A Night of Stars and Secrets_117

The house was finally still.

The laughter of Mira and Amara had faded down the hallway, the dishes had been washed, and the moonlight poured in like silk across the living room floor. Antonio and Selene had just finished folding the last blanket from the couch when he reached for her hand and intertwined their fingers.

"Come with me," he said softly.

Selene followed without question. He led her up the stairs and out onto the rooftop terrace—a hidden space Selene hadn't spent much time in, but one that Antonio had clearly prepared. Soft pillows and a cozy blanket were laid out on the wooden floor, fairy lights strung along the railing, and two cups of warm cocoa sat on a tray beside them.

She let out a breath. "Antonio… this is beautiful."

He smiled and gestured for her to sit. "It's ours. Like everything we're building."

They sat, legs stretched out beside each other, the stars flickering above them like a silent audience. Antonio leaned back on his palms, eyes watching the sky, then glanced at her.

"You know, you're really something else."

Selene tilted her head. "Is that good or bad?"

"Good. Very good. You've brought something into my life that I didn't know I was missing. Peace. Fire. All in one."

Antonio turned fully to her. "Because the first time I saw you, Selene, you weren't just staying afloat. You were swimming against everything, and you still held your head high. You looked like the heroine from one of those films—the kind where she walks in, determined, fierce, and somehow fragile all at once. I knew you were going to change my world."

Selene's breath hitched. "That day… I thought you were unreal. You looked like someone who steps off a movie screen—tall, bold, in control. But you were kind. So kind. I never forgot that. But later I got to know it was all planed up jizz but I loved it ha."

They sat in the quiet that followed, letting their hearts speak in the silence.

Then Antonio brushed a strand of hair from her face. "I've been thinking."

Selene smiled. "Uh oh."

He chuckled. "Don't worry, not about rushing marriage again."

"Good," she teased. "Because I still stand by what I said—let's build this life fully first. Make it ours. Then the rest will come."

He nodded. "I respect that. I love that about you. But I still like dreaming about the 'rest.'"

She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Then dream with me."

He looked down at her. "Okay… imagine: a Sunday morning, sunlight through those big kitchen windows in our new home. You're in one of my shirts, sketching while drinking coffee. I'm making us breakfast—yes, I can cook occasionally."

Selene laughed softly. "Go on."

"And there's a little laugh. A child's laugh. Just one for now. Maybe a little girl or a little boy with your golden hazel eyes and my stubbornness."

Selene closed her eyes, picturing it. Her voice came out quiet. "Alex."

Antonio smiled. "Or Sasha."

She nodded. "Maybe both someday."

They fell into silence again, not heavy, but full—like everything they didn't say was written in the stars above them.

He pressed a kiss to her temple, his voice just above a whisper. "I don't need a ceremony to know you're my home."

She looked up at him, eyes glistening. "And I don't need a title to know you're my forever."

They kissed—long, unhurried, with all the promises words could never hold.

And above them, the sky kept their secrets, one star at a time.