The beeping of hospital monitors filled the sterile white room, a stark contrast to the storm raging inside Ava’s mind.

She sat motionless on the hospital bed, her body bandaged, her injuries tended to but she wasn’t fine.

Her fingers trembled slightly against the sheets, her gaze fixed on the faint traces of dried blood on her hands.

Blood.

Her chest tightened. The world around her blurred, her breathing shallow as the weight of the past crashed down on her.

Memories she had buried deep threatened to resurface.

The smell of iron.

The screams.

The helplessness.

Ava’s hands clenched into fists, her nails digging into her palms, but she couldn’t stop the way her body froze—

Couldn’t stop the way her mind dragged her back to a place she never wanted to go.

Jae was the first to notice something was wrong.

He had been standing beside her bed, arms crossed, jaw clenched from the pure frustration of not being able to protect her in time.

But then he saw it—

The way Ava’s expression shifted.

The way her shoulders stiffened, her eyes vacant, staring at her hands like they were something terrifying.

“Ava?” His voice softened, but she didn’t react.

Eli, sitting near the window, looked up. “What’s wrong with her?”

Lily’s smile faded. “She looks… scared.”

Jae didn’t think—he just acted. He reached out and covered her hands with his own, breaking her gaze from the blood.

“Ava,” he said again, firmer this time.

She flinched.

His grip tightened, anchoring her back to the present. “It’s just us. You’re safe.”

Ava blinked, her breathing uneven, as she slowly lifted her eyes to meet his.

Jae’s dark eyes held something raw.

Not pity. Not frustration.

Just understanding.

She swallowed hard, forcing herself to nod, even as the weight in her chest refused to fade. “I’m fine.”

Jae didn’t believe her for a second.

But he didn’t push.

Not yet.

Because for the first time since he met her—

Ava looked truly vulnerable.