Ruth’s breath hitched as she nodded, a tear escaping to trace the line of a long-held worry. "Yes, my love. Yes, I did.”Jackson’s brow furrowed slightly, not in pain, but in a fierce, internal effort to connect the emotional dots that were scattered across the void of twenty years. “Are you my mother?”The question, so stark, so clinical, landed in the room like a shard of ice.The celebratory atmosphere froze. Hailey’s smile vanished. Andrew’s hearty demeanor tightened into concern as Copper and Whitaker exchanged a glance of shared dismay while Bella closed her eyes briefly, her heart aching for them both.Ruth didn’t flinch. The love in her eyes didn’t dim; if anything, it burned brighter, fueled by a mother’s fierce understanding. She saw not rejection, but the true cost of his journey. He hadn’t just lost time; he’d lost the emotional map of his life.“Oh, Jackson,” she whispered, her voice thick. She leaned closer, her other hand coming up to cradle his cheek. Her touch was

The diversion worked, if only for a split second. Ruth’s gaze, drowning in Ella’s features, snapped towards Gilbert’s voice. Confusion and raw panic warred on her face. “The… the doctor? He said… he said he’s awake. He’s really awake.”Her voice trembled, but the momentary break in her fixation was all the opening needed. Ella, sensing the fragile opening, didn’t wait for permission or further lies. She took a decisive step forward, past the stunned Bella, past the rigid Gilbert, and into the doorway.Ruth, her composure shattered, could only step back, her hand fluttering to her throat. “You… you can’t just…”But Ella was already inside. The room was quiet, save for the steady beep of the monitor. The lights were dimmed. And in the bed, propped up on pillows, was the man from her dreams.Jackson Hart.He looked gaunt, pale, his body still bearing the terrible wasting of long inactivity. But his eyes… his eyes were the same fierce, clear grey she’d seen in the spectral vision. They we