#CHAPTER 54: The Truth Revealed

MILA I was underwater. Floating, drifting, utterly weightless. Everything felt hazy. I couldn’t remember my name, who I was, or how I came to be here. Everything felt distant and quiet. It was almost peaceful. I was vaguely aware of a sound in the distance, someone shouting out over and over, but the sound faded before it got to me, disappearing into the waves. But then I heard it: one word, over and over, repeated like a prayer: “Mila.” Someone was calling my name. I swam upwards, trying to find the surface of the water, desperate to reach whoever was calling me. Their voice sounded closer and closer. I reached out, waiting to be pulled from the water… I opened my eyes. A few blinks revealed that I had somehow ended up in a hospital bed. Several IVs connected me to machines surrounding the bed, and I had a heart monitor attached to one of my fingers. Next to me, a handsome man with concerned eyes leaned over my bed. He smiled, in rel