Lena woke to the late afternoon light slipping through the curtains and a warm breath brushing softly against her collarbone. The body in her arms was warm, pliant in a way that made every muscle in her relax at once.

For the first few seconds, Lena did not move.

She simply lay there, feeling the steady rise and fall of Miu's breathing against her chest.

The sensation was familiar, yet strange.

Familiar, because Lena had held Miu like this countless times in her imagination. Strange, because this time, the person in her arms did not disappear when she opened her eyes.

This was not something she had constructed. Not a dream dissolving at dawn.

Miu was really here.

In her arms. In the home that had once felt painfully empty. In the life Lena had long believed she would live alone.

Slowly, Lena tilted her head and looked down.

Miu slept curled against her chest, lips faintly curved, cheeks flushed from warmth, long lashes trembling slightly with each breath. Soft strands of hair had fallen across her forehead, brushing her skin.

Lena lifted a hand and gently tucked a strand behind Miu's ear. The motion was so light it felt like touching air.

The instant her fingertips grazed Miu's skin, Lena's heart gave a sharp, aching beat.

It was not desire. It was something deeper—an instinctive sense of possession so intense it startled her.

Miu was hers.

⸻

Lena laced her other hand with Miu's, which rested loosely on her stomach. The fingers were soft, slightly cool, a contrast to the warmth of Miu's body.

She squeezed gently.

Miu reacted without waking, her fingers curling and tightening around Lena's in return.

Lena stopped breathing for a heartbeat.

That tiny, unconscious response was enough to anchor her completely—to make her feel tethered to the world, no longer drifting, no longer falling.

"Dangerous," she whispered softly, afraid to wake her.

"You're making me addicted."

Miu shifted slightly, turning her face closer to Lena's neck, lips brushing against her skin.

Lena closed her eyes, her body tensing for a moment.

Then she bent down and pressed a slow, lingering kiss to Miu's forehead.

Not to wake her. But to mark her.

An unbidden thought slipped into her mind:

If you leave me... I won't survive it.

It was not a threat. Not control. Just the rawest truth Lena had ever known.

She rested her chin in Miu's hair and breathed in deeply. The faint scent of shampoo, warm skin, something unmistakably Miu.

A scent that made her feel peaceful in a way she never had before.

⸻

Lena studied the sleeping face in her arms for a long time. Then, as if unable to resist, she traced a fingertip down the bridge of Miu's nose, over her lips, stopping at her chin.

"So beautiful," she murmured, her voice rough with sleep.

Miu frowned faintly, lips parting.

Lena leaned closer, brushing her lips over Miu's in the barest touch, like grazing a petal.

"Mine," she whispered.

"Completely."

A sudden thought darkened Lena's gaze just slightly.

No one else had ever seen Miu like this.

Not family. Not friends. No one but her.

This most vulnerable, soft, unguarded version of Miu belonged only to Lena.

The realization sent warmth flooding her chest, a happiness edged with something almost selfish.

She wrapped her arms around Miu a little tighter, pulling her closer until there was no space left between them.

Miu let out a small sound, barely more than a breath, her lips brushing Lena's skin.

Lena froze.

Her hand slid up to cradle the back of Miu's head, fingers threading into her hair.

"Don't tempt me," Lena whispered, nearly inaudible.

"I won't hold back."

But Miu remained asleep, her breathing evening out again.

Lena watched her for a long moment, then rested her forehead against Miu's and murmured,

"Sleep. I'm watching over you."

The apartment was quiet. The sunlight gentle. Two bodies entwined as if they had always belonged together.

For the first time, Lena understood something clearly:

She no longer just wanted to possess Miu. She wanted to keep her safe, to care for her, to protect her—to build a life with Miu at its center.

In the stillness, Lena smiled.

A rare smile—so soft and unguarded that no one would have believed it belonged to Lena Lorena Schuett, the untouchable figure of the financial world.

"Sleep well, my little one," she whispered.

Then she closed her eyes, holding Miu a little tighter, as though afraid that if she let go, the person in her arms might vanish.