Naomi’s Pov;

The days after the mission felt like walking through smoke.

Everything looked normal on the surface, but underneath, nothing was the same.

Cassian and I went back to the same rhythm, meetings, training, planning but every word between us carried a weight it didn’t before.

He didn’t touch me. Didn’t even come too close. But when our eyes met across the room, the world seemed to narrow to just that space between us.

Everyone noticed, I think. Mara said nothing, but her eyes said enough. Marcus, always observant, started giving us more room during briefings, like he could feel the tension radiating from both of us.

It wasn’t...