登入[Elara]
Minutes turn into hours. Hours turn into an eternity.
My entire being is focused on those double doors, on the silent prayer that repeats itself in my mind like a mantra. Please let her be okay. Please let her be okay.
I find myself replaying the last few hours in my mind, trying to pinpoint the exact moment when everything went wrong. Was it the pizza? Did
[Elara]Minutes turn into hours. Hours turn into an eternity.My entire being is focused on those double doors, on the silent prayer that repeats itself in my mind like a mantra. Please let her be okay. Please let her be okay.I find myself replaying the last few hours in my mind, trying to pinpoint the exact moment when everything went wrong. Was it the pizza? Did she eat something she shouldn’t have? Was it the running? Did she push herself too hard?Why didn’t I warn her like I always do? Why didn’t I stop her?Because you were having fun. You were having a moment with your family. A real family. And for a few hours, you forgot. You forgot she wasn’t like other kids. You forgot she was fragile.The guilt is a heavy, suffocating blanket, smothering
I hear Damon trying to come up with something, but Nicholas beats him to it. He snaps his fingers, and I turn around just in time to catch four of his bodyguards racing toward him.Wait. Have they always been here?“Get him out of our sight!”Damon barely has time to take a step back before two of them grab him by the arms.“Hey!” he snaps, struggling against their grip. “Get your hands off me!”Nobody listens.I glance at Nicholas, and the expression on his face tells me everything I need to know.He’s standing up for me. Something someone rarely did in the past.“Elara!” Damon pleads with me, his eyes holding the kind of expectation that I once held for him. “You can’t do this. I know I made mis
[Elara]When Cora is being taken to the OR, I follow them until I’m allowed.I keep up with the gurney as it hurtles down the corridor, my hand tightly clasped around Cora’s tiny, cold fingers.“Mommy’s right here, baby,” I whisper, running my other hand frantically through her soft curls, trying to keep my voice from trembling. “You’re going to be okay. Daddy Griffin is going to fix this.”A nurse gently but firmly steps in front of me, placing a hand on my shoulder. “This is as far as you can go, Ma’am. We need to get her prepped.”The gurney doesn't stop. I'm forced to let go of Cora’s hand, feeling the chill of the air replace her warmth.I press my forehead against the cold glass, my chest heaving as tears finally overflow, blinding my vision.“Please, God,” I whisper into the empty air, clutching my arms around myself to keep from falling apart.
[Griffin]I’m in the middle of attending a video conference when Nora calls and informs me about Cora’s relapse.I don’t think I have ever run faster.Before I know it, I’m throwing the doors open, my phone still glued to my ear, and rushing to my car as fast as my feet can carry me.During the whole drive, I don’t let myself think about anything but Cora and the treatment regimen I have followed so far. I think about her last surgery and try to understand what might have gone wrong this time. According to her previous scans, she shouldn’t have suffered a relapse so soon. Although weak, her heart has been stable, and even though she couldn’t be as active as other normal kids, it was still alright if she worked herself up a little.When I reach the hospital, the CMO is already outside the glass doors, waiting for me with the other doctors and nurses.He starts rattling off updates the moment he’
My blood runs cold. I’m on the floor beside her before I even realize I’ve moved. “What’s wrong, sweetie? What hurts?”Her little chest is heaving, each breath a shallow, painful struggle. Her small hands clutch at her shirt, her knuckles white.“My… my chest,” she whimpers, her lips turning a faint, alarming shade of blue. “It… it hurts.”The world narrows to the size of her terrified face. The sounds of the game, the distant chatter of the adults, all of it fades into a dull, meaningless hum. All I can hear is the frantic, uneven rhythm of her breathing. All I can feel is the cold, clammy sweat on her skin.And mine.“Get the car,” I shout at no one in particular, my voice sharp, laced with a panic I can’t contain. “We need to go to the hospital. Now.”I scoop her up into my arms, her body limp and heavy against mine. She feels smaller than sh
[Elara]“This was really not necessary.”I look up at the vast villa in front of me and groan inwardly.A lot has happened in the past hour.And by a lot, I mean I went from sitting comfortably in my humble little apartment to being practically dragged out by my mother and father and brought to this enormous establishment that looks nothing short of a fort.The place is massive. Tall stone walls surround the property, with huge iron gates at the entrance and enough security to make me wonder if we’re visiting a royal family instead of my own.There are perfectly trimmed gardens on either side of the long driveway, rows of trees standing like they’ve been placed there specifically to make the place look even more intimidating. Even the villa itself looks less like a home and more like a palace hidden behind layers of security and privacy.And apparently, this is supposed to be mine.Despi
[Elara]“Come on, I’ll show you to your room,” says Nora, already dragging me away from the couch and heading for the grand staircase. “You too, Cora.” She picks her up on the way, squeezing her cheeks. “I have personally designed your room. It took a while, but I think it turned out great.”“Reall
[Elara]The drive to the mansion isn’t a long one.Barely ten minutes have passed when the cars start circling the roundabout and pulling up in the grand driveway.“Mommy, this place is so huuuuuge,” Cora gasps, her hands pressed against the window, her face glued to the glass. Then, as if struck b
[Damon]I look at the bright red ruby ring sitting proudly in the black velvet box.Nervous—for the first time.What if she doesn’t like it?What if she thinks it’s too little?What if she thinks it isn’t sincere enough?I sigh. Whatever. This is the first time I’m giving her something so expensive
For a full two minutes, I sit frozen in my seat.“Damon? Damon? Can you hear me? Damon!”I jerk awake, blinking too hard—too fast—trying to make sure this is real. I look around, searching for even the smallest hint that this is nothing but a nightmare.But the moment my eyes land on Hannah, my hea







