His words were like a thunderclap. Hazel froze, her blood running cold. The phone slipped from her hand and hit the floor with a dull thud.
She didn’t remember how she got to her mother’s room. When she pushed open the door, a doctor was just pulling the white sheet over her mother’s face.
“Mom!”
She stumbled forward, tears streaming down her face, and fell to her knees beside the bed.
“Mom, please wake up! Don’t leave me, please!”
But her mother, who always wiped her tears, lay still, forever silent.
Hazel broke down, sobbing until her body shook.
Around her, the doctors exchanged silent, pitying glances.
Outside the room, two nurses walked by, whispering to each other.
“Miss Summers just had a small cut on her finger,” one said. “It would’ve healed on its own in a few hours. But Mr. Blake pulled every senior doctor over for her treatment. Guess his love for her is the real deal.”
“You’re telling me. I even heard he made his wife hold her breath underwater just to make Caroline happy. She nearly died, and he hasn’t even visited her once. That man’s heart… it’s made of stone.”
Their voices faded down the hall, but every word sliced deeper into Hazel’s chest.