Intoxicated Embrace

POV: Valerie Thorne.

When I stepped back into Chloe’s private ward, the room was steeped in a heavy, suffocating silence. The hospital equipment hummed in the background, a steady rhythm that only emphasized my sudden obsolescence. Chloe was fast asleep under the thick, sterile white blankets, her breathing even and undisturbed. Seated by her bedside was a professional, middle-aged caretaker bath