Aria ran all the way home, her heart pounding harder than her footsteps.
The tears didn't stop — they fell until her vision blurred, until she stumbled into the living room and collapsed to her knees.
Her mother and father looked up in alarm.
"Aria? What's wrong?" her mother asked, rushing to her side.
She could barely speak between sobs.
"It's… it's Ethan," she gasped, clutching her chest as if it hurt to breathe. "He's sick, Mom. He's dying."
Her father froze mid-step. "What do you mean dying?"
"He has a liver infection," she cried. "He only has four months left. I heard him talking to his guardian—he doesn't even know I was there. He didn't want to tell me, Dad. He didn't want to burden me."
Her mother knelt beside her, holding her shoulders. "Oh, sweetheart…"
Aria shook her head, tears spilling uncontrollably. "No—no, don't tell me it's okay. It's not okay! He's too young, too kind. He doesn't deserve this."
Her father placed a hand on her shoulder, his voice calm but serious. "Aria, I know you care about him, but some things are—"
"Don't say it!" she interrupted, her voice breaking. "Don't say some things can't be changed. You're the most powerful man I know, Dad. You have connections, doctors, everything. Please, help him. I'll do anything you ask. Just… just save him."
Her father exchanged a worried glance with her mother. "Aria…"
"Please!" she begged, crawling closer to him, grabbing his hands. "He's the only one who ever saw me as more than my name, more than my looks or my family. He saw me. I can't lose him, Dad. I can't."
Her father sighed deeply, his eyes softening. "You love him, don't you?"
Aria froze for a second, her tears slowing. Then she nodded. "Yes," she whispered. "More than I ever thought I could."
Her mother smiled sadly. "Then we'll do everything we can, darling. But you have to be strong for him."
Her father took out his phone. "I'll make some calls tonight. I know a specialist abroad — if there's a chance to save him, we'll find it."
Aria's breath hitched, a spark of hope lighting through her pain. She threw her arms around her father's neck, crying into his shoulder. "Thank you, Dad. Thank you."
Her father patted her back gently. "No more tears, Aria. From now on, you fight for him. Let me handle the rest."
As she pulled away, her eyes were red, but there was fire behind them now — a promise.
She wiped her face and whispered to herself,
"I'm not losing you, Ethan Gray. Not now. Not ever."