MASSILO P.O.V
The moment they told me to leave the ward,I couldn't breathe.The doctor's words were muffled under the weight of panic pounding inside my chest. "We need to work on her" He said,his tone firm yet fragile.I just stood there,frozen,staring at the pale stillness of Briann's body,the tubes,the quiet hum of the machines,the smell of antiseptic and despair filling the air.
When they gently ushered me out,my legs gave way.The door closed behind me with a soft click that sounded louder than thunder.I pressed my back against the cold wall beside the ward door,trying to keep myself together,but the moment I exhaled,everything shattered.
My hands covered my face as I sank to the floor.My chest heaved violently,the sobs breaking through my throat like shards of glass.I had tried to be strong for too long-for Sua,for Briann,for everyone,but now I was falling apart.I couldn't lose her.Not her too.
"She doesn't deserve this..." I whispered to the empty corridor,my voice was trembling. "She doesn't deserve any of this"
That was when I heard the slow,deliberate click of heels echoing down the hallway.The smell of expensive perfume drifted closer before I saw Mrs Mason.
Dressed in her usual perfection,her eyes shadowed with guilt she was too proud to hide.She held a bottle of tequila,one of those vintage ones that cost more than some people's lives and two glasses.
Without a word,she knelt beside me,poured the drink and stretched one cup toward me.
"Drink" She said softly,her voice almost trembled. "You look like you could use it"
I stared at the glass.Her reflection shimmered through the liquid like a ghost.Then,slowly,I pushed it back toward her.
"I don't need your drink" I muttered,standing up,my voice cracked. "What I need is for you to tell me why you did it"
She blinked,confused. "Did what?"
"Don't play dumb with me!" I snapped,stepping closer. "You killed Sua! You pushed her to her death!"
Her face stiffened with shock,then guilt,then something deeper.
"You think I don't know?" I continued,my voice breaking as tears slipped down my face. "You think I forgot that night? You think I don't see her every time I close my eyes? Briann is dying inside because of what you did.I've watched her suffer day and night,haunted by the loss of her sister,by the lies,by the pain,by you!"
"Massilo..." She whispered,her voice trembling. "I never meant for it to happen.I loved Sua"
I laughed bitterly,the kind of laugh that hurt more than tears. "You loved her? You loved her? You call that love? You tore her apart! You destroyed everything that made her happy.Your love was poison.It was the kind of love that kills"
Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked down,her hands shaking. "I didn't know what I was doing anymore" She whispered. "I thought...I thought if I could just have her near me,I'd be fine.I never imagined that my selfishness would drive her to that edge.Every night since then,I've been haunted by her voice,by her fall.I'm already being punished,Massilo.I'm alone.I have nothing left but my sins"
"Punished?" I spat the word like venom. "You think being alone is punishment enough for what you've done? You killed her! You killed my mother!"
She looked up sharply, her eyes wide.
"Yes!" I shouted,my voice echoed through the hall. "You killed my mom! You took everything from me,everything! You killed the woman who raised me,the one who gave me life and then you took Sua,the only light left in my world! And now Briann.Briann is lying in there because of all the chaos you brought into our lives!"
"Massilo,please-"
"Don't 'please' me!" I screamed,my voice raw,tears burning down my cheeks. "You're selfish! You destroy everything you touch! You love only yourself and you call it devotion.You hurt people just to feel alive!"
She stared at me,tears finally spilling down her cheeks.For the first time, she looked...small.Not the powerful woman who had once controlled everything,but a broken shell of a person crushed under her own guilt.
I turned away,trembling.My fists clenched so hard they hurt.
"I can't even look at you" I whispered. "You ruined everything.You took away the people who made me who I am.And now...I can't even recognize myself anymore"
The hallway fell silent again,except for her quiet sobs and the faint,rhythmic beeping from inside Briann's ward.
I leaned against the wall again,staring blankly at the floor as my tears continued to fall.
If there was any justice in the world,she'd feel every ounce of the pain she caused,the way my mother must have felt,the way Sua did when she fell and the way Briann was feeling now,trapped between life and death.
I closed my eyes,whispering to the ghosts of all I'd lost.
"Forgive me,Sua... I couldn't save you.And now,I might lose her too"
The sound of Mrs Mason's quiet weeping echoed faintly beside me,but I couldn't bring myself to look at her.Not this time.Not ever again.
Because forgiveness was for the living.
And everything she'd touched was already dead.
A NIGHT AFTER
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BRIANN P.O.V
The first thing I felt was warmth.Not the kind that came from sunlight or blankets,but the kind that breathed, trembled and lived beside me.
My lashes fluttered open slowly,the white ceiling coming into view,blurred by the soft haze of tears that had dried hours ago.My body felt heavy,my throat was dry and the air around me smelled faintly of antiseptic and roses,roses that had long withered in the vase by the window.
