Chapter 29

When Eleanor finished speaking, she stood up without another glance at him, turned, and walked toward the hospital room's door. "Elean." Alexander used the last of his strength to call out, his voice faint and trembling with despair. Eleanor paused at the door but didn't look back. She reached for the handle and pulled it open. Luke was standing outside, his gaze calm and steady, filled with warmth. Eleanor walked toward him, and he reached out to take her hand naturally, holding it tightly. Together, they turned and walked down the hallway without a glance, disappearing into the light at the end of the corridor. Alexander lay on the hospital bed, staring at the empty doorway where she had left. Tears burst from his eyes, sliding down his cheeks and soaking the pillow. He knew, with a clarity that tore through him, that this time, he had truly, irrevocably lost her. He had lost the woman who had once set his bleak life ablaze, the red rose he had pushed away and crushed with hi