The folder stayed in her bag all through the night.
It was still there in the morning—heavy, silent, impossible to ignore.
Sienna felt it before she even opened her eyes.
Not physically. Not exactly.
But like a presence. A quiet, patient weight waiting for her attention.
She lay still beside Alessandro, listening to the steady rhythm of his breathing. His arm was draped loosely over her waist, warm and familiar, grounding in a way nothing else had been lately.
This—he—was real.
Not numbers on paper. Not promises of stability. Not projections of a cleaner, easier life.
Alessandro shifted slightly in his sleep, pulling her closer unconsciously, as if even in dreams he refused to let her drift too far.
Sienna swallowed hard.
This was what made the decision so impossible.
Because James wasn't offering her something bad.
He was offering her something better—at least on paper.
And that made turning it down… complicated.
