The morning sun was warm through the blinds of the hospital room. A faint smell of medicine filled the air. Machines beeped softly beside the bed.
Elena’s fingers twitched.
Then her eyelids moved.
For a moment, she didn’t know where she was. Everything was white. The lights, the walls, the sheets. Her throat was dry. When she tried to speak, only a whisper came out.
“Where… am I?”
A nurse who had been writing on a clipboard looked up fast. Her eyes widened.
“Oh my God,” she said quietly. “She’s awake.”
She hurried to the door and called out, “Doctor! She’s awake!”
Two nurses and a doctor came rushing in. The doctor moved to the bedside, his voice calm but full of relief.
“Elena, can you hear me?”
Elena blinked, trying to focus. “Yes… where’s… where’s Lucian?”
The doctor smiled g
