Bound to a Life He Never Meant to Share

World of Chaos

The ride home passed in silence, broken only by my uneven breathing and the rhythmic sweep of the windshield wipers. Claire didn't push. She just drove.

When we reached the apartment, she handed me a towel and guided me inside.

"Shower," she said gently. "I'll make tea."

The hot water stung my skin, but I welcomed the pain. I stood there until my fingers wrinkled, until the tears slowed, until exhaustion replaced shock. When I finally stepped out, wrapped in one of Claire's oversized hoodies, my phone buzzed on the counter.

I threw a glance at it and turned away. I wasn't in the mood to talk.

"It might be important," Claire said quietly from the doorway.

"I can't," I replied. "Not tonight."

The phone buzzed again.

Claire hesitated, then picked it up before I could stop her. "Hello?"

I saw the color drain from her face almost immediately.

"Yes," she said slowly. "This is her roommate."

Claire's hand trembled as she held the phone to her ear. I watched her, my body still shivering from the cold, but my mind was stuck on the image of Damien's hand swinging toward me. I was waiting for her to say it was a wrong number. I wanted the world to stop asking things of me for just one night.But

Claire's eyes met mine, filled not with anger but with pity. A deep, soul-crushing pity.

"What?" she whispered into the receiver. "How long? Okay... okay, we'll come. We'll figure it out."

She pressed the end button and just stared at the device in her hand like it was a piece of lead.

"Claire," I said, my voice rough. "Who was that?"

"Elona," she said carefully. "It was the hospital."

My heart dropped into my stomach.

"Your sister," she took my ice-cold hands in hers. "She had a seizure. Your mom called. Mia had a massive seizure an hour ago. She's at the University Hospital. They've stabilized her, but…"

The air in the room suddenly felt thin. Mia. My baby sister. The only person left who looked at me like I was a hero."But what?" I pushed, my heart hammering against my ribs.

"But what?" I repeated, my heart racing."The doctors found a shadow on the scan. A blockage. They won't even move her to the surgical wing for the emergency procedure without a massive deposit. Elona, your mom says the insurance won't cover this facility."

I felt a hysterical laugh bubble up. I looked at the table where the crushed watch box sat. That watch had cost me the last of my savings—the savings I had built back up, penny by penny, after paying for Damien's oncology treatments.I had spent my sister's safety net on a man who just slapped me in front of his new mistress.

"How much?" I asked, despite myself.

Claire hesitated. "Fifty thousand. Just for the admission and the initial surgery. They need it by tomorrow or they'll have to transfer her to the state facility across the county. Elona, she won't survive the ambulance ride in that condition."

I stood up, but my legs felt like water. I stumbled, gripping the kitchen counter. I looked around our tiny, cramped apartment. There was nothing here to sell. I had already sold my car. I had sold my mother's jewelry. I had given my life to a ghost, and now my sister was paying the price.

"I'll call him," I whispered.

Claire snapped her head up. "Who? Damien? Elona, no. Did you not see your face? Did you not hear what he said to you?"

"He has the money!" I screamed, the sound tearing through the quiet apartment. "I paid for his life! He's back at the firm, he's making bonuses, he's living in that villa! If I hadn't spent my money on him, I would have it for Mia right now. He owes me. He owes me this."

I grabbed my phone with shaking fingers and dialed his number.

Ring. Ring.

"Pick up, you coward," I hissed. "Damien, please pick up."

On the third try, the line clicked open. But it wasn't his voice. It was hers. The girl from the bedroom.

"Hello?" she said, her voice dripping with boredom. "I thought Damien told you to stop calling, sweetie. It's a bit pathetic, don't you think?"

"Put him on," I choked out. "Please. It's an emergency. My sister is dying. I need him to—"

"He's busy," she interrupted. I could hear the muffled sound of music and laughter in the background. "And he told me to tell you: if you call again, he's calling the police for harassment. Don't use your family drama to try and guilt him back into your life. Get a job and pay your own bills."

Click.

The line went dead.

I stared at the screen until it went black. I looked at my reflection in the dark glass. I looked like a victim. I looked like a girl who had been used, discarded, and mocked.

I looked at the crushed gift box. I picked it up and, with a scream of pure rage, threw it across the room. It hit the wall and shattered, the glass face of the watch splintering into a thousand pieces. Just like me.

"He's not going to help," I whispered, falling to my knees on the cold floor. "He's never going to help."

Claire was beside me in an instant, holding me as I sobbed. "We'll find another way, Elona. We'll call the banks, we'll start a fundraiser, Or—"

"She doesn't have weeks, Claire! She has hours!" I gripped Claire's arms, my eyes wide and wild. "I ruined her life. I gave her protection to a monster. I killed my sister for a man who doesn't even remember my name."

I stayed on that floor for hours.

The hospital lights hummed softly above me, sterile and unforgiving, casting everything in shades of white and gray. I didn't remember sitting down. I didn't remember when my back slid against the wall or when my legs gave out beneath me. All I knew was that I was there... curled on the cold tiles outside the ICU—staring at the clock bolted high above the doors.Tick.Tick.Tick.

Every second felt like it was being stolen from Mia.

Every tick was a heartbeat I was taking from her and keeping for myself.

Nurses passed. Doctors whispered. Someone cried softly down the hall. I didn't move. My body felt hollow, like something vital had already been removed and no one had bothered to tell me.

Three a.m.

The red numbers on the digital clock burned into my vision.

That was when my phone buzzed.