The hospital corridors had never looked this long.
Leon burst through the doors, Maureen's limp form cradled in his arms, her blood soaking into his shirt. Nurses yelled. A stretcher rolled out of nowhere. Voices overlapped — questions, shouts, commands — but all Leon heard was her uneven breathing.
She hadn't died.
Not yet.
And somehow, that made it worse. Because she had nearly given up her life for him.
For him.
The surgery took hours. Leon didn't sit. Didn't blink. He stood in the hallway like a statue, arms crossed, shirt stiff with dried blood. A nurse finally emerged near dawn and said, "She's stable. Conscious. You can see her."
He walked in.
The room was small, quiet, dimly lit. Machines beeped softly beside her.
Maureen turned her head weakly, a ghost of a smile on her lips. "You look like hell."
"You're not one to talk," Leon muttered, sitting down beside her.
She reached for his hand — and he let her.
Silence stretched between them. The kind filled with things too raw to say.
"I saved your life," Maureen said, her voice still hoarse.
"I know."
"I took the bullet. That means something, right?"
Leon exhaled. "It means I owe you."
"No." She looked at him. "It means you acknowledge me. From today… I want the world to know I'm your girlfriend."
Leon flinched — barely — but didn't look away.
He could've refused. Could've reminded her this wasn't love. But he didn't.
He nodded once. "Alright."
A flicker of something lit up in her tired eyes.
She had him now.
Even if it wasn't the way she always dreamed.
Elsewhere, Viper stood by Ayla's door, hands in his coat pockets. Kalen leaned against the wall, his jaw clenched.
"You sure you don't want to say more?" Kalen asked quietly.
Viper shook his head. "She's been through enough. If Damien is her choice… so be it."
Kalen didn't answer, but his silence was louder than most words.
Inside the room, Ayla lay tucked beneath the covers. Damien sat beside her, holding her hand as if letting go might pull her from reality again.
She looked at him, eyes heavy but sure. "Thanks… for not leaving."
"I told you," Damien said. "No matter who you are… I'll stay."
The day gave way to night.
One by one, the others left. Elise and Jean kissed Ayla's forehead and promised to return in the morning. Kalen gave her a tight hug. Viper ruffled her hair and said nothing at all.
And when the building grew quiet again, the truth settled into the walls.
Ayla, with Damien by her side.
Leon, in another room, beside the girl who took a bullet for him.
Two people still breathing.
Two lives forever altered.
Two choices made.
And none without cost.