The hospital waiting room was cold and quiet. Alex sat with his head in his hands, his suit still stained with Ethan's blood. The clock on the wall showed it was past midnight. Five hours since Ethan had been shot. Five hours with no news.
Alex's parents sat across from him, their faces drawn with worry. Uncle Ramon paced near the door, checking his watch every few minutes. No one spoke. What was there to say?
The door opened, and Alex looked up, hoping to see a doctor. Instead, Sophia walked in. She had changed out of her wedding dress into simple pants and a sweater. Her arm was still in a sling from her own gunshot wound.
"Any news?" she asked softly, sitting next to Alex.
He shook his head. "Still in surgery."
Sophia took his hand in hers, squeezing softly. "He's strong. He'll make it."
Alex wanted to believe her, but the image of Ethan falling to the ground, blood spreading across his chest, kept flashing through his thoughts. There had been so much blood.
"This is all my fault," Alex whispered. "If I had just said 'I do' like I was supposed to, none of this would have happened."
"Don't say that," Sophia said firmly. "Sara is the one who pulled the gun. Not you."
Alex closed his eyes, remembering the chaos after the shooting. Police officers charging into the church. Sara being dragged away in handcuffs, screaming that she would finish what she started. Paramedics working on Ethan as Alex begged him to stay alive.
"What happened to Sara?" he asked.
"Back in custody," Uncle Ramon answered from across the room. "This time with extra protection. She won't escape again."
"And your father?" Alex asked Sophia.
Sophia's face fell. "He's at the police station, taking questions. They think he might have helped Sara escape."
"Did he?"
Sophia looked away. "I don't know anymore. I don't know who my family really is."
A doctor in blue scrubs walked into the waiting room. Everyone stood up at once.
"Family of Ethan Carter?" the doctor asked.
"I'm his brother," Uncle Ramon lied easily. "How is he?"
The doctor looked tired. "He's stable, but critical. The bullet missed his heart by inches, but caused major damage. We've removed it, but he lost a lot of blood."
"Can we see him?" Alex asked, his voice breaking.
"He's in recovery now. Once he's moved to ICU, you can see him briefly. One at a time, family only."
"I'm his fiancé," Alex said without thought. The word felt right somehow, even though it wasn't true.
The doctor nodded. "I'll send a nurse when he's ready for visitors."
After the doctor left, quiet fell over the room again. Alex sat back down, relief and fear fighting inside him. Ethan was living, but still in danger.
Sophia sat beside him again. "Fiancé?" she asked with a small smile.
Alex blushed. "I just said that so they'd let me see him."
"It's what you want, though, isn't it? To be with him?"
Alex looked at Sophia, amazed by her kindness. Just hours ago, he had left her at the altar, embarrassed her in front of everyone they knew. Yet here she was, backing him.
"Yes," he admitted. "It's what I've wanted for years."
Sophia squeezed his hand again. "Then that's what you should do. Follow your heart, Alex."
Before Alex could reply, the door opened again. This time, it was Mr. Martinez. He looked like he had aged ten years in one day. His eyes were red, his suit wrinkled.
"Sophia," he said, his voice rough. "We need to talk."
Sophia stiffened. "About what, Dad? About how you might have helped Sara escape? About how you pushed me into a marriage neither of us wanted?"
Mr. Martinez flinched. "Please, just listen."
Sophia stood up, letting go of Alex's hand. "Fine. Let's talk outside."
They left the waiting room together. Alex watched through the glass as father and daughter faced each other in the hallway. Mr. Martinez seemed to be pleading with Sophia, who stood with her arms crossed, shaking her head.
A nurse appears at the door. "Mr. Rivera? You can see Mr. Carter now. Five minutes only."
Alex followed the nurse down a long path to the ICU. His heart pounded as the nurse pushed open a door, showing Ethan lying in a hospital bed, surrounded by machines. He looked so pale, so still. Tubes ran from his arms, and a breathing mask covered his face.
"Ethan," Alex whispered, moving to the bedside. He took Ethan's hand carefully, dodging the IV lines. "I'm here."
