Chapter 421

XENOIS "That wasn't you," Lumina said firmly. "That was a version of you trapped under magical compulsion. This you—the real you—never would have chosen Sophia over our family. Never would have let Ollie die while you were celebrating elsewhere. You came back to us. That's what matters." "But what if I hadn't?" I asked. "What if you hadn't come back with all that knowledge? What if you hadn't broken Sophia's control? We'd be living that nightmare right now." "But we're not," Lumina pointed out. "We're here. Together. Making different choices, building something better. That's the whole point of second chances—using them to get it right." I kissed her again, trying to pour everything I felt into it—love, gratitude, desperate hope, soul-deep fear. She responded with equal intensity, her hands moving to my shirt, fingers working buttons with increasing urgency. "Bed," she said against my mouth. "Properly. Now." I didn't argue, just shifted us until she was beneath me on the mattress, our