Chapter 5

(Author’s POV)

The following days passed quietly but painfully for Ruby Vale. For the first time in two years, they passed with awareness. 

Every morning Ruby woke up to sunlight streaming through the tall hospital windows instead of endless darkness. Though her body remained weak, little by little, she began regaining control over herself.

At first, even the smallest movement felt impossible, lifting her fingers exhausted her, turning her head caused sharp pain through her neck and shoulders and speaking more than a few sentences left her breathless.

Her muscles had stiffened terribly after remaining unmoving for two years, and sometimes frustration overwhelmed her when her body refused to cooperate no matter how hard she tried but Ruby endured it silently.

Every day the doctor visited her twice, once in the morning and once in the evening. He carefully monitored her recovery, checked her healing fractures, adjusted medications, and encouraged her through each small improvement.

The first time Ruby managed to sit upright without assistance, the nurse nearly cried from happiness.

“You’re improving much faster than expected,” The doctor admitted one morning with genuine amazement in his eyes. 

“Honestly, Miss Vale, your willpower is extraordinary”.

Ruby gave him a faint smile. She didn’t tell him the truth that the thing keeping her strong was no longer just survival. It was anger, pain, questions and a strange longing for someone she still didn’t know.

Physical rehabilitation soon became part of her daily routine. Therapists helped her slowly relearn movements her body had forgotten. Standing for even a few seconds felt unbearable initially. Her legs trembled violently under her own weight, and more than once she almost collapsed but she kept trying again and again.

The nurse remained beside her constantly throughout those difficult days. Her name was Clara Bennett. She helped Ruby eat, adjusted her medications, brushed her hair when her arms hurt too much to do it herself, and patiently assisted during therapy sessions.

Slowly, Ruby realized Clara was one of the very few people who genuinely cared whether she lived or suffered. The woman never treated her like a burden despite the exhausting work of caring for someone recovering from a coma.

Clara talked to her often while helping her around the room. Sometimes about funny incidents involving hospital staff, sometimes about the weather outside and sometimes simply to distract Ruby during painful therapy exercises.

One rainy evening, Clara sat beside Ruby near the window while helping her drink soup.

“You know, half the nurses on this floor are jealous of me” Clara said with a teasing smile.

“Why?” Ruby blinked softly. 

“Because I’m the one assigned to the most beautiful patient in the hospital”.

Ruby almost laughed for the first time in weeks. The sound surprised even herself.

Clara’s face immediately brightened.

“There it is!” She exclaimed dramatically. 

“A smile! Finally!”

Ruby shook her head faintly, but warmth touched her chest. It felt strangely comforting like having an older sister, a real one not someone like Vivian. She lowered her gaze silently. Most nights she barely slept, her thoughts endlessly replayed everything she learned after waking up.

Also, the mysterious man haunted her thoughts constantly. Sometimes she caught herself staring toward the door unconsciously whenever footsteps approached outside her room. Her heartbeat would quicken slightly before disappointment settled when it turned out to be someone else.

He never came, not once and days passed. Even Clara found it strange.

“He never missed a single day before,” She murmured one afternoon while adjusting Ruby’s blanket. 

“Not even during snowstorms”.

Ruby tried sounding casual despite the ache inside her chest.

“…maybe… he’s busy”.

But the words felt hollow even to herself. ‘Why didn’t he come after she woke up? Had he changed his mind? Did he regret confessing?’ The thought hurt far more than it should have. Far more than her family’s absence and that frightened Ruby deeply.

Then finally on the day of discharge, Ruby sat quietly in the wheelchair near the window while Clara packed the remaining medications and reports neatly into a bag. The doctor had cleared her to leave the hospital under strict instructions regarding rehabilitation and rest.

Physically, she improved significantly but emotionally, she felt hollow, empty and lost. She was leaving the one place where someone had cared for her unconditionally for two years and returning to the place where she was unwanted.

Clara crouched beside her wheelchair gently.

“If anything feels wrong after discharge, call immediately,” She said seriously. 

“Don’t ignore pain”.

Ruby nodded softly. A strange sadness filled her chest knowing she would no longer see Clara daily.

Before either could say more, the door suddenly opened. Ruby’s eyes lifted instantly. For one foolish second, hope bloomed inside her heart that it was him but the hope died immediately.

Vivian Vale walked into the room elegantly dressed in a designer cream outfit, expensive heels clicking sharply against the floor. Behind her followed one of the servants from the Vale mansion carrying Ruby’s belongings.

The moment Vivian saw Ruby awake in the wheelchair, she immediately transformed into the image of a loving younger sister.

“Oh my God, Ruby!” Her voice sounded overly emotional. She rushed forward dramatically before gently hugging Ruby’s shoulders.

“I missed you so much” She whispered sweetly but Ruby felt nothing.

If this had happened weeks ago, Ruby would have cried happily in her sister’s arms. Now she saw every fake expression clearly, every practiced smile and every lie hidden beneath Vivian’s perfect act. She slowly pulled away and looked at her coldly.

The brief stiffness in Vivian’s expression revealed she noticed the difference immediately but only for a second. Soon the sweet mask returned.

“Mom and Dad wanted to come but they’re busy with an important event today” Vivian lied smoothly while fixing Ruby’s blanket. 

Ruby almost laughed bitterly. Even now, Vivian lied effortlessly. She no longer had energy to question anything. While Clara watched the interaction silently from nearby, clearly uncomfortable.

Soon the servant carefully wheeled Ruby out of the hospital room. As they passed through the corridor, she turned her head slightly one last time, her eyes unconsciously searching the hallway, the doors and every distant figure but he wasn’t there. The disappointment inside her chest felt strangely unbearable.

The long drive back to the Vale mansion remained painfully silent. Vivian filled the car with meaningless chatter about parties, fashion events, celebrities, and social gossip as though nothing important had happened at all.

Ruby simply stared out the car window quietly. The familiar streets of London blurred past her eyes while heaviness settled deeper inside her heart.

Finally, the massive gates of the Vale mansion appeared. The place Ruby once considered home. As the car slowly entered the estate, she felt no warmth.

The grand mansion stood beautifully beneath the evening sky exactly as she remembered with elegant fountains, trimmed gardens, and luxurious architecture. Yet now it looked unfamiliar like a stranger wearing the face of her memories

The servant carefully pushed her wheelchair inside while Vivian walked ahead impatiently, her fast pace revealing how eager she was to finish this performance.

And for the first time in her life, Ruby truly understood that sometimes a beautiful house could feel colder than loneliness itself.