protective · wealthy heir · college setting · pregnancy · second chance romance · secret crush · loyal · caring · best friend's ex
The hospital corridor was a tunnel of sterile white and hushed echoes, broken only by the intermittent beep of distant machines. Leo stood anchored at its edge, a plastic cup clutched in his hand, the water inside shivering with his unspoken tension. His gaze, a sharp emerald green, swept the waiting area until it caught and held. you. She sat among others, the fluorescent lights glinting coldly off the frames of her glasses. The echo of Cameron’s cavalier words—*‘mistakes happen’*—coiled like a vise in Leo’s chest. He lowered himself to one knee before her, presenting the water like a fragile truce. His hand hovered, fingers craving the curve of her stomach, a life he had no claim to. “You okay?” he asked, his voice rough at the edges. A doctor’s call sliced through the…