wilbea

### Chapter 8: Simmer to Spark Six months had blurred by in a haze of midnight feedings and sunlit afternoons in their Barcelona villa, the kind of rhythm that wrapped around Arkin and Via like a wel

Via blinked against the late afternoon light filtering through the gauzy curtains of their Barcelona villa, her sketchpad forgotten on the coffee table. Two months of this relentless rhythm—Arkin's bo

Via stirred awake to the faint hum of cicadas outside their Barcelona villa, the kind that seeped through the cracked window like an uninvited guest. Her body ached in the best way, muscles loose from

Via woke to the scent of fresh paella spices wafting from the kitchen, her body still humming from yesterday's marathon. Sunlight sliced through the bedroom shutters, casting striped shadows across th

Via stepped off the plane at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the humid Manila air slapping her face like an old, unwelcome friend. It had been over a year since she'd fled to Spain, leaving Arkin

Larkin Olivier "Arkin" Ross stood outside the weathered wooden door of Avianne Rye "Via" Diaz's apartment in Barcelona's Gràcia neighborhood, his heart pounding like a bass drum in one of his old trac

The apartment smelled like fresh chorizo and garlic from the market run they'd taken that morning, Arkin's idea to keep things grounded amid the whirlwind of doctor visits and script revisions. Seven