*CHAPTER SEVENTEEN* The doctor’s shoulders sagged as he let out a tired sigh. “She’s stable,” he said at last, his voice quiet but firm. “She’s unconscious, but we’ve stopped the bleeding. She’ll need rest and monitoring, but for now she’s out of danger.” Tamar’s knees buckled, and she nearly collapsed into the chair behind her, her hands shaking as she covered her mouth. Relief poured through her like a flood, mixing with the tight knot of panic that still sat heavy in her chest. But the doctor wasn’t finished. He looked at her carefully, his brow furrowed with disappointment. “You should know… this wasn’t just random. She had a… procedure. An abortion. It was incomplete, and it nearly cost her her life.” Tamar’s let out a soft groan. Abortion? She knew it. Her stomach twisted painfully. The doctor gave a small, tight nod. “We’ve handled the immediate danger. She’s in recovery now. You can see her when she wakes.” With that, he offered a short, polite nod to both Tamar and Blake, then turned and walked away, leaving them in the echoing quiet of the hospital corridor. Tamar sat still, staring at the floor. Blake sank slowly into the seat beside her, rubbing his face roughly with both hands. After a long, heavy silence, Tamar turned to him, her voice barely a whisper. “Blake… Whose child was it?” “Mine.” Blake answered, his voice low. “So, what happened? Why?” Her voice broke at the last word. Blake let out a shaky breath, his fingers lacing together tightly. “I told her not to do it,” he muttered. “I begged her. But she wouldn’t listen.” Tamar’s brows furrowed, her chest aching. “She said she couldn’t bear it, Tamar,” Blake went on, his voice cracking slightly. “She didn’t want to disappoint you. She didn’t want you to think she was weak, or reckless. And she said… she just couldn’t have a child right now. She wasn’t ready.” Tamar’s eyes burned as tears welled up again, spilling over as she buried her face in her hands. The weight of everything crashed down around her. The secrets, the pain, the silent cries for help she’d missed. And all she could think was: Why didn’t she tell me? Why didn’t I see? Tamar wiped at her eyes, drawing a shaky breath. She turned to Blake, her voice soft but firm. “You should go home,” she murmured. “Your parents must be worried…” Blake let out a short, bitter laugh. One that caught her off guard. “Yeah,” he muttered, his eyes glinting with something sharp, something sorrowful. “I don’t have any.” Tamar blinked, her chest tightening. Blake gave a slow shrug, sinking deeper into the chair. “Mom left when I was ten. Dad drank himself to death two years later. Since then, it’s just been… me.” His voice lowered, his gaze dropping to the floor. “Me, and all the dumb choices I keep making.” Tamar felt her throat close up. For the first time, she really saw him. Not just the loud, confident Blake who was always cracking empty jokes or hovering around Manda, but the boy behind all of it. The boy carrying so much. And Manda. And herself. She let out a long, trembling breath, realizing the truth that wrapped them all together: they were just a bunch of broken people, trying to hold on, trying to survive. Her eyes fluttered shut, her heart aching. Elian. His name slid through her thoughts like a whisper, like a thread of light. Oh, how she wished he were here now, that she could hear his voice, his whole, healing words. Her hands curled tightly in her lap, and somewhere in the silence of her heart, a small, desperate prayer rose up. _”God… if You can bring him to me again…If You can cross our paths one more time…I swear I’ll turn back.” The ache in her chest deepened, and she felt her tears slipping quietly down her cheeks. Because she was tired. So, so tired of running. …