Yvonne woke to silence, not the peaceful kind, but the heavy kind that pressed against her chest. The kind that reminded her she was no longer on the field, no longer moving, no longer in control.
She blinked slowly,her shoulder hurt and her head ached. Every breath felt deeper than it should.
She was alive, that thought came first, then a memory followed.
The collapse, the nurse and the fall.
She tried to move and stopped at once.
She felt a sharp pain on her shoulder
"Do not move."
The voice came quickly, low and familiar.
Yvonne turned her head slightly.
Adrian was there.
He sat beside the bed, leaning forward, elbows on his knees. His suit jacket was gone, his shirt sleeves were rolled up, his face looked tired in a way she had never seen before.
Stress and fear
"You are awake," he said softly. "Good."
She studied him quietly.
"You stayed," she said.
"Yes."
"For how long."
"Long enough."
She closed her eyes for a second.
"I told you not to."
His voice tightened. "You told me many things, I failed to listen to most of them."
She opened her eyes again.
"How bad is it," she asked.
Adrian did not answer immediately
She waited
"Your shoulder is fractured," he said carefully. "You had a mild brain injury. There was internal bleeding, but they stopped it. You are stable now."
"And my hands?"
"They are fine."
Her breath eased.
"And the nurse?"
"She is safe, she keeps asking about you."
Yvonne nodded
"That is enough," she said.
Adrian watched her closely.
"You nearly died," he said.
"I know."
"You did not hesitate."
"I never do."
"That is what scares me."
She looked at him then, really looked at him.
"This is not about you being scared," she said calmly. "This is about me doing my job."
"And if doing your job kills you."
"Then I die knowing I did not run away."
Her words landed hard.
Adrian stood up suddenly and turned away. He walked a few steps, then stopped.
"I lost you once because I believed love could wait," he said. "I thought responsibility mattered more. I thought feelings were weakness."
He turned back.
"Watching you today, I realized something."
She did not interrupt.
"I was wrong," he said. "About everything."
Her expression did not change.
"You were wrong before," she said quietly. "Realizing it now does not erase that."
"I know," he said. "But I need you to hear me."
She closed her eyes again.
"You need me to forgive you," she said.
He did not deny it.
"I need you to understand me," he said. "I need you to know I regret it every day."
She breathed in slowly.
"When you signed the divorce papers," he continued, "I thought you would cry. I thought you would fight, when you did not, I thought you did not care."
She opened her eyes.
"That was the day I stopped begging," she said. "Not the day I stopped feeling."
His chest tightened.
"I see that now."
"You see it because I survived," she said. "Not because you understood me then."
The words cut deep.
Adrian lowered his head.
"I cannot change the past," he said. "But I want to stand in your present and your future."
She looked away.
"There is no space for you there," she said softly.
She turned back to him.
"You are standing here because I am injured," she said. "Because you were scared, because regret finally caught you."
He nodded.
"Yes."
"When I was waiting alone in Blake's Villa," she continued, "you were not scared. You were comfortable, you thought I would always be there."
His eyes filled with something close to pain.
"I was blind."
"And now," she said, "I am no longer waiting."
Silence returned.
He reached into his pocket slowly and took something out.
A ring.
Her ring.
He placed it gently on the table beside her bed.
"I never stopped carrying it," he said. "I did not know what else to do with it."
She stared at it.
Gold.
Familiar.
Heavy with memory.
"I am not asking you to wear it," he said quickly. "I just wanted you to know."
She said nothing.
A nurse entered quietly and checked the monitors.
"She needs rest," the nurse said.
Adrian nodded.
He hesitated before stepping back.
"I will be here," he said. "If you need anything."
She did not answer.
He left the room slowly.
Yvonne stared at the ring long after he was gone.
Her chest tightened.
Not with love but with conflict.
She turned her head away.
Later that night, the ward grew quiet, lights dimmed.
Yvonne lay awake, staring at the dark.
Her body hurt, but her mind hurt more.
She thought about the field, the nurse, the moment she fell and the thought that came before everything went blank.
Adrian.
The man she once loved deeply, the one she buried along with her marriage.
A soft knock sounded at the door.
She turned.
A doctor stepped in.
"Doctor Carter," he said gently. "Zenith Medical Group called."
Her heart skipped.
"They were informed of your condition," he continued. "They want to speak with you tomorrow."
"About the project?" she asked.
"Yes."
She closed her eyes briefly.
"They are concerned about your recovery time."
She already knew what that meant.
"They may reconsider your position as lead," the doctor said carefully.
Her fingers clenched under the blanket.
This was her future, the life she rebuilt, the purpose she chose.
She opened her eyes.
"Tell them I will speak to them myself," she said. "Tomorrow morning."
The doctor nodded and left.
Yvonne lay back and stared at the ceiling.
Outside the room, Adrian stood in the hallway.
He had heard everything.
His chest tightened.
If she lost this opportunity because of the fall, because of saving someone.
He did not know if she would ever forgive the world.
Or him.
Inside the room, Yvonne whispered to herself.
"I did not survive to lose everything again."
But deep down, fear answered back.
What if surviving costs her the future she fought so hard to build.
Yvonne may lose the career she reclaimed.
The mission that gave her purpose is now at risk.
Adrian stands closer than ever.
When Zenith makes their decision,
Will Yvonne still be the leader of the unit or will she lose her position as the leader of the unit?