~~Alex~~The hospital room was quiet, almost unnaturally so. Machines hummed in their steady rhythm, and Jay’s chest rose and fell in gentle waves. Watching him sleep like this calm, untouched by pain for once settled something jagged inside me. For the first time in days, my lungs remembered how to breathe.I lingered longer than I meant to. Every part of me wanted to stay, but a different part knew I had work to do the kind of work no one else could know about.I stepped out into the corridor, shutting the door softly behind me, and pulled out my phone.“Get me my stand-in assistant,” I ordered.It didn’t take long. A few minutes later, her voice came through the line, crisp and ready. “Yes, President?”“I need you to listen carefully. This is not a standard request,” I said, keeping my voice low even though the hall was empty. “Right away after this call, you’ll prepare a private medical wings the one at my new address. I want it fully equipped with everything a… pregnant person mi
~~Ethan~~To say I wasn’t frustrated with this whole circus would be the biggest lie of my career.I’ve served the President long enough to know chaos follows him like a shadow but ever since he got tangled with the Hale siblings, it’s been one disaster after another.And now? I don’t even know what the hell is going on.President Jay call a few days back ended with the alpha team killing people and now my own President hovering over him like the man was glass, like he’d shatter if the wind blew too hard. It was… irritating, watching Alex treat another man like some fragile egg when I knew for a fact he wasn’t fragile at all. The President Jay I know was the scariest being after my president that I know…. He shouldn’t have to bend for anyone, and yet here we are.And then there was this mess.My young Miss Dahlia the spoiled brat with a mouth as sharp as knives and the Vice President Lena I don’t really know much about her other than she the quite one in the Hale family. Two different
Third Person POVEthan stood at the foot of the jet’s stairs, his posture sharp and his voice clipped as he faced the Alpha team that just landed into the country.“Orders are clear,” he said. “Escort Vice President Lena and Young Miss Dahlia to different locations until the President arrives. No exceptions.”The men nodded, splitting into their assigned positions. But before they could move, Dahlia’s voice sliced through the air from inside the jet.“You have got to be kidding me, Ethan.” She stormed down the steps, fury flashing in her eyes. “Why aren’t we in New York? Where the hell is this place?”Ethan opened his mouth to answer, but another voice smooth, lazy, dangerous in its charm cut him off.“Cutie, chill,” Nina drawled, trailing after her with that infuriating smirk. “You’ve been getting angry repeatedly. Bad for your blood pressure.”Dahlia spun to glare at her, but Nina was already turning her attention to Ethan, with her eyes glittering with mischief as she leaned agains
Third Person POV The corridor outside the VIP wing still hummed faintly with the echoes of chaos nurses murmuring, wheels of carts rattling, the hush of staff who knew a President’s grief was heavier than any medical code.Inside James’s office, the air was different. Heavy. Stifling.James dropped into the leather chair behind his desk, his elbows digging into the wood as he pressed both hands hard against his face. It’s has been the longest night of his life and a new day just started and he was already tired. He hadn’t even exhaled when the door creaked open.A younger doctor stepped in, shutting it quietly behind him. His eyes darted once to the floor before he spoke, low and uneasy.“Doctor James… I don’t think it was right for you to lie to President Alex.”James lowered his hands slowly, his gaze sharp. “I didn’t lie,” he said flatly. “I omitted.”“That’s still lying, doctor.”James’s laugh was harsh, bitter. “And what exactly would you have me do, huh? Tell my best friend who
~~Alex~~The hallway outside the OR felt like a coffin. The sterile lights, the cold white walls, the steady beep of monitors filtering out under the door it was all pressing down on me, suffocating me.My phone buzzed in my pocket. I almost ignored it, but the screen lit up with Ethan’s name.I answered, my voice a rasp. “What.”“President—” Ethan’s tone was tight, urgent. “The jet just landed an~~~”“I don’t fucking care right now,” I snapped, pacing hard enough that my shoes echoed against the polished floor. “I don’t pay you to call me every time something happens, Ethan. You don’t need my permission to breathe. You just handle it.”There was silence on the other end, like I’d slapped him through the line.“Sir, I—”“Don’t make me repeat myself.” My voice dropped low, dangerous. My chest burned with the weight of everything Jay bleeding out behind that door, my children’s lives hanging in balance and now Ethan calling me like I was supposed to play babysitter. “If there’s a proble
~~Alex~~“Wait…” My voice came out like gravel, low and shaking, “are you asking me to choose which of my children gets saved? Or to choose between Jay and the babies?”James didn’t answer right away. That silence told me everything.I could feel the walls closing in, the sterile hospital air pressing down on me until it was hard to breathe. My hands clenched into fists, nails biting into my palms. This was insane. Impossible. Cruel. My chest heaved. “Why the hell are you even asking me such an obvious question?” I spat, my voice rising, echoing through the sterile corridor. “Those babies—” my throat closed for a second, “—their very existence is unusual. Impossible by every law of nature. Do you hear me? Impossible.”James flinched at my tone but I didn’t care. My rage was the only thing keeping me upright.“The one you need to save at all costs is Jay,” I bit out, each word sharp as broken glass. “Jay. Do you understand me? He is the priority. Without him, none of this means anythi