CHAPTER 166
KATYA POV
One hour. That's how long the clock on the wall had been mocking me with its steady, heartless ticking.
Tick. Tick. Tick. Each second was a reminder that the world was moving on, even while I remained pinned to this bed, a broken thing held together by tape and chemicals.
The doctors had finally retreated, their hushed whispers and clicking instruments replaced by a silence so heavy it felt like it was pressing on my chest.
They had increased the dosage in my IV so the fire in my back had retreated into a dull, throbbing ache, but the fog in my mind was starting to clear, leaving behind a sharp, cold clarity that I didn't want.
Nonna hadn't left. She was still in her wheelchair, parked in the exact same spot as before.
She wasn't crying anymore. Her face had set into a mask of pale, frozen marble, her eyes fixed on the small, high window where the morning light was turning into the harsh glare of midday.
She looked like a statue placed in a graveyard.
