~LAYLA~
The sun in Santorini hit different. It was refreshing having the warmth soaking into your skin and melting away the tension that had lived in my shoulders for months.
We were staying in a private villa in Oia, perched on the edge of the caldera. Below us, the Aegean Sea stretched out in an endless expanse of sapphire blue, dotted with white sailboats that looked like toys from this height.
I sat on the edge of the infinity pool, my legs dangling in the water, watching Axel.
He was swimming laps. The water was good for his back, the physical therapist had said. I watched the way the muscles in his shoulders bunched and released, the way the scars on his back from the explosion were fading from angry red to silvery white.
