Three Days Novels & Stories

Karina: **Three days** That’s how long Michael had been unconscious. Three long, unbearable days of waiting, watching, and hoping. I sat beside his bed, my fingers curled tightly around his hand as if my touch alone could bring him back to me. The rhythmic beeping of the monitors filled the silent hospital room; each sound was both a comfort and a torment. He was alive, yes, but he hadn’t woken up. And that terrified me more than anything.

The lips that had once smiled gently at him would never again call him "my Prince." "Seraphina… Seraphina…" His voice was shattered beyond recognition. Every call was like tearing his own throat apart. Finally, he slowly turned his back. "When… when did she…" Richard's voice was completely choked with sobs. Maria looked at them with cold eyes, wiping away the moisture from her own. "Three hours ago." "She was peaceful. There was no pain." When Eleanor heard this, her vision went black, and she nearly collapsed. In the recurring waves of grief, she finally understood.

I was still recovering emotionally from that betrayal when Anna linked her arm through mine and practically dragged me toward the waiting SUV. “We’re free,” she announced. I rolled my eyes. “We’re gone for three days.” “Exactly.” Then she pointed dramatically toward the road ahead. “Adventure awaits.” For once, I didn’t argue. As the city disappeared behind us and the highway stretched endlessly ahead, I leaned back into my seat and allowed myself to smile. Three days. No work. No pressure. No responsibilities. Just friendship. Just rest. Just life. And honestly? I couldn’t wait to see what happened next.

The car ride had been silence and corrections, not preparation. "Three days," I said. The silence spread. Rachel's smile froze. Alexander's hand became a vice on my hip, bruising, desperate. "Three days," Rachel repeated. She turned to the people nearest us, her laugh musical and surprised. "Three days! Such a whirlwind. Such..." she looked back at me, eyes glittering, "...certainty. To know someone so completely in three days. To abandon everything for them. It must be love." "It must be," I said.

Three days felt different from five days and different from seven. The earlier countdowns had carried the quality of anticipation at a manageable distance, enough time between the present and the arrival to continue the ordinary work of the household without the approaching thing dominating every room. Three days had a different texture. Close enough to feel the specific gravity of what was coming, far enough that there was still time to prepare but not so much time that preparation was the primary activity. I spent Thursday afternoon doing ordinary things.

Liam let out a soft laugh and playfully tousled my hair. "Selena, it's been ten years. You've grown distant from me!" I pretended to be annoyed and pushed his hand away. "Ugh, you've ruined my hair again!" It was as if we had been transported back to the days when the three of us were thick as thieves. Once my fever recovered, Liam stuck by my side, helping me pick up all the essentials I needed to get by.

My name written in careful handwriting on the outside. I open it with shaking hands. *The ceremony is in three days. Use them wisely. - O* Three days until my life as I know it ends. Three days to prepare for whatever comes next.

Later that evening, as the sun dipped lower, casting long shadows across the room— Elias spoke again. “I’ll be leaving tomorrow.” Layla blinked. “…leaving?” “Yeah, for a trip,” he said simply. “Three days.” Something in her chest tightened instantly. “Oh.” It was small and barely audible but he heard it. “You don’t like that,” he observed. Layla looked away slightly. “It’s just three days,” she said. But her voice didn’t match her words. Elias stepped closer. “It’s necessary.” She nodded. “I know. Just that,I'll miss you.”

“Are you planning to hold me hostage?” “Depends. Are you going to behave?” “I'm beginning to understand why your employees hate you.” “My employees adore me.” “Your employees are paid to tolerate you.” I shake, grinning despite myself. “And yet you agreed to marry me.” “Thirty days,” he reminds me, lifting one finger. “That's all you get.” “Twenty-six now.” His expression falters. I watch the realization settle over him, the reminder that our arrangement has an expiration date and that, at the end of it, we walk away. He looks down at his hand, turning the engagement ring on his finger.

Then placed his hand on top of theirs. The three laughed. It was innocent. Simple. Nothing more. At least, that's what they told themselves. But none of them pulled away immediately. And for one brief moment, their hands remained together beneath the fading sunlight. Three hands. Three hearts. One friendship. And feelings that were slowly becoming impossible to ignore.