The offer felt like a slap in the face.
Marco stood there in the hospital hallway, hands folded politely, voice even and calm, as if what he was asking wasn’t the cruelest joke the universe could conjure.
“A live-in position,” he said. “You’d have your own room, full-time pay, medical benefits… and it’s only temporary, Emilia.”
I stared at him like he’d just offered me a one-way ticket to hell.
“Who?” I asked, even though I already knew.
He hesitated.
I stepped back. “No.”
“Emilia, please—”
“Don’t say it.”
“It’s Max.”
The name hit me like a punch.
I felt the blood drain from my face, my throat closing, breath catching like it couldn’t bear to leave my lungs. For a moment, I couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. Could only feel the sting of old wounds opening all over again.
“No,” I sa
