ions he had been holding back, a frustration building in his chest. He couldn't leave this unanswe

the enigma he had come to both hate and crave. Her expression

her voice low but ti

at is going on here, Elena? Talk to me!" His words were sharp, like knives, but they were edged with

ared she would slam the door in his face. But instead, she stepped outside,

ce trembling but firm. "I'm sure your lady friend wouldn't like you to be here, doing this with me.

challenge in her gaze. "You don't have any right in my life. You

ng, but it wasn't the rejection that hit him the hardest. It was the finality in her voice, the

oice rose, almost desperate, "

s ears. Dominic turned in time to see Lucas, standing in the doorway, his eyes wide with confusion.

on?" Lucas's voic

, Lucas took a step forward. His body swayed precariously on his fee

rd, catching the boy just before he hit the ground. His pulse quickened as he knel

em, her hands trembling as she gently touched her son's face. "He's

oring the protests that Elena threw at him. "We need to get

ic," she pleaded, her voice cracking with emotion. "

close. "I'm not waiting for an ambulance," he said, his voice

It was as if the raw emotions between them had been buried under the weight of Lucas's collapse. E

mind racing. He couldn't help but glance at Elena now and then, her face a mixtu

body limp and feverish. Every minute th

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ttle to drown out the pounding of Dominic's heart. He watched Elena as she paced beside the hospital bed, her hands wri

dgment in his eyes. "We've stabilized Lucas, but his condition is s

gathering in her eyes. She didn't speak, couldn't speak. Her breath came

wly turning into something else. He didn't know what he was supposed to feel. H

ortly, Ms. Michaels. We're doing everything we can." And with that

anding there, at a loss for words. He couldn't bring himself to comfort her. Al

he saw the raw, broken pain that filled her. He wanted to comfort her. He wanted to reach out, to tell her everyth

that weighed on them both. It was the years of silence, the distance between them that had only grown wider w

as she fought back tears. He wanted to reach out to her, to pull her into his arms, to tell her that e

---------------------------

teady torrents, soaking her to the bone. She didn't see

profound loss. His heart broke for her. But there was more to it-something

r body shaking with the intensity of her grief. He wanted to pull her into his a

the face of the grief that consumed them. There were no comforting words,