ANMELDENA soft knock sounded against the door before it eased open.I looked up, expecting Dominic to walk back in.Instead, a small head cautiously peeked around the edge of the door.Anika.She was still wearing her school uniform, her little backpack hanging crookedly from one shoulder as though she’d rushed over without even taking it off. Mrs. Gable stood just behind her, one gentle hand resting around her tiny fingers.Anika didn’t move.She stood frozen in the doorway, her wide eyes taking everything in; the hospital bed, the IV taped to the back of my hand, the clear bag of fluid hanging beside me, the monitors quietly beeping in the background.I watched the color drain from her little face.Her bottom lip trembled.Her chest rose and fell in one uneven breath before her eyes filled so quickly with tears they seemed to spill over almost immediately.“Mommy?” she whispered, her voice incredibly small.The sound of it shattered something inside me.“Anika,” I called softly, reaching ou
Serena's POVHe rested the tablet lightly against his forearm.“Over the past few weeks or months, have you experienced any episodes of dizziness? Blurred vision? Sudden weakness? Numbness or tingling in your arms or legs? Anything that seemed unusual, even if it passed quickly?”I froze, and my eyes drifted down to my hands. Ever since I had woken up in this body a year ago, there had been mornings when I would stand up and the room would tilt violently, forcing me to grip the edge of the sink until the world stopped spinning. Afternoons when the vision in my right eye would suddenly blur, as though someone had drawn a thin curtain across half the world.Days when my fingers would go numb without warning while I was writing, forcing me to stop because the pen kept slipping from my grasp.I’d never questioned any of it.This body had never been mine, and after being in a coma, I’d just accepted those strange moments as part of the price I was paying for living someone else’s life.
Serena’s POVDominic stirred.His fingers tightened around mine before anything else moved. Then he lifted his head slowly, blinking against the light as though it took a moment to remember where he was. His eyes were bloodshot, his face creased from sleeping at such an awkward angle, and for one brief second he looked completely disoriented.Then he saw that I was awake.His entire face transformed. The exhaustion seemed to drain from him in an instant, replaced by a raw, naked relief that made his lips tremble.“Elena,” he breathed. He didn't move for a second, as if he was afraid that speaking the name would make me disappear. “You're awake.”“Hi,” I whispered. My voice was hoarse, little more than a rasp.A broken laugh escaped him before he leaned forward, resting his forehead gently against my temple. I felt the warmth of his tears as they brushed against my skin.“Thank God,” he whispered, one trembling hand sliding carefully through my hair. “God…sweetheart, you scared the li
Chapter 69Serena’s POVI was walking through a forest that seemed to stretch on forever, yet there were no trees.Only darkness.It surrounded me on every side, and every breath I took felt harder than the last. The air clung to my skin like damp mist, resisting every step I took until it felt as though I was trying to walk through water instead of air.Only then did I realize there was water.It lapped around my bare feet, so cold it stung, the uneven ground shifting beneath me with every cautious step. The silence was unnerving. It wasn’t the ordinary silence of an empty place. It was the kind that swallowed sound before it had the chance to exist. Even my own breathing felt strangely loud.“Is anyone there?” I called out.There was no echo. My words simply dropped into the dark, swallowed whole by the emptiness.I kept walking, the cold water rising slowly to my calves.“Please,” I whispered, my throat tight with mounting panic. “Is anyone there?”No answer.Then, behind me, the w
Killian’s POVDominic released his grip on my coat so abruptly that the fabric slipped from his fingers before he was already moving. He crossed the waiting area in hurried strides, Vivian and I close behind as we followed the doctor into the corridor.The doctor glanced down at the clipboard in his hand before lifting his eyes to us.“Are you the family of Elena Reyes?” “I’m her husband,” Dominic barely got the words out before they broke apart. He stepped closer, his hands curling into tight fists at his sides. “How is she? Is she alright? Can I see her?”Some of the doctor’s guarded expression eased into a small, reassuring smile.“She’s stable, Mr. Reyes.”The breath Dominic had been holding left him in a rush.“Her vital signs are stable, and she regained consciousness not long after she arrived. We’ve completed the initial blood work, and at this stage, everything points to physical exhaustion complicated by dehydration and low blood sugar.”He lowered his eyes to the clipboard
Killian’s POVThe siren pressed relentlessly against my skull, a deafening wail that seemed to vibrate through every inch of the ambulance. Each blast rattled the walls, swallowing every other sound until it became impossible to tell where the noise ended and the panic inside me began.Under me, the floor jolted and swayed as the vehicle navigated the night traffic, but my focus remained locked on the narrow gurney. Elena lay frighteningly still, her complexion drained of every trace of color. Long, lashes rested against cheeks that looked far too pale under the harsh lights overhead and when I reached for her hand, it was cold enough to make my stomach tighten. It didn’t feel like the hand of a living woman. It felt like a stone left out in winter.“Sir, I need you to move back a little so I can secure the leads.”The paramedic’s voice was calm, almost detached, as he reached across the cramped space between us. His hands moved with the kind of efficiency that came from doing the s
Serena’s POV“I just want to say for the record,” Chloe said from the bed, watching me step into my heels, “that the Elena I know would rather eat glass than attend a work gala.”“People change.”“You keep saying that.” She sat up and crossed her legs. “Before the accident you wouldn’t even work at
Serena’s POVThe first thing I noticed was the ceiling.White. Smooth. A water stain in the far left corner shaped like nothing in particular. I stared at it for a long time before I understood that I was staring at it, that my eyes were open, that I was somewhere.I turned my head.Machines. Tubes
Killian’s POVThe gala was still going.That was the part that didn’t make sense. Three hundred people still laughing, still drinking, still moving through a room that felt completely different to me now, like a house after a fire where everything looks the same but nothing is. The music was still
Serena’s POV“You really outdid yourself this time, Serena. I have attended every Rhodes event for the past three years and this is by far the best one yet.”I smiled at David Chen, Rhodes CFO and head of partnerships, and raised my glass. “Three months of planning. Every detail matters.”“Three mo







