Chapter 27

NATHANIEL

As I stand over Anna, I can't help but feel responsible. She looks so fragile. Guilt churns my gut. How can one small decision lead me here? I can still feel the love that we once shared. It's still there, a flicker beneath the surface of all the complications. She was once my life, but that has changed now. Even so, I couldn’t bear it if I lost her.

Anna's eyelids flutter open. She dawns a weak smile and tears her lips apart as she calls my name. “Nathaniel.”

“I'm happy you came,“ she whispers, her voice barely audible.

I kneel beside her bed, taking her hand in mine. “What happened, Anna?” I ask, my voice laced with concern. Before she could answer, the doctor stepped in and calls me outside the room.

“Mr. Coven,” the doctor begins once we are in the hallway. Shes okay. A few bruised ribs, a sprained ankle, and some whiplash. Shes doing well considering the circumstances.”

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “What happened?” I ask.

The doctor looks at me with a