Chapter 442
Chapter 442:
Davin looked at her with an expression of genuine confusion.
“Go ahead and eat,” she said. “You haven’t had anything all evening, have you? Being on your feet all night without food isn’t good for you p>
He looked at the bag for a moment. “You got this for me p>
“Yes. So eat it,” she said simply.
Davin reached out slowly and took the bag. He held it for a moment before opening it.
𝗧rе𝗇𝖽𝘪𝗇 o𝘯
This was the first time in his life — not the first time in a while, but the first time, ever — that someone had thought to do something like this for him without being asked.
He didn’t have words for what it felt like.
He had grown up poor, the kind of poor that left marks. At six years old, he and his brother Vinson had been left at an orphanage. They were small, and the older boys had made their lives difficult because of it. Every time, Vinson had stepped in front of him without hesitation. Davin had hidden behind his brother because he hadn’t yet become someone who could fight back — and he had made himself a promise that one day, he would.
He had kept that promise. By fourteen, he was the best boxer in the country, defeating grown men in sanctioned bouts. At sixteen, he represented his nation and won the Auroria Boxing Championship. That same year, the continent’s largest private security firm recruited him, and he had lived inside the world of combat ever since.
His life had never left much room for softness. He trusted no one entirely — not even Vinson. The danger was simply too constant, the stakes too high.
But now, with this unremarkable paper bag in his hands—
Kristine came back through the doorway carrying some clothes and stopped when she saw the bag still unopened. “Why haven’t you started? Is there something wrong with it p>
Davin looked up and told her quickly that he liked it.
“Then eat it while it’s still warm,” she said, patting his shoulder briefly as she moved past him toward the bathroom.
He watched her until the door closed behind her.
Then he looked down and began eating, faster than he normally would have, as though someone might take it away if he wasn’t careful.
He had not smiled in more than twenty years. But something small and almost unrecognizable crossed his face as he sat there in the quiet corridor with his food.
Meanwhile, in her hotel room in Peudon, Elyse was settling in front of her laptop when a knock came at the door.
“It’s far too late for housekeeping!” she called out, irritation sharpening her voice.
Then she heard it — Colton’s voice, low and even, from the other side of the door. “It’s me p>
Her expression transformed instantly. She smoothed herself down, crossed the room, and pulled the door open with a warm smile already in place. “Colton! It’s so late — what brings you here p>