Emma couldn't bring herself to meet her mother's gaze, offering only a faint nod in response. The admission felt like a defeat, her vulnerability too stark against the backdrop of her injuries.
"Stop waiting for him and get back into bed," her mother advised softly, her tone more pleading than commanding.
But Emma remained unmoved, her eyes fixed on the pathway outside the hospital.
She ignored her mother's words, her focus unyielding, as the light shifted from the bright clarity of morning to the golden hues of afternoon, and eventually to the deepening shadows of evening.
As the hours passed, visitors came and went, flowers and get-well cards accumulated on the nearby table, and her mother sat reading in the corner, occasionally casting worried glances her way.
