Chapter 76: Flat Line

Chapter 76: Flat Line
Cosette woke up to a bright place. Many eyes looked at her. She blinked, trying to see clearly. Where was she? None of the faces looked familiar.

"She's awake."

A sound caught her attention. She looked at the machine hooked to her hand.

"Can you hear us?"

"How do you feel?"

It was too blurry. Her sight was unclear. She heard a familiar voice.

"Cosette, I'm glad you're awake."

Cosette turned to Yuan. Seeing his familiar face seemed to bring everything back. She touched her belly.

"My... baby,"

"The baby is fine," a nurse said.

Cosette felt relieved. She looked around. She saw Miss Farrah standing in the doorway. But she didn't seem to come closer. Her eyes were full of fear and worry. There were tears in her eyes, too.

"Aslan..." Cosette said. "Where is Aslan?"

The people in the bright room looked at each other. Cosette turned to Yuan.

"Where's Aslan? Is he... is he here?"

"He's not... here." It hurt Yuan to lie, but he had to. "But he's on his way."

Cosette smiled. "I want to see him..."

"You will. But for now, you need to rest."

Cosette nodded. Some nurses did some tests on her. When they were done, Cosette stayed in her room. She sat on the bed, waiting.

"Will he come today?" she asked Yuan.

A few seconds passed before Yuan answered. "I'm not sure."

"Grandpa... where is he?"

"He's at the mansion right now. You don't need to worry, Cosette. He's accepted his mistake."

Cosette felt peaceful. She looked at the window while holding her stomach.

"What will Aslan’s reaction be when he finds out?" Cosette smiled. "I want to tell him. I want to see his face when he knows we're having a baby."

Cosette noticed Yuan was quiet.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Rest now."

Cosette turned to the closed door.

"Where's Miss Farrah? I saw her earlier. Why didn't she come in?"

"Cosette... you need to rest. They will be here later."

Yuan turned to the nurse in the room who was watching Cosette. She nodded and closed the blue curtain around Cosette’s bed.

"Yuan?" Cosette asked. "He's... he's okay, right?"

Yuan blinked at Cosette’s question.

"I had... I had a strange dream... I..."

The door opened. Cosette couldn't finish her sentence. A guard came in.

"Sir Yuan..."

Yuan turned to him.

"The patient in the ER... the alpha is gone..."

Cosette froze at what she heard.

"Gone?" she asked, confused. Cosette looked at Yuan.

"What does he mean? Is Aslan here?"

The guard seemed to realize his mistake. He bowed. "I'm sorry."

He left the room. But Cosette kept staring at Yuan. Her eyes were asking questions, confused. She was afraid of what she heard.

"Yuan, what's happening?"

"Cosette, Aslan..."

Yuan knew he couldn't hide the truth anymore. "He's gone..."

"What... do you mean?"

"He had a bad wound. It wasn't treated soon enough. It spread through his body. He's been critical since the attack a few days ago. And now..."

"No," Cosette shook her head. "No... You're wrong. Yuan, he's alive."

"Cosette..."

Cosette tried to get out of bed. The nurse stopped her right away.

"What you're doing is bad for you," she warned.

But Cosette wasn't listening anymore. Tears were running down her face.

"Yuan... Yuan, please. You're wrong. He can't be gone... Aslan is alive, Yuan."

Yuan felt sorry for Cosette. He couldn't look her in the eye.

"They might be wrong... Aslan... he won't just disappear. He won't leave me..."

At that moment, the nurse called on the intercom for a sedative. Cosette was struggling in the bed. Yuan and the nurse were carefully forcing her to lay down.

"Yuan, I can feel it... he's still alive..." Cosette said with a weak voice. "The doctors might be wrong... Aslan isn't normal. He's a hybrid, an alpha..."

Two more nurses came in and saw what was happening. One nurse had a tray with medicine. They quickly went to Cosette’s bed.

"Yuan, please let me see him," Cosette begged. "Aslan... he can't be gone..."

Cosette felt a quick, sharp pain in her arm. Soon after, she felt very sleepy. Cosette looked at Yuan, until her eyes slowly closed.

"We need to check the baby's condition," the nurse said. "We can't do it well until she calms down."

Yuan could only feel weak.

"Is it true the alpha is gone?" Yuan asked.

"It was a flat line. The doctors couldn't do anything else."

Yuan clenched his fists.

"We'll check the baby soon."

Yuan nodded. He glanced at the sleeping Cosette before telling the nurses he was going to leave the room. Yuan went to the room where Aslan was. Miss Farrah and Kieran were standing in front of the door. Some nurses were still inside the room. But instead of crying and mourning, Miss Farrah was shaking her head. Yuan heard what she was saying.

"No... they're wrong. My brother is alive."

Kieran was trying to calm her down.

"Tell them, Kieran. I know Aslan is alive."

Yuan walked closer.

"What's going on here?"

Miss Farrah turned to him.

"There must be a mistake here," she said. "Aslan is alive."