~Elsie's POV
I woke up slowly, but waking up did not feel like returning to reality. It felt more like being dragged into it. There was a heaviness in my body that I could not explain properly, like I had been sleeping too long but also not resting at all. My eyes opened, and for a few seconds, I just stared at the ceiling without moving.
I did not know where I was at first. Then I remembered everything that had happened and my chest tightened immediately.
"My baby…." I whispered without thinking, my hand moving instinctively toward my stomach before stopping halfway.
There was nothing there anymore, only a hollow space that felt too wide for my body to carry. It was like something had been taken out of me quietly, and what was left was just the echo of it, lingering in places I could not reach or fix.
