Page 76 of A Sinful Gravity

"Yes!" Laila turned around, showing him her ponytail. "Mommy did it this morning, but it came loose when I played. Can you make it tighter?"

He took a deep breath, kneeling behind Laila, taking the hair tie.

Then he froze.

That hair tie in his hand looked like some alien object. He stared at it for several seconds, then at Laila's hair, completely clueless where to start.

Laila waited a moment, then turned to look at him. "Cassian, don't you know how?"

"I... I do," he said, clearly lacking confidence. "I just... need to think about it."

He sneakily pulled out his phone, turning away from me, quickly searching something—probably hair tutorial videos.

I almost laughed out loud.

Five minutes later, he put down his phone, took a deep breath, and started.

His movements were gentle, like he was afraid of hurting her. He separated her hair into three sections and began braiding.

Laila stood still. "Why are your hands shaking?"

He was silent for a second.

"Because I'm afraid of hurting you."

Laila laughed, and that laugh made his hands shake again.

Finally, the braid was done.

When Laila ran to the living room mirror, I came downstairs too. She studied her new hairstyle seriously.

It was a crooked, lopsided braid—loose in some places, tight in others, like a drunk little snake lying on her head. Several strands hadn't been woven in, sticking out messily.

I looked at Laila in the mirror, struggling not to laugh.

Laila looked at herself, then suddenly laughed.

"Cassian, you're so bad at this!"

Cassian stood nearby, expression tense like awaiting a verdict.

Laila turned around, ran to him, and looked up.

"But it's cool!" she said, opening her short arms and hugging his leg.

Cassian froze.

The next second, he crouched down and pulled Laila into his arms.

The hug was gentle, careful, like holding something fragile and precious. I saw his eyes redden.

But he held it in, didn't let the tears fall.

In that moment, watching them, an indescribable emotion welled up inside me.

Blood.

That word surfaced in my mind again.