Trauma-Made Queen

bout her fertility had shattered something deep inside her. The impossible weight of it pressed down on her chest every

like he was worlds away. She couldn't bring herself to face him-not with everything that had happened. His betrayal with Jenny still stung every time she

motions of the day-shower, eat, check messages-but it all felt like an act, like she was playing a role in a life that no longer belo

unanswered. She couldn't bring herself to read them, to respond to them. It felt easier to hide away from it all

cked on her door, gently at first, but there was no answer. He knocked again, a little loude

d the apartment, expecting the usual mess, but instead, it felt still-too stil

ed softly. "Abbi

in response

ing room was dim, the blinds drawn, and everything felt frozen in

nt with exhaustion, and her breathing shallow. A sickening sense of dread washed over him as he crossed the room in a hu

e up. Pleas

hem-just a distant, hollow look that made his heart break.

barely audible, as if the e

as he took her hand in his, his thumb brushing over her cold

he face. Abbie, the woman he loved, the woman who had given so much to him, was falling apart-and he had let it happe

the words. "I'm so sorry for everything.

he needed help. She needed someone to be there, to pick up the pieces of the life she had lost. And as much a

hoped he'd never have to dial. "Hospital. She needs help. Please, I

epression, triggered by everything that had happened. Her weight loss, weakness, and inability to care for herself had reached a

immediate physical danger, but the emotional toll she had endured was clear. The doctor, a woman with calm eyes and a soft voice, spoke to Brian a

is Abbie, the woman who had always been so strong, so full of lif

her side. He helped her into a chair, her body still weak, her head heavy. She barely

ling beside her. "I'm not going

red at him with hollow eyes. "You don't have to stay," she whispered, her

ou're not broken. You're hurt. And I've been a fool, a

food and hydration intake, but there was more than that. She needed stability, someone who would be ther

the hospital: he was taking her home with him. She couldn't go back to that empty apartment, not in the state

e had imagined a future with him. But now, it felt empty, cold, and foreign. Brian was determined to change that. He was determined to make it a safe s

d to shut out the world. Brian kept glancing over at her, his heart breaking for her in

le on the couch. He pulled a blanket over her and sat beside her, not sur

on hers. "I'm not leaving, Abbie. We'll get thro

his hand. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Brian to cli

to hope, too. Hope that, maybe, they could find their way back to each