Luca's POV

The nurse pushed the curtain aside, and there she lay, looking almost lifeless. She was hooked to machines, pale beneath the sheet, her hair fanned across the pillow in loose strands.

She still looked more or less dead, if not for the slight heaving of her chest, and that alone caused a strange brand of joy, spreading through me. My face softened into a smile as I strolled in.

I leaned over her as I reached her bed, pressing my forehead to hers gently. “Allison,” I ...