Masuk(Rita)“I really feel for Amara.”The words leave my lips as Olivia and I walk out of the hospital room.“She didn’t even realize we were there.”I glance back at the closed door, my chest tightening.“She looked so… empty.”I swallow the lump forming in my throat.“What if this turns into something worse?”“What if she needs help?”Olivia lets out a weary sigh.“I know Amara.”There’s quiet certainty in her voice.“She’s stronger than most people think.”“She won’t let herself disappear into the pain.”She offers a faint smile.“She’s going to get through this. That’s just who she is.”A heavy silence settles between us as we continue down the corridor.Then another thought strikes me.“And now…”I hesitate.“It seems this has affected her relationship with Sir Rayner too.”Olivia turns to me.“I saw him leaving just before we came in.”“The look on his face…”I shake my head.“He looked completely shattered.”“It made me think Amara must’ve told him to stay away.”I frown.“Do you t
(Rayner)My hands tighten around the steering wheel as I press harder on the accelerator.Stefan’s voice won’t stop replaying in my head.“I think something terrible happened. You weren’t around, so she wanted you to have this. She said the letter would explain everything.”I slam my palm against the steering wheel.Her final words from that letter stab at me all over again.“Let’s end everything here. Don’t come looking for me. And don’t bother trying to find me.”No, Amara.I grip the wheel until my knuckles turn white, refusing to take my eyes off the road.I can’t do that.I won’t.Forgive me…Because I can’t stay away.I’m coming to you.And nothing is going to stop me.*******I reach her hospital room and shove the door open.For a split second, I brace myself for someone to stop me.A nurse. Her family. Anyone.But the room is silent.Empty.Except for her.She looks so small sitting on that hospital bed.Fragile. Broken.The moment our eyes meet, my heart clenches.I see it a
(Amara)I’m seated on the hospital bed, staring into nothing.The voices around me drift in and out like distant echoes, but none of them truly reach me.It’s as if I’m here…Yet I’m not.My body occupies this room, but my mind doesn’t.“Amara.”Mom calls my name.I hear her.I just can’t bring myself to answer.I don’t even have the strength to lift my head.Everything inside me feels unbearably heavy.Heavy with grief.Heavy with guilt.Heavy with the crushing pain of losing another child.Maybe this is my fate.Maybe I was never meant to become a mother.Otherwise…Why does this keep happening to me?My eyes sting.Five times.I’ve had five chances to hold my own child.Five tiny lives growing inside me.Five little heartbeats that filled me with hope.And every single time…Before I could ever hold them in my arms…I lost them.What kind of cruel fate keeps taking them away from me?A tear slips down my cheek.“I can’t believe Grace would do something like this to Amara.”Maya’s v
(Stella)I grab my phone from the table, my eyes narrowing at the name flashing across the screen.Bar Man.My stomach drops.Why the hell is he calling me?I already warned him never to call unless I reached out first.So why now?I let out a slow breath.Fine.I’ll hear him out.I swipe to answer and raise the phone to my ear.“You…”“Ma’am… please save me.”His voice comes out low and strained. Every word trembles with panic.My fingers tighten around the phone.“Wha… what are you saying?” I stammer. “Save you from what? How?”“He found me.”My heartbeat stutters.“Who found you?”“The man whose drink I spiked on your orders, ma’am.”His words hit like a punch.“He sent his men after me. They tracked me down.”“What?”My voice comes out as nothing more than a whisper.“Yes.” He drags out the word, breathing heavily. “You have to save me before they catch me. You know what’ll happen if they do.”His voice hardens.“You won’t be safe either.”The threat lands exactly where it’s meant
(Amara)I’m quietly walking down the stairs when my mother’s words drift back into my mind.“It’s nothing really, dear. Just an old friend who went missing.”She’d said it so casually.Too casually.Now that I think about it… why does it feel like a lie?Not just any lie.One she’d rehearsed long before that moment ever came.“Trust me, Amara. She’s not someone you should be bothering yourself about.”I remember the way she’d held my wrist as she said those words. Her gaze had been steady. Calm.But Father hadn’t looked calm.Not even once.I can still picture the faint irritation on his face, as though he wanted to be anywhere else except standing there listening to her.Was I imagining it?Or was I simply reading too much into everything?A quiet sigh slips from my lips.Maybe I’m overthinking it…I finally reach the bottom of the stairs and head toward the dining room when a familiar voice cuts through my thoughts.“So just because you’re not going to the office today, you’ve decid
(Amara)“We’ll call it a wrap for today.”The director’s voice rings through the room. Around me, everyone nods and begins packing up their equipment.Mina rushes over, a flicker of worry on her face.“What happened? I thought there was supposed to be a part where the model showcases our product by actually using it.”“There was,” she replied. “But there’s been a slight delay.”“Delay?”“The vehicle transporting the products broke down on the road. It won’t make it here today, so we’ll have to reschedule that part of the shoot.”“I see.”A quiet sigh escapes me.“Then you and your team can fix another date and let everyone know.”“Yes, ma’am.” She nods.I turn to Martha.“Let’s go. We need to head to the hospital. Maya’s being discharged today.”For the briefest second, something flashes across her face.Worry.No… maybe concern.Before I can make sense of it, it’s gone. She quickly forces a small smile and nods.“Sure. Let’s go.”I’ve barely taken two steps when someone calls my name
(Amara)Maya and I are still laughing when it happens.Dinner plates sit pushed to the side, forgotten. The small round table between us is cluttered with empty bowls, napkins, and the half-finished bottle of soda we swore we wouldn’t open but did anyway. The room smells faintly of fried plantain a
(Amara)“Tell me the truth, Amara. What’s going on? What’s your relationship with that man from the mall?”Maya’s voice rings through the room, sharp and relentless.I move deeper into the room before I even realize it, anger rising too fast.“I don’t have any relationship with him. And neither wil
(Amara)Argh.A soft groan slips from my lips as my phone alarm beeps insistently. It’s crazy how, even now, I still haven’t learned how to ignore this damn thing. Half-asleep, I stretch a hand toward the bedside table to shut it off like I always do, but my fingers meet nothing.I frown.Slowly, m
(Amara)I scoff and turn back to my drink, deliberately ignoring his greeting. I’m not in the mood to talk. Not to anyone. Especially not to someone who looks like he wants to be friendly.I hear him sigh, unbothered by my coldness.“You seem to be alone. Mind if I join you?”The words hit somethin







