I tried to follow, but a nurse stopped me.
"I'm sorry, family members can't enter the OR."
"Please, let me stay with him!" I was practically begging. "I won't get in the way, I just want to be near him... he was holding my hand, he needs me..."
"Ma'am," the attending physician approached—a man in his fifties with steady eyes. "Trust us, we'll do everything we can. But what you need to do now is wait and let us focus on surgery. His condition is critical—severe blood loss, he's already in shock. We need to operate immediately to stop the bleeding."
I was forced to stop, watching helplessly as Alexander disappeared behind those heavy doors that slammed shutin my face.
My last glimpse was of his pale face and blood-soaked bandages.
When the red surgery light came on, all the strength drained from my body. My legs gave out, and I slid down the cold wall to the floor. My hands were still stained with his warm blood, now drying to a dark rust color.
His final words before boarding the helicopter echoed in my ears: "I love you too... always..."
Then his eyes had closed, and he hadn't woken up.
If he died... if he died saving me... if I never heard his voice again, never saw his smile...
The thought made it impossible to breathe. My chest felt crushed by a boulder, the suffocating sensation making me curl into myself.
"He won't die," I told myself, my voice shaking. "He's too strong, he promised Sofia, he wouldn't break his word... he said he'd marry me, said he'd watch Sofia grow up with me... he won't die..."
Time crawled. The hallway clock ticked away, each second an eternity. I lost track of how long I'd been there—maybe thirty minutes, maybe an hour.
The OR doors remained sealed, the red light still glowing.
The hallway was empty except for me. Ivan had gone to arrange security and handle the aftermath, the other men standing guard outside. The entire floor had been cleared, leaving me alone with this deathly wait.
I hugged my knees, burying my face in my arms. Tears soaked my sleeves, but I was beyond making a sound.
Memories flooded my mind—his cold stare when we first met, his teasing smile at the restaurant, his vulnerability when he'd opened up about his trauma in the car, the tender moments watching him play with Sofia in the manor garden...
And all those times I'd misunderstood him, hurt him. I hadn't trusted him, I'd left him, pushed him away. Yet even after I'd left, he'd searched desperately for me, risking his life to storm that slaughterhouse.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm sorry, Alexander. If you survive this, I swear I'll never leave you again, never doubt you. Please, just live..."
Suddenly, urgent footsteps echoed from the far end of the hallway.
I looked up to see Yekaterina rushing toward me, breathless.
"Anna!" Yekaterina gasped when she saw my condition. "Dear God..."
She stared at the blood covering my clothes, her face going white.
"Katya," I managed, my voice so hoarse I barely recognized it. "Sofia?"
"She's been escorted back to the manor safely. I watched her fall asleep. But you... Alexander..."
"He's in surgery. The bullet... it went through... I don't know..."
Before I could finish, I noticed someone following behind Katya—Tatyana.
She wore a simple black coat, her hair casually tied back, no trace of her usual perfect makeup, just exhaustion and weariness.
Our eyes met, the air seeming to freeze.
Tatyana slowly approached and stopped in front of me. Then, surprising me completely, she gave me an apologetic smile.
