Red's POV
Seeing Destiny this happy warmed my heart in ways I could never put into words. The sound of her laughter, the light in her eyes, the way her shoulders no longer carried the heaviness of yesterday—it was everything I'd prayed for when she was gone.
For so long, I had watched her hide behind silence, behind that quiet strength that looked unbreakable from the outside but was really just a woman trying to hold herself together. Now, seeing her smile without the tremor of pain behind it... it did something to me. It made me want to protect that peace for the rest of my life.
She'd been through too much. Too many wounds, too many nights crying alone. And I'd made a promise to myself—no one was ever going to take that light away from her again. Not as long as I was breathing.
All I've ever wanted for her was simple. To see her wake up every morning without fear. To know that she's safe, that she's loved, that she'll never have to fight her battles alone again.
