Chapter 156 She Went to the Roof

Chapter 156 She Went to the Roof
Aria's POV

I checked my watch as I approached Ava's room—3:47 PM. After the earlier storm of reporters and confrontations, the ward had settled into an uneasy quiet, giving me time to process the chaos with Isabella and Derek's unexpected kindness. The sting from Isabella's slap had faded, but the memory lingered like a bitter aftertaste.

Ava was awake when I entered, her eyes tracking my movement across the room. She looked fragile against the white hospital sheets, her face pale but alert.

"How are you feeling?" I asked softly, moving to check her IV line.

She watched me work without responding, her eyes following my hands as I adjusted the drip. The silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken grief.

"Where's my baby?"

The words hit me like a physical blow. I froze, my hands still on the IV tubing, feeling heat rush to my face. Moon God, how was I supposed to answer that?

I turned slowly to face her, struggling to find the right words. "Ava, I..." My voice caught. "I don't know what to say. I'm so, so sorry for your loss."

It was a pathetic attempt at comfort, and we both knew it.

Her face crumpled instantly. The sound that escaped her wasn't quite a scream—it was something rawer, more primal. A mother's grief in its purest form. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her body shook with sobs that seemed to come from her very soul.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, rushing to the bedside table for tissues. "I'm so sorry."

I handed her the tissue box, my own eyes burning. As a mother myself, watching another woman grieve the loss of her pup was almost unbearable.

My wolf whimpered in sympathy, recognizing a mother's loss regardless of circumstances.

"Thank you," she managed between sobs, dabbing at her eyes. "You're very kind. Where did Rowan go?"

I didn't feel kind. I felt helpless and inadequate in the face of such devastation.

I almost said he was in another ward, but I stopped myself. Instead, I said, "He was downstairs at the billing office."

After a few minutes, her crying subsided to quiet sniffles. She looked at me with red-rimmed eyes, and I saw something shift in her expression—a spark of determination breaking through the grief.

"Could you help me with something?" she asked, her voice hoarse. "Could you get me some paper and a pen?"

I felt my guard go up instantly. "What do you need those for?"

A small smile crossed her lips—the first I'd seen since she'd been brought in. "I want to make Rowan buy me food. Good food, not this hospital stuff. I'll probably sleep after I eat, but I want something decent first."

"Okay," I said, relaxing slightly. "I'll grab some from the nurses' station."

"Thank you," she said again. "And could you check on Rowan for me? Tell him I want to see him?"

"Sure. Just rest and take care of yourself, alright?"

She nodded, that small smile returning. "I will."

I hurried to the nurses' station, grabbed a notepad and pen, and returned to her room. She was sitting up straighter now, looking more alert.

"Here you go," I said, handing her the supplies.

"Thank you so much. You've been wonderful." She paused, pen poised over the paper. "Could you go find Rowan and ask him to come see me?"

I left her room and walked down the hall to where Rowan had been staying. The man looked like he'd aged a decade in two days. His usually immaculate appearance was disheveled, his expensive clothes wrinkled from sleeping in chairs. But his eyes were clearer now, less wild with grief.

"How is she?" he asked the moment he saw me, half-rising from his chair.

"She's awake," I told him.

He shot to his feet completely. "Awake? She's really awake?"

"Yes, and she wants to see you."

Tears sprang to his eyes—this powerful Alpha reduced to raw emotion. "I'll go to her right now. Thank you, Aria. Thank you so much."

"Of course. Go on."

I watched him hurry down the hall, his stride purposeful for the first time since yesterday. Whatever else could be said about their relationship, his love for Ava was genuine. I shouldn't interfere with their reunion—they needed this moment together.

I spent the next twenty minutes making rounds, checking on other patients, trying to give Rowan and Ava privacy. The medical wing was busier than usual, probably due to all the media attention yesterday's drama had attracted. I kept my head down and focused on my work.

That's when I heard it—Rowan's voice echoing through the corridors, desperate and panicked.

"Ava! Where are you? Ava!"

My blood ran cold. She should be in her room. She should be with him.

I stepped out of my current patient's room to find Rowan racing down the hallway, his eyes wild again. When he spotted me, he rushed over like I was his lifeline.

"She's gone," he gasped. "She's not in her room. I can't find her anywhere. I stepped out to get coffee and make some calls - I thought she was resting. When I came back, she was just... gone."

"What?" The word came out as barely a whisper. "That's impossible. She was just—"

"Aria."

I turned to see Derek approaching. "Shouldn't you be off shift by now?"

"Ava's missing," I said, panic creeping into my voice.

Derek's demeanor changed instantly, all business. "We need to check the security cameras. Now."

The three of us rushed to the security office, Rowan's breathing becoming more labored with each step. The security guard on duty looked surprised by our urgent entrance but quickly pulled up the relevant footage when Derek explained the situation.

We reviewed the footage timestamp - approximately five minutes prior. Ava was seen leaving the room, walking deliberately and slowly along the corridor, past the nursing station, in the direction of the elevator lobby.

"Where is she going?" Rowan whispered, his hands pressed against the monitor.

The guard continued tracking her path through different camera angles. Elevator to the tenth floor, then down another corridor, through a door marked "Authorized Personnel Only."

"The roof access," the guard said grimly. "She went to the roof."

The words sent ice through my veins. The hospital roof. The place people went when they'd lost all hope.

"No," Rowan breathed, his face going ashen. "No, no, no. Not Ava. She wouldn't..."

But even as he said it, we all knew the truth. A woman who'd lost everything—her child, her future, probably any hope of a real relationship with the man she loved—might see only one way out of her pain.

I felt sick. I'd handed her paper and pen, thinking she wanted to write a food request. Had she been planning this even then? Had I missed the signs?

"We have to get up there," Derek said, already moving toward the door. "Now."

Rowan was already running, and I followed, my heart pounding with dread. Behind us, I could hear the security guard calling for backup, but all I could think about was getting to Ava in time.

The elevator ride to the roof felt eternal. Rowan stood rigid beside me, his jaw clenched so tight I could hear his teeth grinding. Derek checked his phone, probably calling for additional help.

As the elevator dinged at the tenth floor, I sent up a desperate prayer to the Moon God. Please let us be in time. Please don't let this day end with another tragedy.

The roof access door was slightly ajar, and through the gap, I could see a figure silhouetted against the gray afternoon sky.