Then I felt a weight beside me on the bed.A hand resting gently against mine.
I turned my head weakly and there he was.
Massilo.
His head rested on the edge of my bed,his face was inches from my arm.He looked peaceful,too peaceful for someone who had cried so much.His hair was messy,strands falling across his forehead, his lips slightly parted as he breathed out unevenly,the faintest trace of exhaustion was written across his face.
My heart clenched.He had been crying.He had stayed.
Tears burned in my eyes as I reached my trembling hand toward him.I brushed his hair softly,my fingertips tracing the damp warmth of his forehead and that was when I realized.
He was burning up.
"Massilo…" I whispered under my breath,my voice barely escaped my lips. "You're running a temperature…"
He didn't stir.His brows furrowed slightly like he was fighting something in his sleep,maybe a dream,maybe the pain of everything that had happened.
I stared at him for a long while,tracing the familiar lines of his face,the way his eyelashes curved downward,the quiet rhythm of his breath.My chest ached in that fragile way that love always does when you realize how much someone means to you.
And then a flash of memory hit me.
The first day we met.The hospital room smelled the same.I was the stranger then,he was the mystery standing by the hospital 's bedside.He'd smiled that day,a tired,flirting smile.But now…that same face looked shattered and human like the man who'd seen too much and loved even more.
And then I remembered Sua.
Her voice from that dream,soft,echoing and lingering like a melody that never truly fades.
"Move on,Briann"
I swallowed hard,my heart trembling in my chest.My gaze drifted back to Massilo,his lips,his breath,his quiet presence that had become my anchor in the middle of all the chaos.
Before I could think,before I could stop myself,I leaned in.
My hand brushed against his cheek,warm and slightly rough beneath my fingertips.I closed the distance between us and pressed my lips against his.
It wasn't a desperate kiss.It was fragile.It was trembling.It was the kind of kiss that begged for time to stop,even just for a second.The kind that spoke all the words I'd never been brave enough to say.
The world fell away and everything disappeared.There was only him.Only us.
But then,his breath hitched.
His eyes fluttered open mid-kiss,his body tensing with surprise.I froze instantly,pulling back,my heart suddenly lurched in panic.
"I...I'm sorry!" I stammered,my voice was shaking as I looked away,my cheeks flushed hot. "I didn't mean....I just..."
But before I could finish,he moved.
His hand came to rest gently on the back of my neck,pulling me into a hug.His body was warm,trembling slightly and his heartbeat was racing faster than mine.
"I thought I lost you" He whispered into my hair,his voice broke. "When you weren't breathing…when they told me to leave....I thought I'd never see you open your eyes again.Briann,I was terrified"
I felt my tears fell against his shoulder as his words sank into me one by one,burning like sunlight through glass.
I pulled back a little,looking up at him through my tears. "And now you've caught a cold because of me" I said,half-angry and half-broken. "Why would you do that to yourself?"
He chuckled weakly,his lips curving into that small,tired smile that always made my heart twist. "Because even if I'm burning up right now,at least you're here.That's enough for me"
Something inside me cracked open.I couldn't stop myself.
When he tried to moved away,I grabbed him just to wrap my arms around his torso and pulled him closer.My face buried into his chest.His warmth,his scent,his heartbeat,it all felt like home.
"Just…stay still" I whispered,my voice trembling. "Just for a while.Please"
He hesitated,then nodded softly.I felt his chin rest gently on top of my head.
After a long silence,his voice broke through again,quieter this time.
"I don't even know what to call this,Briann.Whatever we are…maybe it's just because of Sua.Maybe we're holding onto each other because we both lost her"
I pulled back slightly to look at him,my tears glistening in the dim light.
"Maybe" I said softly. "But....even if that's true,can you let me lean on you,Massilo? Just…be my support"
His eyes softened and the faintest hint of a smile appeared again,one that carried too much pain to ever be perfect,but was still beautiful in its brokenness.
And as I leaned my head on his shoulder,I closed my eyes.
I thought of Sua again,her cries,her voice,her words echoing softly in the spaces between my heartbeat.
"Move on,Briann"
Maybe this was what she meant.Maybe she had been leading me here,to this fragile,imperfect love that grew out of pain and loss.
For the first time in forever,I allowed myself to imagine a future.A big apartment,sunlight spilling through curtains.Laughter.Peace.Massilo's voice calling my name,not out of fear,but out of love.
It was a dream painted in fragile colors,so tragic,uncertain,but real.
And as I clung to him,feeling the steady rhythm of his heart under my ear,I made a silent promise.
That no matter what came next,I'd choose him.Not out of pity.Not out of shared pain.
But because somewhere between the tragedy and the tears…we had found each other.
And that was enough.