chapter 8 -A moment of ruin

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Chapter 8 (Ethan’s POV)

I leaned back in the chair in the other room, my mind spinning with everything that had happened. I could hear the muffled sound of Reign's voice through the walls, but it wasn’t the conversation that worried me. It was what I hadn’t said to Liliana, what I hadn’t done. This was tearing us apart, and it felt like I couldn’t stop the damage, no matter how hard I tried.

She was slipping away from us, and I knew I was partly to blame.

I glanced at the clock. It had only been a few minutes since I left them together. I needed to give them some space to talk, to clear the air. But a nagging feeling tugged at me—a feeling that something wasn’t right. Something had shifted, and it wasn’t just between me and Liliana. It was between Reign and me too. The tension, the guilt—it was suffocating.

Just as I began to rise, I heard it: a loud crash from the other room. The noise was sharp, like the sound of something breaking, followed by a deep silence that sent a chill down my spine.

My heart raced as I sprang to my feet, rushing to the door and slamming it open. My eyes locked onto the scene in front of me, and I froze in horror.

Liliana was lying motionless on the floor. Her body sprawled unnaturally, blood slowly pooling around her head. Reign was beside her, her hands shaking uncontrollably as she held a shattered ceramic pot. She was crying, but there was no time for tears, no time for explanations.

“Liliana!” I yelled, my voice cracking as I dropped to my knees beside her.

I quickly checked for a pulse, feeling my hands tremble as I searched. My heart was pounding so loudly I could hardly hear anything else. Please, please, God, let her be okay.

Her pulse was faint, but it was there. A small, fragile sign that she was still with us. My hands were shaking as I pressed against her neck, trying to stop the bleeding. But it wasn’t enough. I could feel my breath catch in my throat. She had been hurt—badly.

“Reign, what the hell happened?” I demanded, my voice tight with panic.

“I... I didn’t mean to,” she sobbed, her voice barely a whisper. “I didn’t mean to hurt her. I just... I just lost it.”

I didn’t have time for her excuses, not now. My thoughts were clouded with fear. I had to get her help. Now.

“Call an ambulance,” I ordered, standing up to grab my phone. My hands were shaking so much I could barely dial. But I couldn’t afford to wait. I couldn’t afford to lose her.

Reign’s cries echoed in the background, but I couldn’t focus on her right now. I needed Liliana to be okay. That was all that mattered. I could feel a lump forming in my throat, a weight in my chest that threatened to choke me.

As I talked to the dispatcher, I glanced down at Liliana, trying to steady my breathing. She had always been strong, always the one holding everything together. Now, she was the one lying helpless on the floor, and I had no idea how long it would take to put things back together.

It felt like an eternity before the ambulance arrived. The paramedics rushed into the room, taking over the situation, asking me questions I couldn’t even comprehend. I could barely hear them, my focus completely on Liliana as they placed her on the stretcher.

“Is she going to be okay?” I asked desperately, my voice barely above a whisper.

“She’s stable for now,” one of the paramedics said, though his face was tight with concern. “But she needs to get to the hospital right away. She’s had some trauma to her head.”

I nodded, my heart sinking. Trauma. My chest felt like it was being crushed under the weight of the word. I couldn’t lose her. I couldn’t lose Liliana.

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At the Hospital

The hospital was a blur of white walls and fluorescent lights. I was pacing the waiting room, unable to sit still for even a moment. Every step felt like it took me farther from Liliana, farther from the woman I had failed to protect.

I tried to focus, to control my breathing, but nothing could calm the storm raging inside me. How could I have let this happen? How had I not seen the signs sooner? I had always known that Reign and I were walking on thin ice, but I never imagined it would lead to something like this.

“Ethan.”

I turned sharply at the sound of my name. Reign was standing in the doorway, her face pale, her eyes swollen from crying. I couldn’t bear to look at her. I knew what she’d done, and I didn’t know how to feel about it.

“We’re still waiting for news,” I said, my voice hollow. “How is she?”

The doctor had already spoken to us briefly, but I couldn’t bear to repeat the words aloud. I needed something more—something that would tell me everything would be okay. But there was no guarantee.

Reign stepped forward, her hands trembling. “Ethan... I’m so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen. I didn’t—”

I held up my hand, silencing her. “It doesn’t matter now. What matters is that she gets through this. She needs us... she needs me.”

I didn’t look at her as I said the words, and I didn’t wait for her response. The door to the hospital room swung open, and a nurse emerged with a solemn expression.

“She’s awake, but there’s something you need to know,” the nurse said, glancing at us both. “She’s physically stable, but there’s been some emotional trauma. Her body has completely shut down in response to the stress. It’s a kind of shock. Her paralysis... it might last for a while. We don’t know how long, but we’re doing everything we can.”

I could feel my heart sink further into my chest. Her body was shut down, her mind blocked—paralyzed. She was still here with us, but she wasn’t. Not fully. Not yet.

I glanced over at Reign. She was standing still, her face pale and stricken with guilt. But all I could think about was Liliana, lying in that hospital bed, fighting to hold on.

How had it all come to this?

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