89.

Lily's POV

I paced back and forth in the stark, sterile lobby of Beth Israel Hospital, my heart hammering in my chest like a jackhammer. Each step echoed in the empty space, filling my ears and increasing my anxiety and fear.

Lucas was in surgery, his life was hanging in the balance, and I couldn't bear the thought of losing him. What if the surgery didn't work? What if something went wrong?

Tears stung at the corners of my eyes as I wrapped my arms around my waist and hugged myself tightly, trying to ward off the chill of fear that gripped me like a vice. I couldn't lose Lucas. He was my rock, the only thing I still had from a time in my life that I tried desperately to forget.

He was the only good thing that came out of my era of Mitch.

As I paced the lobby, my mind raced with a million different scenarios, each one more terrifying than the last. What if I never got to hear his laughter again? What if I never got to see his mischievous smile? What if I lost him forever?

A sob caugh