Because I need to hear it from him.
“He’s stable.”
The word settles into my chest—
Carefully.
Cautiously.
“Hannan didn’t let him go,” he adds.
That doesn’t surprise me.
“She wouldn’t,” I whisper.
His gaze lingers on me for a moment.
Like he’s seeing something different now.
Like he’s trying to figure something out.
“Yeah,” he says quietly. “She wouldn’t.”
Silence stretches between us.
But it’s not uncomfortable.
Not anymore.
Just… full.
I shift slightly in the bed, ignoring the pull of pain this time.
Because there’s something else pressing stronger.
Something I don’t want to leave unsaid.
“You meant it,” I say.
Not a question.
Not really.
His eyes lock onto mine.
Instantly.
“I don’t say things like that if I don’t.”
My breath catches.
Because I knew that.
But hearing it—
That’s different.
That’s real.
