The twins had fallen asleep, curled up beside Elena with their cheeks pressed into her sides. Liora's tiny hand rested on Elena's heart, as if trying to keep it beating with her love. Elio mumbled her name in his sleep.
Zayden sat beside the bed, silent, watching them… watching her.
The lamp cast a warm, soft glow, and the ocean waves outside whispered lullabies. But Zayden couldn't feel the calm. His hands trembled in his lap.
"I hate this," he said suddenly, voice low and raw.
Elena turned her head to him. Her skin was pale, her breathing slow. But her eyes… they were still full of light. Still full of him.
"I know," she whispered.
"I keep thinking there'll be a miracle," he muttered, looking at her and then away. "Some way to make it stop. Something I missed. A doctor I didn't find. A cure I didn't pay for."
"You did everything," she said, reaching out to touch his hand.
He gripped her fingers tightly, bringing them to his lips. "It wasn't enough. I wasn't enough."
"Zay…" she said gently. "You loved me more than enough. You gave me everything."
Tears slid down his cheeks. "But I wanted forever."
Elena blinked slowly. "Forever doesn't always mean time, Zay. Sometimes it's how deep… how completely… someone is loved."
Zayden covered his face with both hands. "It's not fair. I still look at you and I want more days. More mornings. More nights where we fight about who gets up to feed the twins. I want to watch you turn forty and pretend you're mad about wrinkles." His voice cracked. "I want more life with you."
She smiled weakly. "I had a full life with you. You made sure of that."
Zayden stood abruptly and walked to the corner of the room, clutching the edge of the wall like he'd collapse otherwise. He looked like a man on the edge of breaking.
"I don't want to wake up without you. I don't want the kids to grow up without you. I don't want to explain why their mother isn't at the graduation or the birthdays or the weddings. I—" His voice broke.
Elena, even with her body so fragile, pushed herself up slightly, breathing heavily. "Come here."
Zayden walked slowly to the bed. She took his face in her hands, his tears falling onto her wrists.
"Listen to me," she said softly. "You will wake up. You will tell them stories about me. You will love them twice as hard—for both of us. And you will live. Because that's how you'll keep me alive."
He dropped to his knees beside the bed, resting his forehead against her stomach, crying into her.
"I'm scared, Elena."
"I know," she whispered. "Me too."
He looked up at her. "Don't leave me."
"I'll never leave you," she whispered. "I'll be in every smile Liora gives. Every quiet moment Elio has when he's thinking too deeply, just like his father. I'll be everywhere, Zay."
They stayed like that for hours, wrapped in silence and slow tears, the moonlight spilling gently across the room.
Eventually, Elena began to hum a lullaby. The same one she sang to the twins. Her voice was barely audible, but Zayden leaned close, memorizing every note, every breath.
He whispered it with her, resting his forehead against hers.
And for a moment, it felt like time stood still.
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