The quiet hum of the hospital corridor filled the night. Outside Caliste's room, the sterile lights flickered softly, painting pale gold against the white floors.
Lucian Velmore stood at the end of the hall, still breathtakingly handsome despite his rugged, sleepless look. His hair was slightly tousled, his once immaculate shirt now loosely buttoned, and his usual cold composure softened into quiet despair. The man who once commanded boardrooms and headlines now looked nothing more than broken—rugged, hollow-eyed, and stripped of all his arrogance.
He pushed the door open slowly.
The rhythmic sound of the heart monitor greeted him—a fragile reminder that Caliste Winslow still clung to life. She lay pale and unmoving against the sheets, her lashes casting soft shadows on her cheeks.
Lucian's chest tightened.
And then… he saw him.
Caelum Vellaria sat beside her bed, one hand gently resting on Caliste's blanket. His posture was calm, but his eyes were heavy with silent worry. When he noticed Lucian by the door, he stood without a word.
For a brief moment, their gazes locked.
No anger.
No hatred.
Just a quiet, unspoken grief between two men bound by the same love.
Without a word, Caelum stepped aside, brushing past Lucian as he left the room.
Lucian hesitated before walking to the bedside. His fingers trembled as he reached for Caliste's hand—it was cold. Too cold.
"Caliste…" he murmured, voice breaking for the first time in years.
He rubbed her hand gently, as though his warmth could call her back.
"I was a fool," he whispered, his throat tightening. "A coward. You gave me everything, and I… I gave you pain."
His voice cracked, rough with emotion.
"I thought letting you go would protect you, but all I did was destroy you. I let my pride kill what we could've saved."
Lucian bent down, pressing his forehead to her hand.
"Please wake up," he pleaded softly. "If you just open your eyes, I'll fix it all. I'll atone for everything. I'll give up everything I have if it means I can see you smile again and be with our Lucca, you can be with him always. Just wake up"
A tear slid down his cheek, landing on her pale fingers.
"I loved you," he whispered brokenly. "Always. Even when I pretended I didn't. Even when I hated myself for it."
Outside the room, Caelum stood in the hallway, frozen.
He could hear everything.
Lucian's voice—so raw, so desperate—echoed through the quiet corridor. Caelum closed his eyes, leaning against the wall.
He finally understood.
Lucian didn't know how to love softly. His love was possessive, consuming, destructive—but it was love all the same. He'd hurt Caliste not because he didn't care, but because he cared too much in all the wrong ways.. and Lucca, Lucian's child is Caliste's son. The reason why she choose to work in Velmore company
Caelum exhaled shakily, torn between pity and rage.
And then—
Lucian's shout shattered the silence.
"Caliste!"
Caelum's eyes snapped open. The heart monitor inside screamed in warning tones. Doctors and nurses came rushing past him, pushing carts and shouting orders.
He stumbled forward, trying to see through the chaos, but the medical staff blocked his path. Lucian was shouting her name over and over, his voice breaking into hoarse desperation.
"She's crashing—code blue!" a nurse yelled.
"Move! Get the defibrillator!" another shouted.
Caelum froze in the doorway, his heart pounding. He saw Lucian being pulled away from the bed by a doctor, fighting them to stay close to her.
After agonizing minutes, the nurse shouted for immediate transfer.
"She's going to the ICU! Make way!"
Lucian stood frozen as they wheeled Caliste out, her fragile body surrounded by machines and wires. The scent of antiseptic filled the air.
Then, silence.
Only Lucian and Caelum left behind—alone in the room that still carried her scent.
They waited.
Minutes turned to hours until finally the doctor returned.
His face said it all before his words did.
"I'm sorry," the doctor said gently. "We managed to stabilize Miss Winslow, She's safe but…" he hesitated, glancing at the two men before continuing.
"The child didn't survive. The stress… her body couldn't sustain it."
Lucian's eyes widened.
For a long moment, he didn't move—didn't breathe. The doctor's words hung in the air like a blade.
When the truth finally sank in, his knees gave out.
Caelum instinctively caught him by the shoulder, guiding him toward the sofa. Lucian sat there, staring blankly at nothing, his face pale as paper.
And then, without warning—he broke.
The once-mighty Lucian Velmore, the man of composure and pride, pressed his face into his hands and wept.
"I killed the child," he whispered through broken sobs. "I killed the child."
"Lucian…" Caelum murmured, kneeling in front of him.
Lucian shook his head violently. "I let her suffer—I let them take her, and I did nothing! I turned away… and now my child is gone."
Tears streamed down his face as his voice cracked. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
Caelum's own throat tightened. For the first time, he saw Lucian not as the cold, distant cousin—but as a man stripped bare of everything, drowning in guilt.
He placed a hand on his cousin's shoulder. "It's not too late to make things right," Caelum said softly. "She's still here, Lucian. She's still fighting. Don't give up on her now."
Lucian only buried his face in his palms, his body shaking from silent cries. Caelum remained still ...silent witnesses to the fall of a man once thought incapable of love, and the unbearable grief that came too late.
Outside the door, two familiar figures stood quietly—Gregory and Agatha, Caliste's parent.
They exchanged a sorrowful glance, tears welling in their eyes. They finally hears the whole truth between Caliste, Caelum and Lucian.
Inside the room, the echoes of Lucian's grief filled the air—the sound of a man who once ruled everything yet could not protect the one thing that mattered most.
And for the first time in decades, the Velmore name—known for power, pride, and legacy—bowed before love and loss.