The Fruit of My Affection

Previously

…She leaned her head against his shoulder, the warmth of his presence a comforting weight. The scent of peaches and earth filled her senses, a fragrance that was becoming intrinsically linked to Liam, to this orchard, to the life they were building together. The shadows lengthened, and the first stars began to prick the darkening sky, but for Elara, the world felt brighter than it ever had before. The fears that had once clung to her like the morning mist had dissipated, replaced by a luminous certainty. Here, in this sun-kissed orchard, with Liam by her side, she had found not just a second chance, but a new beginning, ripe and sweet and full of promise.