chapter 20
1138 Words
Chapter 20– Between Life and Goodbye
(Adrian’s POV)
The sound of wheels screeching against the hospital tiles blurred into the pounding in my chest. I was running beside the stretcher, clutching Elena’s pale hand as if my grip alone could anchor her to this world. Nurses shouted codes I couldn’t comprehend, doctors gave instructions in clipped tones, but all I could hear was the slowing rhythm of the heart monitor attached to her fragile body.
“Elena… please… hold on,” I whispered, my voice breaking against the sterile air.
Her face was almost translucent under the harsh hospital lights. Her lips, once so warm when they curved into laughter or pressed against mine, looked drained of life. My legs wanted to give up, but I couldn’t stop. I kept running beside her stretcher until the doors of the ICU slammed shut between us.
A nurse stopped me, her hands firm against my chest. “Sir, you can’t come in.”
“Don’t you dare tell me I can’t!” I roared, fighting against her grip. “That’s my life in there. That’s my Elena!”
But the doors were locked, and I could only press my forehead against the cold glass, watching helplessly as masked figures swarmed around her, attaching tubes, shouting numbers, fighting for her life while I stood useless, broken, dying on the other side.
My knees buckled. I slid down the wall, burying my face in my palms. I had always thought of myself as strong, untouchable. But in that moment, I was just a man terrified of losing the only person who had ever truly owned his heart.
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(Elena’s POV – inside the haze)
It was quiet where I was. Too quiet. I floated in a fog, my body heavy, my breath shallow. The pain in my chest burned, yet there was also a strange softness, like being wrapped in clouds.
I tried to open my eyes, but the world blurred, shifting between light and shadow. Then, through the haze, I saw him. Adrian. His voice wasn’t loud here; it was soft, trembling, almost like a prayer.
“Elena… stay with me. Please.”
His words tugged me back from the edge. I saw flashes of his smile, the warmth of his arms, the way his eyes lit up when he watched me paint. Then I saw my mother’s face, long gone, smiling sadly as if calling me home. My father’s voice echoed faintly: “You’ve given enough, my darling. You can rest.”
But then Adrian’s voice cut through everything, desperate, raw, dragging me toward him. And I realised—I wasn’t ready to leave. Not yet.
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(Adrian’s POV)
I couldn’t stay outside. I wasn’t built for waiting. I pushed the door open when the staff rushed to another side, ignoring the shouts behind me. My hands shook as I found hers, cold and limp against the sheets.
“Elena… it’s me,” I whispered, leaning close. “Don’t you hear me? Don’t you dare leave me like this.”
The machines beeped in protest, her body twitching weakly, but her eyelids fluttered. For one terrifying, miraculous second, her lashes lifted, and she looked at me.
“Adrian…” Her voice was nothing more than a breath.
Tears blurred my vision instantly. I kissed her knuckles, kissed the veins on her wrist as if worshipping life itself. “Yes, my love. I’m here. Always.”
Her lips trembled into the faintest smile. “You… look so scared…”
I let out a broken laugh. “Because I am. I’m terrified. You think the great Adrian Knight is unshakable? No. Not when it comes to you. You’re my weakness, Elena. My strength. My everything. If you go… I go with you.”
Her eyes closed again, but not before a soft whisper escaped. “Don’t cry… my painter still needs to finish his masterpiece.”
I bent forward, pressing my lips to hers, so tender yet trembling with desperation. It wasn’t the fiery kiss of passion; it was survival, a plea, a promise. I kissed her cheeks, her forehead, her fragile lips again, pouring every ounce of my soul into her.
“You still have canvases waiting. You still have colors that only you can bring to life. We still have places to go—remember Paris? Remember the stars you wanted to paint from the hilltop? You can’t leave. Not yet.”
Her chest rose weakly under the weight of the oxygen mask, and I felt her fingers twitch against mine.
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Elena’s POV
I wanted to tell him not to cry. I wanted to lift my hand to brush the tears that slid down his jaw. But my body wouldn’t listen. All I could do was listen to his words, let them sink into me like sunlight warming frozen skin.
The truth was, I was tired. So tired. But hearing him, feeling him, knowing how deeply he loved me—it lit a fire inside me, a small spark refusing to die.
I thought of the painting I had started but never finished—the one I had named Passion. It was supposed to be him, the fire in his eyes, the way he loved me with a dangerous, consuming intensity. I had only managed half the strokes before my hands had weakened. I wanted to finish it. For him. For us.
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(Adrian’s POV)
I bent closer until my forehead rested against hers. “Elena… fight for me. For us. For the life we still have to live. You are my reason. If you go, this world means nothing.”
Her eyelashes fluttered again, her lips forming fragile words. “Adrian… don’t stop loving me… promise?”
I choked, brushing my thumb across her lips. “Promise? No, Elena, I swear it—I’ll love you even beyond death. Nothing can break that. Not time, not fate, not even God Himself.”
The heart monitor beeped erratically, a shrill sound that sent ice through my veins. Her chest trembled, her grip on my hand loosening.
“No!” I screamed, shaking her gently. “Stay with me! Elena!”
Doctors rushed in, pulling me away, shouting instructions. I fought them, clawed to stay near her, but a nurse held me back. “Sir, let us do our job!”
My entire body shook, torn between rage and despair. I slammed my fists against the wall, blood dripping from my knuckles, screaming until my throat ripped.
And all I could think, all I could pray—was for one more breath, one more heartbeat, one more moment with her.
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💔Adrian collapsing to the floor outside the ICU doors, whispering Elena’s name like a prayer. Inside, the machines keep beeping, her life hanging by the thinnest thread.
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- Writer
