CaspianI didn’t even park properly. I think I hit the curb. Doors flung open. Nurses rushed out. I was yelling things I didn’t even understand—my voice was hoarse, trembling, torn between rage and terror.They took her in. I followed as far as they’d let me. When they blocked the surgical room doors, I nearly lost it.“If she dies in there....” My voice cracked, eyes burning from more than just smoke. “If she dies, I swear to God, I’ll shut this entire place down. Every damn floor. Every doctor. I’ll ruin this hospital from the inside out.”The nurse tried to calm me down, but I couldn’t hear a word.“Just save her,” I whispered. “I don’t care what it takes. Take everything from me. Just... not her.”All I could think was—Let her live.Let my Ava live.I collapsed in the corridor. Blood covered my shirt. My hands shook violently. My knees were scraped. A cut above my brow wouldn’t stop bleeding. But I didn’t feel any of it. Not really.The only thing I felt was fear.And it wasn’t t
CaspianEverything was going perfectly.I sat at the head of the long glass table, fingers laced loosely together, watching the investors nod with growing interest. Their eyes sparkled when I explained the final part of the proposal, and one of them even leaned forward with a smile that said, "We're in."I was seconds away from securing one of the biggest international partnerships of my career.Then my phone buzzed.I glanced down discreetly — Marcel.I hit the side button to silence it, but something in me hesitated. Marcel never called me during business hours, let alone twice in a row.I leaned slightly back in my chair and whispered, “Excuse me,” before answering quietly, “I’m in a meeting, Marcel. I’ll call you back.”But his voice was sharp. Panicked. “Caspian—don’t hang up. Please.”I froze.“My sister just called me. Ava. Something happened, but she wouldn’t say what exactly. She sounded sick, like she couldn’t breathe. She said she contacted emergency services, but she didn’
AvaI never thought I could feel this free.The warm breeze kissed my skin as I stood on the balcony, overlooking a coastline that shimmered like diamonds scattered across silk. Somewhere behind me in the house, Caspian’s voice echoed faintly, deep and assertive — probably in that meeting he insisted wouldn’t take long.This trip was supposed to be for me. A getaway. A little slice of heaven before we returned to the chaos waiting back home. But for Caspian, everything was always layered — pleasure and business tangled so tightly, I often wondered if he even knew how to separate the two. Still, he brought me here. Not because he needed me, but because he couldn’t be without me.And that… did something to me.He could’ve left me in the States. He could’ve booked a suite in some glassy hotel or arranged a penthouse like he always did. But no — he brought me to his private house here. One of many, I’d come to learn. Caspian had homes all over the world. But this one felt different.It fe
Ava"Before that, I've got something to say to you," I said, pouting my lips."What's that?" he asked, now looking concerned.Caspian sat down on the edge of the bed, his brows slightly furrowed in that curious way of his. He looked like he was trying to figure me out, like I was some puzzle he couldn’t quite solve. Then, without saying a word, he gently pulled me toward him and made me sit on his thigh.I smiled as I turned to face him, wrapping my arms around his broad shoulders. “You never came to see me,” I said softly. “You never even tried to take me back.”His expression turned guilty—eyes big, pitiful, like a wounded puppy. “I’m really sorry,” he murmured, his voice barely a whisper.I let out a quiet laugh. “You sent spies to watch my every move. You thought I didn’t know? They were so obvious.”His head dropped even lower, completely avoiding my gaze now.I lifted his chin gently, forcing his eyes back to mine. “Not only that,” I continued, “You did something else too.”His
