Chapter 19 – Valeria
I’m on the bed.
In our bedroom.
The room feels too bright. Too full. Like the air itself is crowded with people I can hear but not fully process.
There’s a pressure in my head, heavy and dull, like my thoughts are moving through water. My mouth feels dry—too dry to speak properly, too heavy to form anything clear.
I try to swallow.
It hurts.
The doctor is here. I can see him moving at the edge of my vision—controlled, focused, too calm in a way that doesn’t comfort me.
Staff are around too. Voices overlapping. Footsteps. Fabric shifting. Someone moving a tray. Someone else speaking too fast.
Elena is here.
I hear her before I fully see her.
She’s crying.
“No, no—please, she was fine before I left her,” she’s saying, her voice breaking. “Please, is she okay?”
Her words dissolve into panic.
I try to turn my head toward her, but even that feels heavy. Slow.
“Elena…” I attempt, but it comes out barely above a whisper.
My throat is dry. Burning.
The doctor says something I can’t quite catch. His tone is soft, but there’s something underneath it I don’t like. Something careful.
I blink slowly, trying to focus.
My hand moves instinctively toward my stomach.
That’s when fear finally cuts through the fog.
My baby.
My heart tightens sharply.
I try to speak again, stronger this time.
“What—” My voice cracks. I clear my throat, swallowing again, wincing. “What happened?”
No one answers immediately.
That silence is worse than anything else in the room.
Elena is still crying somewhere to my left. I hear her say my name. Over and over. Like repetition can fix something that already feels broken.
I try to sit up.
A hand gently presses me back down. The doctor. Firm but careful.
