Eliana and Rafael had lingered in Frank's hospital room for nearly four hours, trading quiet conversation and occasional laughter with the old man. She'd been grateful before, but this… this was different. Rafael hadn't owed her a second of his time, yet he'd stayed—patient, present—for her and her father, even when the only thing tying them together on paper was an employer's signature.
By the time the sleek black SUV slid away from the hospital's glass-and-steel facade, the afternoon light had softened into a golden haze. Eliana sat beside him in the spacious back, her arm cradled in its sling, while Rafael lounged in his wheelchair with the ease of someone unbothered by the world's opinions. The hum of the engine filled the silence, but it wasn't the same silence they'd shared before.