CaspianA whole month had passed.And yet, not a single day went by without her name echoing somewhere in my head. Ava. Like a haunting melody I couldn’t shut off, no matter how loud I turned the world. I’d been trying to move on—God knows I tried—but I still caught myself staring too long at my phone, half-hoping, half-dreading her name would appear on the screen.I was adjusting my tie in front of the mirror that morning, preparing for another empty day at work, when I heard a knock on my apartment door."Come in," I called.The door creaked open, and Dolly stepped in, a mischievous little smile playing on her lips."What's up? Why are you here?" I asked, reaching for my blazer.She hesitated a little too long before answering, her grin stretching wider. "Ava is here."My heart stopped.I blinked. “What?”“She’s here,” Dolly repeated with a small shrug, like it was no big deal. But it was a big deal. It was everything.My pulse went wild. My chest tightened. A month. It had been a w
AvaI stood beside my mother in the quiet corridor, arms wrapped around myself as if they could contain all the ache threatening to spill. The nurse had left moments ago, her voice still echoing in my ears. “He said he doesn’t want to see Ava.”Why?Why not me?I looked up at Mom, my voice barely a whisper. “Mom…”She turned to me, concern softening her features.“Why doesn’t Caspian want to see me?” My voice cracked with the weight of it. “What did I do so wrong?”She exhaled, brushing a stray curl behind my ear. “You didn’t do anything wrong, baby. Just let him be for now, okay? He’s been through a lot. He probably has a storm in his head he needs to quiet down.”I nodded, even though it didn’t make the lump in my throat disappear. I bit my lip and turned away, drifting toward the small glass window at the side of the room. It gave a perfect, painful view of what I wasn’t allowed to have.There he was. Caspian.Lying weak but breathing, alive. Marcel stood beside him, pacing with th
CaspianBeep… beep… beep…The sound dragged me back from the darkness. Slow. Reluctant.Something tugged at my arm. My throat was dry. My body felt like lead—heavy and broken. There was a tightness around my chest, a dull ache crawling across my ribs, and a harsh sting on my forehead. Tubes. Tapes. Monitors. The scent of disinfectant flooded my nose, and the sharp chill of air conditioning brushed against my skin.My eyes blinked open—barely.White lights. Pale ceiling tiles. A soft humming from machines I couldn’t name.There was an IV drip attached to my left hand, taped down. Wires ran across my chest, leading to a monitor that blinked in a steady rhythm. A nasal cannula looped under my nose, hissing softly with each breath. I was… alive.I shouldn’t be.Why the hell am I still alive?Regret hit harder than the pain. I stared up at the ceiling, jaw clenched, forcing air through my nose as tears prickled at the corners of my eyes.Then—"Caspian?"The voice was a whisper, trembling
AvaI sat in the hospital hallway, my arms wrapped tightly around my midsection as if I could somehow hold myself together. The fluorescent lights above flickered faintly, casting a strange kind of stillness in the air despite the chaos around me.Marcel had driven like a madman to get us here, and now he stood in front of the doctor, chest heaving, voice cracking."Give him my blood. Now!" he barked.The doctor, a calm older man with weary eyes, tried to explain, "Sir, we have to test you first. It’s protocol. We need to make sure—""No!" Marcel snapped, stepping closer. "My blood matches. It’s clean. Just take it!"I blinked, shocked by how desperate my brother sounded. His voice wasn’t just panicked—it was personal. Like something deeper was clawing at him. And then, quietly, our mother asked the question we were all thinking."How do you know that, Marcel?" she said slowly, eyes narrowing. "How do you know your blood type matches Caspian’s?"Marcel turned toward her, jaw tight, bu
CaspianHe led me to the ambulance and told the medics to watch over me. I sat on the cold metal step, surrounded by coughing strangers wrapped in blankets. But I couldn’t feel anything. I couldn’t hear anything. My eyes were fixed on him.The firefighter was strapping his gear back on, preparing to enter again. But then I noticed something. Other officers—some of them his own team—grabbed at his arms."Logan, it’s not safe in there!" one of them barked. "We swept that floor twice—there’s no one left!""He’s just a kid," another said. "He’s confused. You’ve done enough."But the firefighter—Logan, I guess that was his name—turned and looked straight at me. Our eyes met. I was still crying, still shaking, but I nodded at him. Begged him silently to believe me.He looked back at the other men and said, his voice strong and firm, "This boy swears his mother is still inside. I won’t let a child wonder ‘what if’ for the rest of his life."And before anyone could stop him, he went back in.