-"The floor seemed wonderfully solid. It was comforting to know I had fallen and could fall no further."-
-Sylvia Plath
_______________________________
Night had fallen quietly.
No sirens. No thunder. Just the low hum of machines and the occasional wheeze of a vent shifting filtered air through the corners of the hospital suite.
Kaia lay in the bed like a breath barely taken. Her hair was damp against her forehead, curls limp and tangled against the pillow. Her skin, once golden beneath the lights, had taken on a ghostly pallor—a shade too pale, too cold. Her lips were faintly blue. The ring on her finger caught the dim light, dull against fingers that no longer gripped back.
Luca sat at her side, unmoving.
He held her hand in both of his, his thumbs brushing softly over her knuckles—again and again, like muscle memory, like prayer. His eyes had not left her face for hours. Not since the color had drained too far. Not since her breath had turned faint and fragile and still.
No one had spoken in a long time.
They were all there—her family, the ones she'd built with blood and fire.
Blade sat on the floor near the foot of her bed, his eyes red but dry, like someone who'd learned to grieve in silence long ago. Oscar stood with one hand braced on the wall, the other clutching Ida's shoulder as she stood stiff beside him, jaw clenched, eyes shining. Antonio didn't speak, didn't move—just sat with his head bowed, his hand wrapped protectively around Thea's.
Even Damien, so calm, so composed—looked shattered.
Starr sat near the window. She hadn't said a word. Hadn't cried. Just stared at Kaia like she might wake up any second and laugh at the dramatics.
But she didn't.
Machines continued to hum.
The monitor still ticked.
Luca's fingers were trembling now. His eyes burned—but he didn't blink. Couldn't. Every breath Kaia didn't take was a blade under his ribs. And she hadn't taken one in too long.
Her chest rose—barely. The world heard her inhale.
A shudder. A flicker.
He sat up straighter, holding her hand tighter, whispering her name.
Nothing.
Her eyes didn't open. The light behind her eyes flickered. Went out.
The monitor stuttered.
And then—
It flattened.
A slow, quiet tone.
One line. Soft, thin, and terrible.
It wasn't sudden. It wasn't loud.
It just was.
The world shifted. Slowed. Tilted.
Elena's breath caught across the room. Thea's sob broke through the silence. Oscar closed his eyes. Ida turned her face away. Antonio stood, abruptly, like he couldn't take it anymore. Starr buried her head in her hands.
Blade didn't move.
No one did.
Only Luca.
He leaned forward, pressing his lips to Kaia's cold fingers. His voice cracked—soundless and hoarse—as he murmured her name one more time, forehead resting against her hand, tears slipping down onto her skin.
He didn't let go.
Not even when the line stayed flat.
Not even when Raine reached over and quietly turned the sound off.
Not even when the nurse entered the room with a chart and a look that said what no one wanted to hear.
Kaia was gone.
And the world felt quieter for it.
~
(A/N): wordcount: 498
#pleasedontdnf
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Romance"Nobody is allowed between these pretty little thighs but me....and if anyone tries...𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦." ~ They call him The King-a ghost who rules the world's most powerful mafia from the shadows. No face. No mercy. No mistakes. And beside...
