The door opened.
Ethan stepped in.
At first, his expression was blank, distant—until his eyes met Eleanor's.
His heart stopped for just a moment. "Ela...?"
Eleanor smiled faintly.
Ethan rushed to her side and wrapped his arms around her. "God... don't scare me like that," he whispered, voice cracking.
"I'll... try my best," Eleanor murmured, her arms weak but holding on.
The doctor smiled gently and left the room.
After a moment, Eleanor pulled back slightly. "Ethan, the baby...?"
"They'll be fine," he said, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "I promise."
Eleanor breathed hard. "They said... my heart failed. Completely. That I... had to get a new one."
Her gaze locked on Ethan's. "Ethan... how did you pay for a heart?"
Ethan's face fell. He looked away, his jaw clenched. "...It was given to you."
Eleanor's breath caught. Her eyes widened. "No. No... W–what? What do you mean given?"
Ethan swallowed hard. "Olivia."
Eleanor stared at him, frozen. Then the words hit.
She trembled. Her body shook as her breathing quickened. "No... no, no, no..." Tears filled her eyes as she shook her head. "She didn't deserve to die!" she cried, her voice breaking. "She didn't—!"
"I know," Ethan whispered, pulling her close.
"She didn't deserve this!" she sobbed, her hands gripping his shirt, bunching the fabric in her fists. "She shouldn't have—!"
"Please... please stop crying," Ethan begged gently, holding her tightly.
"I—I can't!" Eleanor sobbed. "I can't live with the knowledge that I'm alive... because someone I love is dead!" her voice fractured, sharp and desperate. Her grip tightened further.
Ethan said nothing. He just held her as she broke down in his arms, trying not to cry himself.
Beside them, Rei sat on the bed. Silent. Still. Processing all of it, too shaken to speak. In his hands was the paper—now unfolded.
It read:
"To Rei, the smartest boy I know. Open after your mother wakes up. —Olivia."
Days Later
Grief still lingered in every corner of their lives.
Ethan buried himself in work, harder than ever before. He had to. He can't let his family down. He couldn't waste Olivia's sacrifice—wouldn't let her death be in vain.
Equations filled his notebooks. Chemical reactions blurred his vision. He pushed his body beyond its limits.
Eleanor's condition held steady for two days after receiving the ultra-rich nutrient package Olivia had purchased. For a brief moment, hope flickered.
But by the third day, her body began to decline again—just as the doctors had predicted. The baby was demanding more and more. The hospital couldn't supply nutrient packages of the same magnitude regularly, and Ethan could no longer afford them.
She became weaker by the hour.
Meanwhile, Rei spent most of his days in the hospital's daycare section. There was no one to look after him now—not like before. Olivia was gone. Ethan was overwhelmed. And Eleanor could barely speak.
Rei never complained. He understood. But the loneliness pressed down harder each day. Even still, he kept the note from Olivia with him everywhere he went. It was crumpled now, but the words remained clear.
"To Rei, the smartest boy I know..."