Chapter 408

A week dragged by, each day heavy with waiting. The sterile white walls of the hospital room had become a second home for Matthew, who refused to leave Jessica’s side. His unshaven face, wrinkled shirt, and bloodshot eyes told the story of sleepless nights, of prayers whispered into silence.

Hannah visited when she could, but her heart was torn—her children needed her at home, yet her guilt kept pulling her back to Jessica’s bedside. She couldn’t shake the feeling that her choices had led them all here. And Arianna, unwavering as ever, spread herself thin between them both. She tried to be strong for everyone, though her shoulders sagged when no one was looking.

That morning, however, something felt different.

The air was lighter. The oppressive stillness that had suffocated the room for days seemed to ease, replaced by a quiet expectancy, as if the walls themsel