Sadie sat by Jake’s bedside, her hand gently stroking his, watching him as he slowly regained his strength. The doctors had reassured her that he was recovering well, but the weight of everything still hung in the air. The poison, Kenneth, the chaos of the press conference—it all seemed too much to process at once.
Jake, though pale and weak, had been doing his best to keep up a brave front. His eyes, though tired, still managed to find hers with a soft warmth whenever she looked at him. Sadie’s heart ached with both love and guilt. She was about to doze off in the chair beside him when she heard a soft knock on the door.
Startled, she sat up straight. A nurse peeked in.
“There’s someone here to see Jake,” the nurse said quietly. “It’s his mother.”
Sadie blinked, feeling a knot form i
