“I’ve got you,” I whispered. “You’re not leaving me. Not now. Not after everything. You’re gonna be okay. Youhaveto be okay.”
Because I wasn’t just in love with her.
She was my heart.
My war.
My salvation.
And I’d never let her go.
Elizabeth
It was quiet.
But not peaceful.
My body felt like it was floating somewhere between fire and ice. Numb and aching. Heavy, but light. My mind drifted like a feather on a storm — catching glimpses, sounds, touches — but never landing for long.
I heard voices.
Soft at first. Like underwater echoes.
“She’s stable. She just needs time.”
A woman. A nurse maybe. Or a doctor. I couldn’t tell.
Then…
“Noah hasn’t left her side.”
That one I recognized.
Lillian.
I tried to open my eyes, to say something — anything — but my body didn’t listen.
“Of course he hasn’t,” Mary’s voice joined, soft and wry. “He’s too in love to breathe properly without her.”
There was a low chuckle — Liam, maybe. Or Adonis.
But then—
“Please, baby… just come back to me.”
Noah.
His voice.
Rough. Sleep-deprived. Cracking in places that broke me even in the fog.
I felt something warm on my hand. Gentle. Anchoring.
“Every minute without you has felt like hell. You’ve already been through enough… you don’t owe me anything, just—just wake up.Please.”
My heart tried to respond. I wanted to hold him. I wanted to scream his name. But all I could manage was a tiny twitch of my fingers.
Still, something shifted.
