Page 176 of Sunrise & Serenity

Holden pushes away from the wall and opens the door, a hint of a smile touching his lips.

Graham’s nostrils flare, but with a shake of his head, he brushes an imaginary speck off his shirt and marches out.

I turn my attention to my parents.

“Sage—” Dad starts.

I give my head a tiny shake. It’s still enough to cause a stab of pain, but it eases quickly.

“I need you to leave too,” I tell them. “I’d like to think you came here because you genuinely care that I was injured, and if that’s the case, I appreciate it. But as you can see, I’m fine.” I swallow past the lump in my throat. “So I think you should go back to New York.”

He adjusts his suit jacket. “I’ll see you back there when you come to your senses.” Turning to Mom, he tips his head toward the door. “Come on, Victoria.”

He strides across the room, not looking at Holden as he passes.

Mom follows him, but her footsteps slow halfway to the door, and she stops and turns to me. She shakes her head, her lips pressed together. “I can’t pretend to understand what’s going on in your head, Sage. I think you’re making a mistake. But…”

I hold her gaze but don’t say anything.

She lets out a quiet breath. “You’ve clearly made up your mind. And…” Her expression softens slightly. “Well, anyway, I’ll call you.”

Before I can do more than nod, she sweeps out the door.

Holden closes it behind her, then faces me again. “Are you okay?”

I’m not sure how to answer. My head is pounding and exhaustion is starting to drag at me, but otherwise, physically, I’m okay. Emotionally? Absolutely not. So I don’t bother answering. Instead, I study him, noting the scruff on his chin and the dark circles around his eyes. “Have you been here the whole time?”

He dips his head. “Nurse kicked me out of your room for a while. And Mia took over this morning so I could grab a coffee.”

His voice is rough with exhaustion, and my heart flips.

“I can leave if you want,” he says.

“No,” I reply before I can overthink it.

Relief flickers across his face, his throat working as he swallows.

God, I missed him.

But rather than move closer, he remains standing beside the door as if he isn’t sure whether he belongs near me.

That hurts. A part of me wants him to close the distance. The other part still remembers how devastated I felt when he left.

“Why did you come back, Holden?”

He finally takes a step toward me. “Do you remember what I told you last night?”

“I remember.” I wet my lips, willing my heart not to race. “But would you have come back if I hadn’t gotten hurt?”

He shakes his head slowly. “Sage… I didn’t know you were in the hospital until I made it back to Wild Ember.”

I let out a long, quiet breath. “You really came back before you knew?”

“Yeah.”

“I was angry at you,” I admit softly.

“You should’ve been.”