Chapter 78: No Longer Blind
The guilt hit him like a wave. He hadn’t just hurt Ruby. He had crushed her. Turned his back on her after everything she had done for him. And now... now she was gone. Disappeared without a word. Carrying what was possibly his child.
Stefan stared at the floor, jaw clenched, as the realization set in deeper.
"I should’ve known," he muttered. "I should’ve seen it. The way she talked... the way she moved. It was never Ivy."
"I’m sorry, Mr. Winters," Doctor Sylvia said gently. "I don’t know what you’re talking about but I do know you have to stop blaming yourself and go fix it. Whatever it is."
He sat in silence for a long while, letting the weight of everything settle over him. The lies. The mistakes. The things left unsaid. Then slowly, he looked back up.
"I need to find her," he said. "No matter what it takes. I have to fix this. You’re right."
Doctor Sylvia nodded, standing as he rose to his feet. "That’s a good start."
"I’ll find her," Stefan said again, this time with more strength in his voice. "She didn’t deserve what I did. I was too busy chasing a ghost to realize the real thing was right there with me the whole time."
And with that, he turned and left the room, the scan now back in his pocket—but this time, it meant more than a piece of paper.
It was a sign. A second chance. And he wasn’t going to waste it again.
Stefan stepped out of the clinic with a heavy chest and a storm brewing in his heart.
The sun was high, people walking past him were smiling, talking, going about their day like everything was normal. But nothing felt normal to him anymore.