#Chapter 41: The Aftermath

Lauren I stood at the edge of the bed, my arms wrapped around myself like I could hold all the broken pieces of my heart together. The monitor’s steady beeping felt like a countdown, each sound slicing through me. My eyes stayed locked on the faint rise and fall of his chest, desperate for any sign of strength, of the Alexander I knew. If you’d told me I’d end up here, watching over him, feeling like my world was unraveling with every shallow breath he took, I wouldn’t have believed you. I would’ve laughed, maybe even rolled my eyes. But now? Now I couldn’t move. Couldn’t look away. Couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. His face was pale, his skin too thin, too fragile, like he might shatter if I touched him. This wasn’t the Alexander I knew—the guy who could make anyone stop and listen with just one look. The guy who carried the weight of the world on his shoulders and still stood tall. Seeing him like this, so small and fragile, felt wrong. Like the universe had played so