Chapter 211

Alyssa POV

After we came home, Zuri woke up just long enough to drink a warm cup of milk and drift back off to sleep with a few poems from

Where the Sidewalk Ends.

Now, she’s curled up in her bed, wrapped around the stuffed giraffe she picked out at the zoo—her soft snores a whisper through the baby monitor.

The rest of her gifts—and there are a

shit

ton—can wait until morning, when she’s slept off the sugar crash and the magic of her first birthday.

When War and I came back inside from our talk, I told the guys what I wanted—what I needed.

And they agreed.

No questions. No pushback.

Like they’d seen it coming all along.

Maybe they just know me that well. Knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep with that weight still crushing War’s chest. Knew I couldn’t let him carry it alone.

Now, we’re in the bedroom.

War stands near the doorway, still looking like he’s not sure whether to stay or bolt. Like he’s waitin