Alina’s POV – continued

The room was quiet except for the soft hum of machines and the faint sound of Ares’s breathing.

I hadn’t moved from his side. I couldn’t. Every time I looked away, a small, terrified part of me thought he might vanish again — like a cruel dream I’d wake up from.

He looked fragile, the great Ares Sterling — the man who once commanded rooms with a glance — now lying beneath white sheets, the sharp lines of his face softened by exhaustion and pain. ...