The ocean was calm again.
As if it had never swallowed a secret moments ago.
But Alex couldn't breathe.
He stood at the edge of the cliff, barefoot, shirtless, staring at the place where the water had betrayed him. His chest rose and fell violently, but no air seemed to reach his lungs.
"Rose…" his voice cracked.
No answer.
Only waves.
Abbie grabbed his arm, pulling him slightly backward as though afraid the cliff might take him too.
"They're bringing her up," she said quickly. "She's still alive. Alex, she's still alive."
That sentence should have been relief.
But it felt like punishment.
Because now… he would have to face her again.
Minutes later, sirens cut through the mountain air.
Flashing red and blue lights painted the rocks as rescue officers rushed down the narrow path. The sea was restless, but trained hands moved quickly, pulling a soaked, motionless body onto a stretcher.
Rose.
Her hair clung to her face. Her lips trembled faintly, like she was still fighting a war only she could see.
Alex pushed forward.
"Let me see her!" he shouted.
A medic blocked him. "Sir, please—give space."
"THAT'S MY MOTHER!"
The words came out like a wound tearing open.
Abbie froze at that.
Mother.
That word now felt heavier than everything else that had happened.
At the hospital, time stopped existing.
White walls. White lights. White noise.
Alex sat outside the emergency room, hands buried in his hair. Every few seconds, his leg bounced uncontrollably like his body was trying to run away from itself.
Abbie sat beside him, silent.
For once, she didn't know what to say.
Because love didn't feel simple anymore.
It felt like something had cracked open between them.
And inside that crack… was Rose.
The emergency room doors finally opened.
A doctor stepped out, removing his gloves.
"She survived the fall into the water," he said. "But she suffered hypothermia and shock. She's stable… for now."
Alex stood immediately.
"I want to see her."
The doctor hesitated. "She's asking for you."
That sentence hit differently.
Not she's alive.
But she's asking for you.
Like whatever was waiting inside that room wasn't just a patient…
It was a truth waiting to be spoken.
Rose lay in the hospital bed, weaker than Alex had ever seen her.
No authority.
No control.
Just a woman held together by machines and regret.
Her eyes opened slowly when he entered.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then—
"Alex…" she whispered.
He stopped a few steps away.
His fists tightened.
"Don't," he said coldly. "Don't say my name like you still have the right."
Tears filled her eyes instantly.
"I never wanted it to happen like this."
A bitter laugh escaped him. "You didn't want it? You stood on that cliff ready to die."
Rose shook her head slightly.
"I wasn't running away from you."
A pause.
"I was running away from what I did… to you."
Silence fell heavy between them.
Even the machines seemed quieter.
Alex stepped closer now.
"Then tell me," he said, voice shaking. "Tell me everything. No lies. No half-truths. No 'for your protection.' Just the truth."
Rose closed her eyes.
And when she opened them again… something in her had changed.
Not fear.
Not guilt.
But surrender.
"You are not who you think you are, Alex."
The room went still.
Abbie, standing at the doorway, froze.
Alex frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Rose's voice broke.
"It means… I was never your real mother."