Chapter 19: Don’t Leave Me
718 Words
Sound came back first.
Ringing.
Sharp.
Endless.
---
Then pain.
Everywhere.
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Elena gasped as air rushed violently into her lungs, her body jerking as consciousness snapped back into place.
Dust filled the air.
Thick.
Choking.
The world around her was blurred—shattered pieces of the warehouse scattered in every direction.
For a moment—
she couldn’t move.
Couldn’t think.
---
Then—
memory hit.
The explosion.
The force.
Him.
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“Alessandro—”
Her voice came out broken.
Barely there.
Panic surged instantly, cutting through the haze as she forced herself to move.
Her arms trembled as she pushed against the ground, ignoring the sharp pain that shot through her side.
“Alessandro!”
Louder this time.
Desperate.
---
No answer.
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Her heart slammed violently against her ribs.
No.
No, no, no—
---
She stumbled to her feet, coughing as the dust filled her lungs, her vision struggling to focus through the smoke and debris.
“Alessandro!”
---
A shape moved.
To her left.
---
Relief hit too fast—
until she saw it wasn’t him.
One of his men.
Bleeding.
Alive.
But not him.
---
Panic clawed deeper.
Colder.
More dangerous.
---
“Elena—stay—” the man tried to say, but his voice failed.
She didn’t stop.
Couldn’t.
---
She moved through the wreckage, her pulse out of control, her breathing uneven as fear took over completely.
“Alessandro—!”
---
Then—
she saw him.
---
Her heart stopped.
---
He was on the ground.
Half-covered in debris.
Not moving.
---
“No.”
The word broke from her instantly as she ran toward him, dropping to her knees beside him.
“No—no—no—”
Her hands shook as she pushed the debris away, ignoring the pain in her arms as she cleared enough to reach him.
His face.
His chest.
---
“Alessandro—”
Her voice cracked.
---
No response.
---
Her vision blurred.
Tears she hadn’t allowed before—wouldn’t allow—burned at the edges of her eyes.
---
“Don’t do this,” she whispered, her hands moving to his face, her fingers trembling as she tried to steady him.
“Don’t—don’t do this—”
---
Nothing.
---
Her breath broke.
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“Please.”
The word came out raw.
Unfiltered.
Nothing like her.
---
And then—
his chest moved.
---
Small.
But there.
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Relief hit so hard it nearly knocked her over.
---
“Alessandro—” she breathed, her voice shaking now as she leaned closer.
“Wake up—please—”
---
A faint groan.
---
His brow tightened slightly.
His head shifting just enough to tell her—
he was there.
---
Her hand tightened against his face.
“You’re okay,” she said quickly, even though she didn’t know if it was true. “You’re okay—”
---
His eyes opened.
Slow.
Heavy.
Unfocused at first—
then finding her.
---
“Elena…”
Her name barely left his lips.
---
She let out a broken breath.
“I’m here,” she said quickly. “I’m right here—”
---
His hand moved weakly, searching—
until it found hers.
---
The moment their fingers touched—
everything stilled.
---
“You’re… safe?” he asked, his voice rough.
Even now.
Even like this.
---
Her chest tightened painfully.
“Yes,” she said, her voice shaking. “I’m safe.”
A pause.
Then—
“You came back to me.”
---
His grip tightened slightly.
Weak.
But there.
---
“Of course I did,” he murmured.
Like it was obvious.
Like it was the only outcome.
---
Her breath caught.
---
“You i***t,” she whispered, her voice breaking slightly. “You scared me.”
A faint, almost invisible shift in his expression.
Not quite a smile.
But close.
---
“You’re crying,” he said quietly.
---
She froze.
---
She hadn’t even realized.
---
Her hand lifted instinctively to her face, brushing against the tears she hadn’t meant to let fall.
---
“I’m not—” she started.
Then stopped.
Because there was no point denying it.
Not anymore.
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His thumb moved weakly against her
- Writer
