Relentless Heart

Stella

The antiseptic smell of the hospital surrounds me, a cold, clinical scent that seems to hang in the air. I glance down at my arm, now wrapped in white gauze, the skin beneath it red and angry. The pain pulses with every heartbeat, but it’s a dull, manageable ache for now.

“Stella, you should be heading home to rest,” the doctor’s firm voice breaks through my thoughts. He’s an older man, si