Ethan's eyes stayed closed, but his fingers twitched slightly in Alex's hand.
"You saved my life," Alex continued, tears filling his eyes. "But you can't leave me now, okay? You have to fight. We finally have a chance to be together."
The monitors beeped regularly, measuring Ethan's heartbeat. It was the most beautiful sound Alex had ever heard.
"I love you," Alex said. "I should have told you years ago. I'm sorry it took me so long to be brave."
The nurse touched his shoulder. "Time's up, sir."
Alex nodded, unwillingly letting go of Ethan's hand. "I'll be back," he promised.
When Alex returned to the waiting room, Sophia was sitting alone, looking at the floor.
"Where is everyone?" Alex asked.
"Your parents went to get coffee. Uncle Ramon is talking to the cops," Sophia said, not looking up. "My father left."
Alex sat next to her. "Are you okay? What did your father want?"
Sophia took a deep breath. "He admitted everything. He knew what Sara was planning. Not the violence, but the rest of it. He needed the merger with your family's company to save ours."
"I'm so sorry, Sophia."
She shook her head. "Don't be. I'm the one who should apologize. My family used you."
"You didn't know," Alex said. "You were honest with me from the start."
Sophia finally looked at him, her blue eyes filled with purpose. "And I'm being honest now. My father is going to turn himself in. He'll face whatever punishment comes his way."
"What about your company?" Alex asked.
"It's over," Sophia said bluntly. "Without the merger, without my father, we'll have to declare bankruptcy."
"Maybe my family can still help—"
"No," Sophia interrupted. "I don't want handouts. I don't want to be tied to your family out of pity." She took another deep breath. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I've made a choice."
Something in her voice made Alex nervous. "What kind of decision?"
"I'm leaving," Sophia said. "I've been offered a job in Europe. A fresh start, away from all of this."
"Europe? When?"
"Tonight," Sophia said, her voice steady. "My flight leaves in three hours."
Alex stared at her, shocked. "But what about your bullet wound? Are you well enough to travel?"
"The doctors cleared me," Sophia said. "It's just my arm. I'll be fine."
"But your family—"
"My mother will be okay. She didn't know what my father and Sara were doing." Sophia stood up. "I need to get away from here, Alex. Surely you understand that."
Alex stood too, feeling a strange mix of sadness and relief. "I do understand. But I'll miss you."
Sophia smiled, a small, sad smile. "No, you won't. You'll be busy taking care of Ethan, building your life together."
"Will you keep in touch?" Alex asked.
"Maybe someday," Sophia said. "But not for a while. We all need time to heal."
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. "I want you to have this."
Alex recognized the box. It held the engagement ring he had given Sophia months ago, when they first agreed to the planned marriage.
"I can't take this," he said.
"Yes, you can," Sophia insisted, pressing the box into his hand. "Use it for something good. Maybe for a real engagement someday."
She looked toward the ICU, where Ethan was fighting for his life. "Love is rare, Alex. Real love, the kind you two share. Don't waste it."
"What about you?" Alex asked. "Will you find love too?"
Sophia's eyes filled with tears. "I hope so. But first, I need to find myself."
She reached up and kissed his cheek. "Be happy, Alex."
With that, she turned and walked away, her figure getting smaller as she moved down the long hospital hallway. Alex watched until she disappeared around a turn, knowing he would never see her again.
He looked down at the silk box in his hand, then back toward the ICU. Sophia had made her choice, giving him freedom to follow his heart. Now it was his turn to choose.
But before he could move, a loud noise sounded from the ICU. Doctors and nurses ran past him, running toward Ethan's room.
"Code blue!" someone yelled. "Room 412!"
Alex's heart stopped. Room 412. Ethan's room.
He raced after the medical team, but a security guard stopped his way. "Sir, you can't go in there."
Through the window, Alex could see doctors circling Ethan's bed. One was doing chest compressions while another prepared the defibrillator.
"Clear!" a doctor shouted, and Ethan's body jerked as electricity shot through him.
"Please," Alex whispered, his hand closing around the velvet box until his fingers turned white. "Please don't leave me."
The monitor by Ethan's bed showed a flat line.