SELENA’S POV
“Ms. Selena…” His tone was more urgent now, his hand gently patting my shoulders. “Were you really trying to harm yourself back there?”
I shook my head through the sobs. “No... I would never hurt myself. My baby… my baby can never be hurt,” I gasped through my tears, gripping my chest as if the weight of it all would break me.
Doctor Ortega’s brow furrowed, and he lowered himself to my eye level. “Ms. Selena, I need you to breathe,” he said softly, his voice a low, grounding presence amid my storm. I clung to his words, trying to inhale shakily between sobs.
“Please, Doctor Ortega,” I finally managed, “help me. I need to leave this hospital, or they’ll take my baby.” The words left me in a frantic rush, and I wrapped my arms around my belly, shielding it from all that thre
