(KRYSTAL'S POV)
The past eleven days have had a rhythm to them.
Wake up. Get dressed. Drive to the hospital with Angelo. Spend the morning with Raffaele. Grab food from wherever looks good on the way back. Return in the afternoon. Sit with Val for a while. Drive home. Sleep. Repeat.
It sounds monotonous when I lay it out like that. And maybe it is, a little.
But honestly? It's been the most normal stretch of days I've had since the auction. And right now, normal feels like something I didn't know I was starving for.
I've been able to let my guard down just a little. And for a while now, I haven't caught myself looking over my shoulder every few seconds.
The best part of it — the part I find myself looking forward to every single morning — is Raffaele.
He's back.
Not physically.
His right arm is still in the immobilizer, the shoulder's still healing, and the physiotherapy is still weeks away.
But him? The actual Raffaele Vipera.
