LOGINMichael’s POVTheo had been quiet ever since Fernando and I returned from the hallway, though I could feel him watching me carefully while pretending not to.Henry noticed it too. Even Kim had stopped joking after seeing the tension between Fernando and me.Ashley and Nick remained exhausted from recovery, but I could still tell they were observing everything silently.It was tooo many emotions, too many people and too many conversations waiting to happen.I rubbed tiredly at my face before finally turning toward Henry and Kim.“You two should go home" I said. Henry blinked immediately.“What?”“You’ve both been here all night.”“I’m fine,” Henry argued quickly.“I know you are" I argued back. “I can stay.”“You need rest.”Henry crossed his arms stubbornly.“I already rested yesterday" he said.“You’re still a teenager" I countered. Henry still looked unwilling to leave and honestly, I understood. Everything happening lately had pushed us all into survival mode again.Nobody wante
Fernando’s POVThe moment the hospital room door closed behind us, Michael pulled his hand away from mine, like my touch offended him.Michael immediately turned toward me with frustration burning all over his face.“What exactly is wrong with you?”I blinked once.“That’s a broad question" I replied. “Fernando.”His voice sharpened instantly. I sighed softly and leaned back against the wall casually, watching him.He still looked beautiful when angry.His cheeks were slightly flushed from emotion, his eyes sharp and bright with irritation. His hair still looked a little messy from this morning and and Theo’s scent was all over him.I noticed it immediately the moment he entered the room earlier. Now that we stood closer together, it was impossible to ignore.Michael crossed his arms tightly.“You shouldn’t have come here" he said.A nurse walking past glanced nervously toward us before immediately walking faster.Michael rubbed aggressively at his forehead afterward.“You could’ve w
Michael’s POVThe moment I saw Fernando standing inside that hospital room, my good mood died instantly.It was almost impressive how quickly it happened.Just seconds ago, Theo and I had been laughing outside the room because Theo had nearly spilled coffee on himself while trying to open the door dramatically with one hand. The sound of his complaining had actually made me smile for the first time in days.Then I walked in and saw Fernando.The universe apparently refused to let me breathe peacefully for even one day.Theo noticed the change in me instantly. I felt him glance sideways at me, probably realizing my entire body had gone stiff.Meanwhile Fernando stood there looking painfully calm and beautiful and infuriating all at once.I hated that he still affected me so strongly.Ashley looked ready to throw Fernando out the window despite still being connected to hospital monitors.Nick just looked tired, Ramon looked like he wanted somebody to sedate him and Fernando stared direc
Fernando’s POVThe silence inside the hospital room stretched so long it almost became uncomfortable.Personally, I was enjoying it.Ashley and Nick still looked like they had seen an actual ghost, which, technically, they had.Henry remained frozen near the side of Nick’s bed, staring at me with wide eyes that looked far too much like mine for my own peace of mind.Even after all these years, seeing him up close still did something strange to my chest.Ashley recovered first.Honestly, not surprising. Ashley had always been the loudest emotionally out of all of them.“You—”She stopped abruptly and stared harder at me.“You’re alive.”“Very observant,” I replied calmly.Ashley looked like she wanted to throw something at my face. Unfortunately for her, most objects in hospital rooms were apparently attached to machines.Nick still looked pale with disbelief.“You were buried,” he said weakly.“I know,” I replied.“You had a funeral.”“Yes.”“Michael mourned you for years.”That one h
Fernando’s POVRamon clearly regretted speaking too much already.I could see it in the tension sitting across his shoulders as he stood near the refrigerator section holding a bottle of water like it had suddenly become the most fascinating object in the world.Meanwhile, the young cashier behind the counter still looked personally offended that I had flirted with him while being married.“You really hid the husband thing until the last second,” the cashier complained while rearranging flowers dramatically.“I didn’t hide it,” I corrected calmly. “You simply failed to investigate properly.”“That sounds exactly like something a dangerous man would say.”Ramon sighed quietly under his breath.“So serious this morning,” I commented lightly while picking up the wrapped bouquet from the counter.Ramon glanced at me cautiously.“Mr. Ramirez—”“Fernando" I corrected. He hesitated.“Fernando" he said.The cashier leaned on the counter curiously.“You two work together or something?” he ask
Michael’s POVI woke up completely warm.Theo’s arm was wrapped securely around my waist from behind, his chest pressed against my back while soft morning light slipped through the curtains and painted pale gold across the room.For a few seconds, I just stayed there quietly.Theo’s breathing was slow and even against the back of my neck.The room smelled faintly like him, clean cologne, expensive sheets, and traces of last night still lingering in the air.My body ached pleasantly, especially my hips.The memory immediately made heat crawl up my neck.Theo had been surprisingly relentless once we returned upstairs.I shifted slightly beneath the blankets and immediately regretted it when the soreness reminded me of exactly how little sleep we had actually gotten.A quiet sound escaped me before I could stop it and Theo’s arm tightened instantly around my waist.“Morning,” he murmured sleepily against my shoulder.I blinked.“You were awake?”“No.”“You literally answered me.”Theo bu
Michael's POV I woke up before the light changed. That’s how I knew Fernando was still asleep.The room was quiet in that thick, heavy way that only came after a night where everything has been taken out of you, wrung dry and left scattered like clothes on the floor. Fernando’s arm sat heavy acro
Michael’s POVHenry was still crying, not loud, not dramatic, just those broken, helpless sobs that come from a place too small to hold fear this big. His body was pressed against mine like he thought he could physically shield me, his thin arms wrapped around my shoulders, his face buried into my
Michael’s POVI watched Fernando’s car disappear through the iron gates and my eyes nearly with it.I didn’t move until the last vehicle was gone, until the low rumble of engines faded into the distance and the house settled into that hollow, echoing quiet that always followed him when he left on s
Michael's POVThe entire scenario felt too familiar.The lock, the silence, the way the walls seemed to press closer the longer I stayed inside.I stood in the middle of the bedroom Fernando had locked me in, my chest rising and falling too fast, my hands clenched into fists so tight my nails dug i







