Chapter 24 Twenty-four
- Beeping. Steady, rhythmic beeping penetrates the darkness enveloping me. I struggle toward consciousness, like swimming up from the depths of a murky lake. My eyelids feel weighted, but I force them open, wincing at the harsh fluorescent light. White ceiling. White walls. The antiseptic smell of a hospital room fills my nostrils.
- I'm alive. And so is the baby, I can feel him moving inside me, though his movements seem weaker than before. I place my hand on my belly, the only truth I have left in a world built on lies.
- "Ava." His voice, that voice that once made my heart race with desire, now sends ice through my veins.