Selin sat on the kitchen floor, her fingers tangled in her sleeves, knees pulled to her chest.
The stillness had swallowed the villa whole.
Then her phone rang.
The sound shattered the quiet like glass.
She didn't even look at the screen before answering, instinctively bringing it to her ear.
"Hello?"
"Selin?" Vanessa's voice was sharp, urgent, and not the kind of urgent that belonged to the ER. The kind that belonged to something personal.
Selin sat up straighter. "Yeah. I'm here."
"You need to come in. Now."
Her throat tightened. "Why? What happened?"
There was a pause—just long enough to terrify her.
"I got the finalized report," Vanessa said, voice dropping. "It's not in the system yet, but I saw your name flagged and I opened it."
Selin's hands went cold. "And?"
"I didn't want to tell you until the morning, but Selin—" Vanessa's voice cracked. "It's more aggressive than I thought. You need to come in. I'm calling an emergency consult."
Selin's vision blurred for a second.
"I thought it was early stage," she whispered.
"We all did. But it's borderline stage II. Fast-spreading."
Silence.
"Come in, okay?" Vanessa added, gentler now. "We'll talk there."
Selin nodded—then realized she hadn't spoken.
"Okay," she finally choked out.
She dropped the phone on the floor and pressed her palms against her eyes.
And that's when the front door opened.
Alekos walked in, wet with sweat and rain, eyes dull but alert, his steps tentative.
The second he saw her crumpled frame on the tile, his whole face shifted.
"Selin—what happened?"
She looked up, voice barely above a breath. "It's worse than they thought."
He was next to her in an instant, crouched low, steadying her arms.
"What do you mean?"
"Vanessa called. They found new markers. Spread. I need to go to the hospital now."
His jaw clenched. "You're not going alone."
She shook her head. "I can't think. I just need to get there."
"Come on," he said, pulling her up gently. "Helmet's still by the door."
They didn't talk as they left. They didn't have to.
Seconds later, they were on his motorcycle.
The engine roared as they sped into the night, Selin holding onto him like she was afraid of falling.
And for once, Alekos didn't try to speak.
He just drove.
Fast.
Because the road was the only thing he could control.
The oncology floor was quiet.
Too quiet.
No wailing patients. No crackling intercoms. Just the low hum of fluorescent lights and the soft squeak of rubber soles on linoleum.
Selin stood frozen just outside Vanessa's office. She hadn't spoken since the ride. Alekos stood beside her, holding her hand loosely—but firmly, like if he let go, she might disappear.
She hadn't even changed out of her clothes. Her hoodie still smelled faintly of the sandwich shop from earlier, like the last sliver of normal life before everything had shifted.
Vanessa stepped out of the office.
The look on her face wasn't professional—it was personal. She was trying to steady her breathing, trying not to let emotion show through her clipped tone.
"Come in."
Selin nodded slowly and stepped inside, Alekos behind her.
The second the door closed, Selin asked, "How bad?"
Vanessa didn't sugarcoat it. She never had.
"The cancer is more aggressive than we expected. It's not stage I anymore. It's progressing toward stage II, with bilateral growth. The markers are spiking."
Selin sat down slowly, eyes locked on the desk.
"It's moving fast," Vanessa continued. "You'll need to start treatment immediately. Chemo, maybe even surgery soon."
The words fell like bricks.
Alekos leaned forward, his hand still on Selin's back.
"But—" Vanessa paused, voice softer now. "Before that… I need to tell you something else."
Selin blinked, slowly turning her head. "What?"
"I checked your hormone levels and uterine lining stats again after the biopsy. I didn't want to give false hope—but now that the full report's in… it's possible."
Selin's brows furrowed. "What is?"
Vanessa looked her in the eyes. "You're not completely infertile. Not yet."
Time stopped.
"What?"
"There's a very small window—days, maybe a week—before we start aggressive treatment. The cancer hasn't affected your endometrial function yet. If you want to preserve your ability to have a child—your child—it's now."
Selin didn't speak.
Vanessa added carefully, "You could freeze your eggs. Or—if you're certain—you could try to get pregnant right now. Naturally."
Selin's breath caught.
Vanessa looked down. "I know you. I know how much motherhood means to you. I wasn't going to say anything unless I was sure. And now I am."
The room tilted.
Selin gripped the edge of the chair. Her voice came out a whisper.
"You mean… I could have a baby?"
Vanessa nodded. "Yes. But it has to be now."
Selin turned, staring straight ahead—her heart beating so loud it drowned out everything else.
There was a sliver of time. A narrow escape.
She could survive this.
She could still be a mother.
Suddenly, for the first time in days, she didn't feel like she was drowning.
The hallway was cold, but Selin barely felt it.
She stepped out of Vanessa's office like she'd been underwater for days and finally broken the surface.
Her breath felt real again. Her heart didn't ache from fear, only from joy pressing against her ribs too fast to contain.
Alekos looked up from where he stood near the nurses' station. He saw her before she even spotted him.
He straightened, eyes narrowing with a quiet kind of concern—but when he saw the look on her face, his expression melted.
"Selin?"
She walked faster, and by the time she reached him, she was smiling—wide and bright in a way he hadn't seen in months.
"I can still have a child," she said, her voice breathless, lit from the inside. "Vanessa said the numbers are good. Better than expected."
He blinked. "Wait—really?"
"I still have a chance. I thought everything was over. That I'd never get to hold someone who was a part of me… someone who looked like me, laughed like me." Her voice trembled with joy. "But now, there's time."
He didn't interrupt. Just watched her.
She kept going, fast now, like if she didn't get it all out, it might disappear.
"I know it won't be easy. I'll have to start injections soon. Then extraction, implantation, all of it—but I want that. I want all of it. Morning sickness, swollen ankles, weird cravings—I want it. I'll fight for it."
She exhaled and looked up at him, eyes sparkling.
"I want a future again, Alekos."
He softened. "I'm really happy for you."
"I can finally imagine a life past this year. A stroller. Little shoes by the door. A tiny hand in mine. Someone calling me mama." She laughed, breath catching. "God, I missed dreaming."
He smiled gently. "You deserve that."
And then—
She looked him straight in the eyes.
Her voice steadied.
"I'm going to use IVF."
He nodded slowly, following her tone shift.
She inhaled.
And asked about it.
"I want you to be the donor."
Alekos's smile vanished.