LOGINSophia’s POV…..I woke up to silence.Not the sterile, humming silence of hospital machines or the constant footsteps of nurses passing my door—but a different kind. The kind that felt wide. Open. Almost too big for me to hold.For a moment, I didn’t move. I lay there staring at the ceiling, my body heavy, my head throbbing faintly like it did in the hospital when I first opened my eyes. Morning light slipped through the curtains, pale and soft, touching the edges of the room like it didn’t want to startle me.This is real, I told myself.I was not dreaming. I was not floating between memories I didn’t have. I was awake, in a house that wasn’t mine but somehow was, surrounded by a life I was expected to step back into without instructions.Slowly, I pushed myself upright.I swung my legs over the bed and stood, the cool floor grounding me. I wore the sweater Lily had given me, sleeves too long, soft against my skin. It smelled faintly like lavender and something warmer—home, maybe. O
Lily’s POV…….The house was quiet in that soft, late-night way that felt serene and peaceful.Not the tense silence that followed danger—but the gentle kind that wrapped around you like a blanket after a long day. The twins were asleep, they were heading to college soon and would be leaving to The UK to study. The lights dimmed low, and the rain outside tapped lightly against the windows like it was trying not to disturb us.Andrew and I lay curled together on the couch, my feet tucked beneath his thigh, his arm draped lazily around my shoulders. The TV was on, but neither of us was really watching. My attention was on the steady rise and fall of his chest beneath my cheek, the calm rhythm of his breathing grounding me in a way nothing else ever could.“You okay?” Andrew murmured, pressing a kiss to my hair.I nodded. “Yeah. Just… tired.”He hummed softly. “You’ve been through hell.”“So have you.”His arm tightened slightly around me. “Not like you.”I tilted my head to look at him.
Sophia’s Pov…The drive was quiet.Not uncomfortable—just… heavy. Like the air itself was still figuring out where it belonged.I watched the city blur past the window, streetlights streaking gold against the dark, my reflection faintly visible in the glass. Every few seconds, my eyes flicked back to Adrian’s hands on the steering wheel. Long fingers. Steady grip. No hesitation.He drove like someone who always knew where he was going.I didn’t.When the car slowed and turned into a private road lined with tall hedges and soft lights, I sat up a little straighter.“Where are we?” I asked.Adrian glanced at me briefly. “Home.”The gates opened smoothly, silently, and the car rolled forward.Then I saw it.My breath caught.The house rose before us—modern and imposing, all glass and stone and clean lines. Warm light spilled from tall windows, illuminating a sweeping driveway and manicured greenery that looked almost unreal after months of hospital white.“Wow,” I breathed before I could
Sophia’s POV……Being discharged should have felt like freedom.That’s what everyone kept saying.But as I sat on the edge of the hospital bed, legs dangling, feet barely touching the cold floor, all I felt was exposed. Like I was being pushed out into a world I didn’t recognize with a body that still felt fragile and unfamiliar.The room smelled like antiseptic and drugs.Machines that had kept me alive for months were suddenly quiet, unplugged, rolled away. I felt oddly abandoned by them.Lily stood near the small couch, folding clothes neatly.“These are clean,” she said gently. “I thought… something simple would be comfortable.”She handed them to me.A pair of blue jeans. Soft-looking. Slightly worn at the knees. And a cream sweater that smelled faintly like detergent and something floral—maybe her perfume.I stared at them.“Thank you,” I said, though my voice sounded distant, like it didn’t belong to me.I changed slowly behind the thin curtain. Every movement felt strange, like
Sophia’s POV…..Pain was the first thing I noticed.Not sharp. Not unbearable. Just… heavy. Like someone had wrapped my head in cotton and tightened it too much. Every thought moved slowly, dragging itself forward like it had to wade through water to reach the surface.The second thing was light.Too bright. Too white. It hurt my eyes, even when they were barely open. I blinked once. Twice. The ceiling stared back at me—smooth, unfamiliar, humming softly with machines I didn’t recognize.Hospital.I knew that much. Somehow.My head throbbed again, and I squeezed my eyes shut, swallowing against a wave of nausea.“Easy,” a voice said softly.A man.I opened my eyes again.He was sitting close—too close for a stranger, I thought distantly, but something about him didn’t feel wrong. Dark hair slightly disheveled. Eyes rimmed red, like he hadn’t slept in days. His hands were clasped together so tightly his knuckles were white.He was watching me like I might disappear if he blinked.Conce
Lily’s POV…..The hospital corridor felt too bright, too white, too quiet for what was happening inside my chest.Sophia was awake.Not awake-awake—not the way I’d imagined over the past year. Not with a smile, or confusion, or that soft laugh she always gave when she didn’t recognize a place right away. She was awake in body, breathing, blinking… but her eyes had passed over us like we were strangers on a street.And Adrian—I clenched my fingers into the fabric of my coat as I watched him stand there, rigid, like if he moved even an inch, the ground beneath him would split open.When he said fiancée, the word landed like a dropped plate. Loud. Shattering. Impossible to ignore.Andrew’s hand slid into mine, warm and steady. “Let’s go outside,” he said quietly, his tone gentle but firm. Not a suggestion. A decision.Adrian didn’t resist when Andrew touched his shoulder. He followed us out of the ward like a man walking through fog.The moment the hospital doors slid shut behind us, th







