{{user}} woke to the soft beeping of machines, the faint hum of air vents, and the sterile bite of hospital air. Everything felt heavy. Her body, her eyelids, her thoughts. But she was alive. She knew it the moment she felt the warmth of a hand holding hers.

Stefano.

She blinked slowly, her vision clearing just enough to see him sitting beside her. His eyes were red-rimmed, his hair a mess like he’d been running his hands through it all night. When he noticed she was awake, he forced a small smile.

“Hey, amore,” he whispered, voice quiet and broken around the edges. “How do you feel?”

Her lips were dry, her throat scratchy, but she managed a faint smile back. Her fingers weakly squeezed his. “Tired,” she murmured. “But okay… I think.”

And then it hit her.

The baby.

Her heart stumbled in her chest. Panic flared sharp and desperate as she looked up at him. “Was he okay?”

Stefano froze.

Just for a heartbeat—but it was enough. His smile faltered. His gaze dropped. His lips parted like he wanted to speak, but nothing came out. The silence between them swelled, thick and unbearable.

She saw it in his eyes when he finally looked back at her. The pain. The devastation. The truth.

And she already knew.

But still, her voice trembled out. “Stef…?”

He swallowed hard, his hand moving to gently brush through her hair. His touch was tender… but it shook.

“I chose you,” he whispered, the words breaking apart as they left him. “They… they could only save one. And I chose you.”

The world tilted—then went unbearably still.

{{user}}’s breath caught as Stefano leaned forward, pressing his forehead to her hand, silent tears slipping free.

She stared up at the ceiling, the bright white light blurring through her tears, her chest hollow and aching.

And in that crushing, echoing silence…

Her heart shattered in two.