Raya swallowed, hard. Her mouth tasted like cheap coffee and panic.
Somewhere nearby, someone’s phone camera lifted. Not subtle. Not hidden.
The humiliation burned so hot it made her dizzy.
She unbuckled her seatbelt with shaking fingers.
The bathroom, she thought. I can hide in the bathroom. I can rock Sofia in private where no one can stare at me like I’m a stain.
But as she shifted forward, a calm voice spoke from the seat beside her. A man’s voice. Low and steady, like a hand on a shaking shoulder.
“Excuse me,” he said. “Would you mind if I tried something?”
Raya paused mid-motion.
She turned.
The man beside her looked like he’d taken a wrong turn into economy. Early thirties. Clean-cut dark hair with a precise part. A tailored navy suit that fit him like it had been negotiated, not purchased. A watch that caught the cabin light with a cold little wink.
But it wasn’t the money that made Raya freeze.
It was his eyes.
Blue, clear, and serious in a way that felt… practiced. Not cruel. Not predatory. Just aware.
“I’ve got experience with babies,” he added with a small, careful smile. “My sister has three. Sometimes a different voice helps.”
Raya’s first instinct was to say no.
Her second instinct was to say no louder.
Her third instinct, the one that came from thirty-six hours without sleep and a body that had reached the end of what it could hold up, whispered: please.
She hesitated too long. He didn’t rush her. That alone was strange.
“Okay,” she said softly, like the word was fragile. “Just… be careful.”
She transferred Sofia into his arms.
It happened so fast, Raya almost thought she imagined it.
Sofia’s cries dropped from a scream to a whimper. Her tense little body softened. The man shifted her gently, tucking her against his chest the way someone would hold something precious without showing off that they knew how.
His hand moved in slow circles across her back.
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