Talia's POV
I wanted to scream.
When Belle walked into that room, it felt like the walls closed in tighter, like the machines beside me hummed louder, mocking the silence trapped in my throat.
I saw her before she saw me. That face — sharp, polished, proud. Her heels clicked against the hospital tiles like a countdown to judgment. Even here, in a place that stripped people bare, she walked in with control. The kind of control I used to think was strength. Now it just felt cruel.
And when her eyes landed on me, I knew. She hadn't come out of pity. She hadn't come to comfort me. She came to look. To measure. To decide whether I was even worth her attention at all.
Her gaze felt like a blade.
