CHAPTER 2: The Life He Almost Missed
An hour later, the luxurious restaurant no longer mattered.
Daniel’s world had narrowed down to a small hospital room on the edge of the city.
Emma sat quietly beside him, swinging her legs as he spoke urgently with a doctor.
“She’s been sick for months,” the doctor explained. “Severe pneumonia, untreated. If she doesn’t receive proper care immediately…”
“She will,” Daniel interrupted firmly. “Whatever it costs. Whatever she needs.”
Inside the room, Emma’s mother lay unconscious, pale and fragile, her breathing shallow.
Daniel stepped inside slowly, his heart pounding.
“Lena…” he murmured, pulling a chair beside her bed.
He hadn’t seen her in over six years.
Back then, he had chosen ambition over love. A business deal over a future. And by the time he realized his mistake—she was gone.
Now he knew why.
“You should’ve told me,” he whispered, his voice heavy with regret. “You should’ve told me about her.”
Emma walked in quietly behind him.
“She wanted to,” Emma said softly. “But she said you were too important.”
Daniel shut his eyes, pain flooding through him.
“No,” he said. “I wasn’t.”
May you like
He reached for Lena’s hand, holding it gently.
“But I will be now.”
