The morning after the wedding felt like waking into a dream. The soft rays of sunlight spilled through the sheer curtains, dancing gently across the sheets that tangled around Catalina and Frederick. The world outside was quiet, touched by the serenity that only comes after a storm. The laughter and music of the previous night still lingered faintly in the air, but now everything was calm, intimate, and breathtakingly real.

Catalina stirred first, her lashes fluttering against her cheeks as her eyes adjusted to the light. For a moment, she simply lay there, her heart full and steady, watching the man beside her. Frederick was still asleep, his breathing even,...