For a second, Seb simply stood there holding the food containers silently. Then. "Damn it."

The word escaped quietly under his breath. Too late. Again. Seb closed his eyes briefly before forcing himself to calm down.

At least Seren was still here. He headed toward her room afterward.

Inside, Seren sat propped up against the pillows, looking small beneath the hospital blankets, but the moment she saw Seb enter, her face lit up instantly.

"Daddy!" Seb’s expression softened immediately.

"There’s my princess." He walked over and sat beside her carefully before opening the food containers.

"I made your favorites." Seren gasped happily. "You made noodles!"

"And cake," Seb added. Her eyes widened excitedly.

For a while, the room became peaceful again as Seb patiently fed her small bites while Seren talked softly between coughs and smiles.

Then suddenly she looked around the room. "Where’s mummy?" The question made Seb pause briefly.

But only briefly. "She had to move to another hospital for more care," he explained gently. Seren’s face immediately fell.

"But..." Seb quickly brushed her hair back softly. "She’ll come back to see you." Almost instantly, Seren brightened again.

"Really?" Seb forced a small smile. "Really." And seeing that smile return to her face. Even after everything. Made Seb’s chest ache quietly with guilt.

Seb was still sitting beside Seren’s bed when his phone vibrated quietly in his pocket. At first, he ignored it.

His attention remained on Seren as she happily ate small bites of cake while telling him random stories she barely remembered properly anymore.

But the phone vibrated again. And again. Finally, Seb pulled it out with mild irritation.

The moment he read the message. His expression changed. Amara transferred to Vale Memorial.

For the first time since the nightmare began, a small smile slowly appeared on his face. Not a happy smile.

Not fully. But relieved. Because now he knew where she was. And more importantly

It was somewhere he could still reach her. Vale Memorial belonged to the Vales. Julian might tighten security. Might station guards everywhere.

Might try to keep Seb away from Amara completely. But Seb knew the hospital better than most people. He had influence there.

Connections. People loyal to him. Which meant. This wasn’t over yet.

Far from over. Seb leaned back slowly in the chair, staring at the message again while thoughts rapidly moved through his mind.

Somewhere inside that massive hospital. Amara was there.

Breathing. Sleeping. Existing close enough for him to still see. And somehow that alone eased part of the suffocating pressure crushing his chest all night.

Seren noticed the faint smile immediately. "Daddy?" Seb looked up. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"You look happy." That caught him slightly off guard. Then he chuckled softly under his breath.

"Do I?" Seren nodded seriously. Seb glanced back at the message one more time.

"Yes," he admitted quietly. Because for the first time since losing everything last night. There was finally one thing he had not completely lost yet.

Access to Amara.

—

Amara had been trying so hard not to break.

For hours, she lay quietly in the hospital bed while Julian slept beside her, his arm wrapped protectively around her waist even in sleep as if his body refused to let her go. The room was dim except for the soft glow of the machines beside her bed and the faint city lights shining through the curtains.

Everything looked peaceful. But inside her. Nothing was peaceful. The pain had started slowly at first. A tightness. A pressure deep in her stomach.

At first, she convinced herself it was stress again. Her body had been through too much these past few days. Fear. Anxiety. Shock. Maybe it was just another false alarm. So she stayed quiet. Because Julian looked exhausted.

Even while sleeping, his brows remained slightly furrowed like he was still worrying about her in his dreams.

Amara could not bring herself to wake him. Not again. Not after everything. She bit down hard on her lower lip as another wave of pain suddenly tore through her body.

A sharp gasp escaped her before she could stop it. Her fingers immediately gripped the blanket tightly. No... No no no...

Her breathing became uneven. The pain this time was different. Wrong. Her chest tightened with fear instantly. Not the babies. Please not the babies.

Tears filled her eyes as another painful cramp twisted through her stomach harder than before. It felt like her body was slowly splitting apart from the inside.

Amara squeezed her eyes shut. Trying to hold it together. Trying to breathe through it. Trying not to panic.

But then warmth spread beneath her suddenly, and her heart nearly stopped. Fear crashed into her so violently that she could barely think anymore.

"Julian..." Her voice shook weakly. Julian did not wake immediately. Amara’s hand grabbed his arm desperately this time.

"Julian."

The panic in her voice snapped him awake instantly. He lifted his head so fast that the sleep completely vanished from his face the moment he saw her crying.

"What’s wrong?" he asked immediately, already terrified. "Amara?" His voice was shaky now. Nervous. Panicked.

Amara struggled to breathe through another wave of pain. "Please..." she cried softly. "Get the doctor."

Julian was already pressing the emergency bell before she even finished speaking. The alarm sounded through the room immediately. He turned back toward her so fast.

"Amara, talk to me," he begged, climbing fully onto the bed beside her. "What’s wrong?"

"It hurts," she whispered brokenly. Then another contraction hit her, and she cried out this time, unable to stop herself.

"It really hurts..." The sound shattered something inside Julian instantly. Fear flooded his entire body so fast his hands started trembling.

"It’s okay," he whispered frantically, even though he himself was terrified now. "It’s okay, baby, I’m here—" The doors suddenly burst open.

Doctors and nurses rushed into the room immediately. Machines beeped louder. Voices overlapped. The peaceful room instantly became chaos.

"What’s happening?" Julian demanded, backing away slightly so the doctors could reach her. "She was fine!"

One of the doctors quickly examined Amara while nurses adjusted monitors around the bed. Then suddenly the doctor’s expression changed. Julian noticed instantly. And his heart dropped.

"What?" he asked immediately. "What is it?" The doctor looked at him seriously.

"Mr. Vale," she said carefully, "your wife appears to have gone into forced labor."