Chapter 117

Mirabelle’s POV

The first thing I noticed was the sound–a steady rhythmic beeping that pierced through the haze of my mind. It was faint at first, distant, like an echo calling me from the depths of a fog I couldn’t escape. My head throbbed, a dull persistent ache, and my eyelids felt impossibly heavy as I tried to open them.

The light was too bright.

I squinted, the sterile white of the room assaulting my senses. Everything was blurred, shapes and shadows bending together in a surreal dance. I blinked, my lashes wet with tears I hadn’t realised were there, and slowly, the world began to take shape.

A hospital room.

The faint antiseptic smell hit me next, mingling with the sterile cold air. My body felt alien, like it wasn’t mine. My limbs were leaden, my chest tight and a sharp pain radiated from the right side of my abdomen. I tried to shift, sit up, but the movement sent a fiery wave of pain tearing through me, forcing a gasp from my lips. I f