Chapter 199

Hospital. The sharp scent of disinfectant lingered heavily in the air, mixing with a silence so thick it felt suffocating. Not even a whisper of sound broke through the quiet of the room. Celestia Brooks sat beside the hospital bed, unmoving. Her swollen, red eyes had long since lost their usual brightness, gazing blankly at her unconscious father. Her chest ached like it was being wrenched apart. The monitor beside Henry Brooks showed stable vitals, a faint proof that he was still holding on—and that was the only thing barely keeping her together. She’d tried to stay hopeful at first, to believe things would turn around… but the longer she stared at him, the more her eyes welled up uncontrollably. Why did it have to be like this? Why her dad? What did he ever do to deserve this kind of pain? Celestia wasn’t just mad at fate for being so cruel—she was blaming herself too. If only she’d gone with him to the market like she used to… maybe none of this would’ve happened. Just outside the