Page 10 of The Honor of Being Hers
“Anything.”
“Why are you being so careful with me?All of you, but especially you and William.You barely know me.”
Tyler considered this, his hazel eyes thoughtful as his therapist’s training became evident in the way he weighed his words.He had the kind of face that invited confidences—gentle features that seemed incapable of judgment, the sort of quiet strength that made people feel heard.
“Because,” he said finally, “we can feel how much courage it took for you to be here.And because Ryan has spent close to a decade regretting how he treated you and trying to make up for what he did.We won’t make the same mistakes.”
That did something to Lauren’s chest—a tightening that wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
“He’s really been trying to make amends?”
“More than you know,” Tyler said softly.“But that’s his story to tell, when you’re ready to hear it.
6
The first full day passed under the slow weight of an unfamiliar routine.The estate felt different in daylight, warmer somehow, with golden morning light filtering through gauze curtains and the scent of cedar wood floors mingling with something that might have been baking bread from the kitchen below.The floorboards were smooth and cool beneath her bare feet as she padded through the halls, worn to a soft patina by decades of use.Even the air moved differently here, circulated through systems designed to carry comfort rather than demand attention.
Lauren woke late.No alarm.Just light through gauze curtains, the weight of a real blanket—Egyptian cotton that felt like silk against her skin—and the faint warmth of orange tea steeping beside her bed in a delicate porcelain cup.A quiet gesture.Thoughtful.Unintrusive.
She didn’t have to guess who had left it.
Tyler had a way of making his presence known without pressing into it.He didn’t hover, didn’t announce himself.He just existed nearby with the ease of someone who knew his scent carried safety, not demand.She’d noticed he learned her preferences in less than 24 hours without asking, how she preferred her tea slightly cooler than most, and the way she unconsciously sought corners when overwhelmed.It should have felt invasive.Instead, it felt like being quietly understood.
Her phone buzzed softly on the nightstand.A text from Dr.Singh confirming that her keynote presentation had been successfully delivered via video link that morning.The technical setup had worked flawlessly, and the audience response had been enthusiastic despite the remote format.Lauren felt a quiet satisfaction reading the message.Her work had been shared, her research recognized, and she’d managed it all from the safety of the estate.
When she emerged into the shared spaces around mid-morning, he was already in the solarium, sitting on a low bench in worn jeans and a soft gray cardigan that looked hand-knitted.His sandy brown hair caught the morning light as he watched the horses out beyond the glass with that soft, inward focus that made it easy to forget he was an Alpha.
He glanced up when she entered, but didn’t stand.Didn’t speak.
He just patted the seat beside him.
She didn’t sit right away.She wandered first, fingers brushing over the warm wooden shelf of tea tins—smooth bamboo that held the morning sun, the edge of the aloe plant with its thick, waxy leaves, the little tray of grounding tools nestled like casual afterthoughts on the table.Sandstone rough under her fingertips, polished shell smooth as glass, a weighty malachite egg cool and substantial in her palm.
Heavy.Cool.Real.
She sat.
They didn’t speak for a while.It wasn’t a lonely sort of silence, more like space being held.
“I thought being here would feel like surveillance,” she said at last.
The malachite egg warmed in her palm, its weight solid and grounding.She could feel the faint texture of the stone’s natural patterns beneath her thumb, each ridge and hollow worn smooth by handling.
Tyler didn’t turn his head.“And?”
“It doesn’t.”
“That’s on purpose.”
Lauren’s fingers curled slightly around the malachite.“You made the tea?”
He nodded once.
“Are you always this gentle with shy Omegas?”
“No,” he said.“Just the ones I think might actually let me stay if I’m careful.”
The comment shouldn’t have made her melt, but it did.She didn’t reply.She didn’t need to.
