Didn’t slow down.
My foot stayed welded to the accelerator.
My heart slammed in time with the engine.
Everything was too fast.
Except my thoughts.
Those dragged.
“Elena, I should not do this to you again—not after all the pain I’ve already caused... God! Please stay alive... let me spend the rest of my life groveling at your feet.”
The words repeated again.
And again.
And again.
“Please... just hold on. You deserve every bit of the goodness life can give.”
My grip tightened on the wheel.
Let her live.
Let the baby breathe.
I’ll trade anything.
Everything.
The thought was excruciatingly painful and absolute.
Because I’d realized something too late.
I had hurt her.
Too many times. Too deeply.
Each one sharper than the last.
Each one cutting deeper than I’d intended—or admitted.
And she had taken all of it.
She didn’t deserve any of it.
She never had.
My jaw clenched hard enough to ache.
I should have listened.
The hospital came into view ahead—glass and steel glowing white against the dark skyline, a stark beacon cutting through the night.
I cut across two lanes without hesitation.
Tires screamed again as I swung into the underground garage.
