Semua Bab Dear Ex, I'm More Than Your Plan B: Bab 231 - Bab 240

The room spun in fragments, shouts, gunfire, a child’s cry, blood slicked footsteps, and then, everything froze.A single shot rang out.Then another.Then two more.Vera flinched at the thunderclap of sound, her body instinctively tensing despite the agony it sent down her spine. She expected more pain. More violence.But instead, there was a sudden silence.Not peace.But silence.Her blurred vision caught flashes, movement in her peripheral. Heavy thuds. A body collapsing near the doorway. Another slumped backward with a gaping hole in his chest. One man dropped his weapon mid aim, surprise frozen on his face before he toppled forward.And in the center of it all, framed by the smoke curling in from the shattered window and the flickering lights overhead, stood Dorian Fontaine.His jaw clenched.His chest heaving.Gun raised.Eyes murderous.He was covered in dust and blood, not his. His coat flapped slightly from the wind breaking in through the blown out corner. His boots stepped

The hospital lights were too bright.Too sterile.Too quiet.Too cruel.The hum of machines, the steady beep of monitors, and the staccato of urgent footsteps echoed through the corridors like a distant war drum, reminding everyone that lives hung in the balance just behind those white doors.Eira lay asleep, a child sized oxygen mask covering half her face. A nurse had gently sedated her when the screaming wouldn’t stop.Her small chest rose and fell in steady rhythm now, but the dark shadows beneath her eyes made her look years older than her age.Asher sat beside her, still in his bloodied clothes, his face pale and his head wrapped in gauze. His forehead had taken the brunt of the fall when one of the attackers slammed him into the concrete floor. A mild concussion, the doctors said. Nothing too threatening.But the damage wasn’t just in his skull.It was everywhere.Inside him.Around him.He hadn’t said a word since they arrived.The paramedics had barely pried Vera from Dorian’s

Vera woke to the steady, rhythmic hum of machines.The smell of antiseptic hit her first, then the ache, deep, bone heavy, radiating from every place the bat had struck her.Her eyelids felt like lead, but she forced them open, squinting against the harsh hospital lighting.For a moment, she couldn’t remember where she was.Then the memories crashed back.Eira’s screams.The crack of the bat.The sound of a gunshot that had been meant for her family.Dorian stepping in front of them.Her heart lurched.She tried to push herself upright, but a sharp pain tore through her ribs, forcing her back down. The IV tugged at her arm.A nurse appeared beside her, her tone calm but firm. “Easy. You’re safe now.”Safe.The word felt fragile. Like it could shatter if she breathed too hard.“Where’s my daughter?” Vera’s voice was hoarse, barely more than a whisper.“She’s here,” the nurse said gently. “She’s resting. We… gave her something to help her sleep. The trauma... she needed the rest.”Vera’

“Vera.” His voice was firmer now, as much as his failing strength allowed. “You need to be happy. And that’s not with me anymore. It’s him. Asher.”She stared at him, her tears falling faster, her heart torn in two.“I’m letting go,” Dorian said quietly, a bittersweet peace in his eyes. “I want to know you’re safe. That you’re… loved. That’s all I ever wanted for you.”Her hand gripped his, desperate, as if she could keep him here through sheer will. “Don’t say goodbye. Please, not like this.”His thumb brushed over her knuckles, slow, weak. “Then let’s just say… I’ll see you again. One way or another.”The monitor beeped steadily beside them, but each sound felt like a countdown. Vera bent over, pressing her forehead to his, her tears soaking into the hospital sheets.“I’ll never forget you,” she whispered.When she finally pulled back, his eyes were closed, but there was the faintest trace of a smile on his lips."Asher… please… take care of her.” He blinked slowly, as if sealing an

The sliding doors to the hospital parted with a soft hiss, and Evelyn swept inside like she owned the place.Her tailored coat, pristine as always, wrapped tightly around her frame.Her face was the picture of composure, controlled, unreadable, as though the chaos of the last twenty four hours was merely background noise in her world. But her gloved hands, hidden inside the deep pockets, were trembling.She had been forcing herself to breathe evenly ever since she’d stepped out of her car.In the back of her mind, the thought gnawed at her relentlessly, What if Dorian lives? If he opened his mouth, everything could come crashing down.The Hollow Syndicate. Sarah. Her. Asher would never forgive her.The moment she spotted her son down the hall, leaning against the wall outside the ICU with exhaustion etched into every line of his face, she schooled her features into a mask of concern. “Asher,” she called softly, her voice warm enough to pass for motherly, though it felt like acid in her