Collide Into Ruin

Emilia walked down the hospital hallway, her pulse hammering in her ears. The air felt too thick, every breath an effort as she replayed the conversation between Chase and Hallie in her head. The words themselves were a blur, but the ache they left behind was razor-sharp. She had spent over a decade loving him, believing in a future that no longer existed, and now, here she was—reduced to nothing more than a bystander, a witness to the life he had chosen with someone else.

She shouldn't have stopped to listen. She shouldn't have let herself care. But it was impossible to ignore the pain threading through her every step. It wasn't just the fact that he had left her behind—it was that he hadn't even given her the truth. And now, she had to face him, had to stand in front of the man she once believed was her forever and pretend like none of this was tearing her apart.

She reached the nurses' station, hoping the hum of chatter and the steady routine of her job would ground her. Yanique offered her a small smile, one laced with quiet understanding, but Emilia couldn't bring herself to return it. Not when everything inside her felt like it was unraveling.

She shouldn't even be checking on Hallie. The conflict of interest was glaringly obvious but apparently Dr. Michaels was compromising. She couldn't believe he'd do this to her, knowing the rules. She needed to leave. This job, this place, Chase—she needed to walk away before it broke her completely.

But before she could move, before she could force herself to put one foot in front of the other, a familiar voice cut through the noise.

She froze. Her body betrayed her before her mind could catch up. She should keep walking. She should pretend she hadn't heard him. But she turned anyway, her heart pounding, her breath unsteady.

Chase stood there, desperation etched into every inch of his face. "We need to talk."

She stared at him, willing herself to feel nothing. "There's nothing to say."

"There's everything to say." His voice was raw, strained. "Please. Just—just hear me out."

Too many people. Too many eyes. She exhaled sharply and turned on her heel, leading him to the one place they could have this out—the one place she could fall apart without an audience.

Her office door shut behind them with a quiet click, and she immediately folded her arms, steeling herself. "Make it quick, Chase. I have work to do."

Chase exhaled sharply, raking a hand through his hair like he was trying to pull himself together. His voice, usually steady, wavered. "Em, please—it's not what you think."

Emilia let out a bitter laugh, but it felt more like a breath caught in her throat. "Not what I think? You cheated, Chase. You made me believe in you, in us, and then you threw it away. How the hell do you justify that?"

His jaw tensed. "Damn it, it's not real. None of it is real."

The words hit her, sharp and unexpected. A flicker of something—hope, maybe—ignited for a second before she crushed it. "Then what the hell is it, Chase? Because from where I'm standing, it looks a whole lot like you choosing her."

His hands curled into fists at his sides, like he wanted to reach for her but knew better. His voice dropped, low and rough. "She has no one else. The real father walked out, and I—I couldn't just turn my back on her. It's what I've always done, Em. I fix things. I protect people."

She stared at him, her breath catching, fury and devastation crashing into each other inside her chest. "You don't get to stand there and make yourself the hero. Not this time."

"I never wanted to hurt you," he whispered, the crack in his voice betraying the fight in his own heart. "I just—she needed me. I thought I could handle it, I thought I could be there for her and still—"