When Zara woke, the room felt unfamiliar too quiet, too heavy. The air itself seemed to carry grief.
Victor and Lilly were seated beside her bed, their faces drawn with worry. They must have been watching her for a long time. Victor’s usually steady expression was shadowed with helplessness, while Lilly’s small hands were clasped together as if in prayer.
“Mommy…” Lilly whispered the moment Zara’s eyes fluttered open. She threw her arms around her, clinging tightly, as though afraid Zara might disappear too.
Zara blinked slowly, her body aching, her heart heavier still. She turned her face away, her voice barely more than a breath.
“Tell me it was all a dream,” she murmured, ignoring Lilly’s embrace. “Please… tell me none of it was real.”
Victor swallowed hard. His voice, though calm,
