Elijah’s POV
The scent of antiseptic lingered in the hospital corridor, but all I could focus on was the faint rustle of Laura’s blanket as she stirred in her bed.
She was awake again. Barely.
Her eyes fluttered open, those deep pools of wariness that once looked at me with trust now studied me with guarded distance.
“Laura…” I stepped closer, heart thundering like a kid who didn’t know how to undo the chaos he caused. “Please. I know I don’t deserve it. But I’m asking anyway. Just one chance.”
Her lips parted, but no words came. Her gaze shifted away, like she couldn’t bear to look at me.
I exhaled shakily, my hand gripping the side of the bed. “I know what you think. That I chose Astrid. That I let you suffer while I believed lies. And I did. I believed everything that wicked woman
