Chapter Forty Two
Laila’s POV
I waited in that golden cage until the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long orange and purple shadows across the pristine hospital suite.
I sat by the large window with my hands folded in my lap, staring down at the entry gates until my eyes burned. The clock on the wall ticked rhythmically, swallowing every second of my patience. He never showed up. No heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway, no low voice grumbled outside my door, and no dark figure stepped into the room to give me the answers I so desperately needed.
By the third morning, I stopped waiting for a phantom.
I threw off the soft silk sheets and told the nursing staff I was getting discharged. They tried to protest, insisting that I stay under observation for another forty-eight hours,
