture still present but quieter now, less about charm and more about

he said once she stood beside him,

only a few hours here, or at the hospital, or both, I don’t mind how you structure

with luxury, not here to parade her

her somewhere that mattered to him. He wanted her to see his world not at its

expected. Each small body working through recovery, each determined face pushing past pain, each parent watching like the next breath

Her child. The baby she never got the chance to hold in her arms. The daughter whose face she had not even

was softer than usual. "I’ll think about

across Leon’s face, unguarded and almost boyish, and as they walked deeper into the park, the children who were strong

slightly too fast across

the sound warm and genuine, dropping down into a squat so he was eye-level with them, pulling two of them into a quick embrace

boy lightly on the nose. "But I brought a friend today." He turned slightly and gestured toward

blurted out without filter, his cheeks flushing

towering over it. "What’s your name?" she asked gently, her tone already

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