Meryl's POV
The fever had finally broken. My skin no longer felt like it was burning from the inside out, and the violent trembling that had consumed me for hours had subsided into exhaustion. My muscles ached, but the desperate need that had clawed at my insides was gone, replaced by a strange sense of completion.
Andre lay next to me, his fingers tracing gentle patterns along my arm. The warmth of his touch sent little shivers through me, but not the painful kind from before. These were different, softer, like my body was finally learning to accept his presence without going into overdrive.
He pressed his lips to my forehead, the gesture so tender it made my chest tighten. I drew lazy circles on his bare chest with my fingertip, trying to make sense of what had happened to me. This man who had turned my world upside down, who had hurt me and confused me, now felt like the only anchor I had left.
