Chapter 18

Helena’s POV

I pushed the door open, and stood still at the doorway.

I didn't know what I expected in a hospital room, but this certainly looked different.

The room was quiet, almost like no living soul stayed there.

It wasn't the chaotic, beeping loudly, rushing kind of hospital room I had imagined. 

It had no frantic doctors in it, no loud machines screaming warnings. It was just… silent, clean as fuck, but dead silent.

As I stepped inside, I finally heard the soft, steady beeping sound that filled the space.

My chest tightened the more I strolled inside. The air felt heavier inside, colder if I may say.

Then my eyes landed on him. My grandfather, laying on the hospital bed with machines and wires strapped to him at different spots and running across his chest

A monitor blinked steadily beside him, and for a second, I nearly lost the will to stand.

I immediately had the feeling that I'd seen the image before. It didn't take long before I matched it with that of the dream last night.

My fingers shook slightly at my sides as I forced myself to move forward.

One step at a time as my heart pounded louder with each inch I got closer.

He looked still, but the slow rise and drop of his chest told me he wasn't gone, not like in the dream.

A shaky breath escaped my lips as I reached his side.

“Grandpa,” I whispered and felt my voice barely make a sound. Then I moved to his bedside, scanning his face quickly.

He looked older from the last time I had seen him, way weaker too.

But still had that particular look of his.

A lump formed in my throat as I reached out slowly, hovering over his hand with my fingers before finally resting it on him.

He felt warm, that sent waves of relief flooding through me so suddenly that my knees almost gave out.

He was alive, he was really alive.

I swallowed hard, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall.

“You scared me back there,” I murmured softly but he didn't say a word.

For a moment, I just stood there, staring at him, taking in the fragile sight of him laying there.

I tried so hard to convince myself this wasn’t another dream.

Then… the door clicked softly behind me.

I turned slightly to find a man stepping into the room.

He looked young, calm, and reserved like most doctors did.

He stopped a few steps inside, watching me carefully.

And then, he spoke. “You came.”

My body went still, that voice. The same one that called me earlier.

My grip on the bed tightened as I turned partly to face him, pulling my brows together.

“You’re the one who called me,” I said slowly, not able to ask.

He nodded once. “Yes.”

I studied him carefully. There was nothing particularly striking about him. Safe to say he was just… ordinary.

“You said he collapsed,” I said with my voice still cautious.

“He did,” the man replied simply. “I found him struggling on the floor.”

My chest tightened slightly as I imagined the scene, tears pricked at the back of my eyes.

“And you brought him here alone?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied and nodded.

I opened my mouth to ask more. Who are you? How do you know him?

But something in his expression made me stop. It didn’t feel important at the moment.

“Thank you,” I said quietly instead.

He gave a small nod, like it wasn’t a big deal. Then his gaze shifted to my grandfather.

“He’s been asking about you,” he added.

And my chest tightened again, then before I could respond—

A faint movement over my wrist caught my attention.

I turned back sharply and caught sight of my grandfather’s fingers twitching ever so slightly under mine.

My breath hitched. “Grandpa?” I called softly, leaning closer.

His eyelids fluttered open, then shut.

It repeated again.

My heart started racing and I turned to the strange guy.

“Are you a doctor?” I asked.

“No, just a friend. He'll be fine though, he's just waking up,” he replied.

I turned back to him and whispered, “Grandpa…”

“I'll leave you both to it,” I heard from behind me but didn't bother turning.

Slowly, and rather painfully looking, his eyes opened and landed on me immediately.

For a second, there was nothing behind them, just a blank stare.

Then like he was just registering my face, he blinked once before calling my name, “Helena…”

Tears instantly filled my eyes.

“I’m here,” I whispered quickly. “I’m here.”

His brows furrowed slightly as he studied my face, and then—

“You came late,” he whispered weakly.

My heart dropped, those were the exact words I dreaded, they sounded too much like the dream of last night.

“I came as soon as I could,” I said softly, tightening my grip on his hand.

His gaze hardened slightly. “You shouldn’t have left,” he muttered weakly.

My chest tightened painfully. “Grandpa…”

“You left me alone,” he continued in a weak voice.

The words cut deeper than I expected.

“I didn’t leave you,” I said quietly. “You made me go.”

A strangled cough escaped his lips wildly.

“Take it easy,” I worried with my hands over him.

“So you chose that over me?” he choked out.

“That’s not what happened,” I replied, trying to keep my voice steady, but my heart was already racing again.

Against all my knowledge, the dream was strangely happening again, real this time.

“You had a choice,” he muttered.

“I didn’t,” I insisted softly.

“You always had a choice,” he added weakly.

I shook my head as tears slipped down my cheeks now.

“You wanted me to stay and give up everything,” I said. “My life, my future, my everything,” I cried out.

“And what is wrong with that?” he shot back weakly.

My breath caught as everything inside me tensed.

“We’ve been through this,” I said with my voice trembling slightly.

“And you still chose wrong,” he replied.

The words hit hard, too hard. For a moment, I couldn’t speak. Normally, I wouldn't let him say these kinds of things, but I couldn't do much cause of his condition.

So I remained quiet, and the room grew smaller the more I stayed still.

And every second of it felt chillingly cold like I was back in that dream again.

“You think I wanted to leave?” I whispered.

And he didn’t respond.

“You think that was easy for me?” I continued with my voice breaking now.

He didn't say anything still.

“I didn’t abandon you,” I said again, more firmly this time.

Then his eyes turned to me as his head dropped to the side.

“You left,” he repeated weakly and a tear slid down my cheek.

“You pushed me out,” I replied quietly.

The tension in the room thickened with neither of us speaking for a few seconds.

Only the steady beeping of the machine broke the silence.

Then his expression shifted slightly, not softer as I wanted, but different.

“There are things you don’t understand,” he said slowly.

And my brows pulled together. “What things?” I asked.

He exhaled weakly with his gaze drifting for a moment before returning to me.

“I did what I did for a reason,” he muttered and a small, bitter laugh escaped my lips before I could stop myself.

“You always say that,” I argued back, pacing around now.

“This time, you need to listen,” he said.

Something in his tone made me pause, he wasn't talking about the past again, he was talking now.

My chest tightened slightly. “What are you talking about?” I asked quietly as I approached him slowly again.

He looked at me for a long moment, as if weighing something in his mind. Then he stretched out his hand for me.

“There’s something you need to know.”