LOGINEliora’s POVMy heart wasn’t just beating; it was a trapped bird slamming its wings against my ribs. I stared at the door, my fingers digging into the mattress, my body instinctively shielding the small, sleeping form of Ezra. The metal track of the sliding door groaned—a high-pitched, mechanical sound that felt like a scream in the silent room.Just as the door was about to be slid up to its full length, a hand slammed it shut.The sound of the impact echoed through the wood, making Margaret jump and press her back against the wall. I held my breath, my lungs burning with the effort to remain silent."Kian! There's something important I have to tell you."Julian. The voice was unmistakable—sharp, urgent, and cutting through the professional murmur of the hallway."Can't it wait?" Kian's voice came next, vibrating through the door. It was deep, impatient, and carried that familiar tone of a man who was used to being the most important person in any room. My skin prickled at the sound
Eliora’s POV"How are you feeling, my dear? Really?"The voice was like a warm blanket on a winter morning. I looked up from the hospital bed to see Margaret standing just behind Ezra. She looked older than she had a month ago, the lines around her eyes deeper, her sensible cardigan buttoned tight as if to hold herself together."I’m getting there, Margaret," I whispered, my voice thick. I looked at her, seeing the way her hands were trembling as she clutched her handbag. "But how are you doing? I’ve put so much on you, keeping him, hiding him...""Oh, hush," Margaret said, a tear finally escaping and trekking through the wrinkles on her cheek. She let out a watery, breathless laugh. "You are supposed to be worrying about yourself, Eliora. Look at you, all skin and bone and bandages."I reached out my hand, ignoring the tug of the IV line. I didn't want a nurse or a doctor; I wanted the woman who had been a mother to me when I had no one. "Come here," I said, my lips curving into a ti
Eliora’s POVThe silence that followed Elijah’s exit was thick, but for the first time since the crash, it wasn't heavy. It was just Zoey and me. The two of us had survived more than just corporate scandals and car wrecks; we had survived a silence that had lasted years.I watched her for a moment, noticing the way she avoided my gaze, her fingers drumming a restless, syncopated beat against the cardboard of her coffee cup."Zoey?" I asked softly."Yeah?""What's going on between you and Drew?"Zoey’s hand froze. For a second, the room was so quiet I could hear the distant, rhythmic hum of the heart monitor. She didn’t look up. She didn't even blink."I don't know what you are talking about," she said, her voice a little too flat, a little too rehearsed."Zoeyyy," I sang out, drawing out her name with the familiar, knowing tone I used back in college. "Don’t do that. Don’t pull the 'ice queen' routine on me.""I will... I still don't know what you are talking about," she insisted, fin
Eliora’s POVThe walk back to the room felt ten times longer than the journey out. By the time the heavy, oak-paneled door clicked shut behind us, my lungs were burning and my legs felt like they had been replaced by frayed wires. Elijah helped me transition from the walker back to the edge of the bed, his movements practiced and patient, but I could feel the lingering vibration of my own outburst hanging in the air like a storm cloud.I sank into the mattress, the crisp, starchy sheets feeling like sandpaper against my sensitized skin. The silence in the room was heavy. I looked at my hands—they were still shaking, the pale skin of my knuckles stained a ghostly white.I looked up at Elijah. He was adjusting the IV stand, his expression carefully neutral, but there was a tightness in his jaw that made my stomach twist with shame. He didn't deserve my bite. He didn't deserve the venom I had spat out in the hallway just because I had smelled a ghost."Elijah," I whispered, reaching out
Eliora's POV "One more step, Eli. Just one. Focus on me, not the floor."Elijah’s voice was a low, steady hum, a stark contrast to the chaotic screaming of my nerves. I looked up at him, my vision blurred by a thin veil of cold sweat. His hands were firm on my waist, his knuckles brushing against the thin, papery fabric of my hospital gown. He was my anchor, the only thing keeping me from collapsing into a heap of useless limbs on the linoleum."I can't," I whispered, the words trembling as they left my lips.The floor was a vast, frozen tundra. My bare feet felt the biting chill of the tiles, a sensation so sharp it felt like needles pricking at the soles of my feet. I hated this. I hated the way my legs felt like they were made of lead and static, disconnected from the brain that was frantically commanding them to move. I felt small. I felt broken."Yes, you can," Elijah urged, his grip tightening just enough to be reassuring. "One step for Ezra. He’s waiting for his mom to come ho
Eliora’s POVI shifted in the bed, the movement sending a dull, throbbing ache through my chest. The machines hummed a steady, rhythmic reassurance that I was still alive, but I didn't feel alive. I felt like a ghost haunting my own broken body."Easy, Eli. Don't try to move too fast."Elijah was there. He was always there. He sat in the stiff plastic chair beside my bed, his presence a calm anchor in the middle of my storm. He reached out, his hand warm as he gently adjusted the thin thermal blanket over my legs."Elijah," I rasped, my throat feeling like it had been scraped with sandpaper. I reached for his hand, my fingers trembling. "Ezra... I need to see him. I need to hold my baby. Please, can you bring him? Just for an hour?"A shadow of something heavy crossed Elijah’s face. He squeezed my hand, but his expression remained firm, filled with a protective caution that made my heart sink."You know I want that more than anything, Eli," he whispered, leaning closer. "But it’s dang







