No Longer A Placeholder: I Rise

another glance. Not one. I watched his retreating back, the image burning into my consciousness, a final, brutal confirmati

bandages. A nurse, a kindly woman with tired eyes, bustled in. "Ms. Dorsey, you're awake," she said, her voice soft. "You sustained a concussion an

rway, a dark silhouette against the fluorescent lights of the hallway.

ile on her face. "Very well, Mr. Steele. I'll leave you two to talk." She g

ing it feel suffocating. He reached out, his hand hovering over my

oice hoarse, raw with contempt. "What are you doing here, Keagan? Did you forget to

ren't left for dead, Bella. Or do you have anyone else in your life who would care enough to

ief and the manipulative clutches of my stepmother. I had built walls around myself, brick by painful brick, but Keagan, in his own twisted way, had found the cracks. I had poured

ng but a... a glorified massage stick, Keagan. A temporary itch scratched." The words were venom, an attempt to wound him as de

very one of my tells. But before he could respond, the door burst open again. It was another nurse

hroat. "Go," I said, waving my hand dismissively. "Go to your

. "I'm here because... a friend asked me to check

was choked and tearful. It echoed in the sterile room, a sound of utter despair. I clutched my bandaged hea

his. "Don't flatter yourself, Keagan," I said, my voice cold and steady, every word carefully chosen.

, tears I hadn't even realized were falling. He knew my pride. He knew how rarely I cried. He knew how much I must be hurting to let him see this. He opened his mout

ody, silent and bone-deep. My tears, hot and endless, flowed freely, washing away the last remnan

ttled within me. My heart hadn' t

mirroring the deeper ache in my soul. I heard the gossip from the nurses, hushed whispers about "Mr.

ng by Alba' s bed, gently peeling an apple for her, his head bent close as they shared a private joke. Her smil

tive cut. He had made his choice, loudly and clearly. I closed my eyes, a silent vow forming in the depths of my shattered being. No more tears