Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Clarke sat beside Calliope, carefully peeling a fruit. His movements were steady but his mind was clearly elsewhere. Mikhail who stood by the door, had brought his own basket of fruits and flowers for Calliope. He placed them gently on the table beside her bed as his gaze lingering on her while he straightened up, folding his arms over his chest. His eyes flitted between Clarke and Calliope with suspicion flickering in his expression.

“What did the doctor say?” Mikhail asked suddenly, his voice cutting through the room like a sharp blade. The question caught Clarke off guard, his hands momentarily freezing as he stopped slicing. For a second, the tension was palpable.

Clarke quickly composed himself, resuming his task, though there was a slight tremor in his hands. "Fatigue and stress," he replied smoothly, the lie slipping off his tongue without hesitation, though it gnawed at him inside. It wasn’t entirely false—Calliope was fatigued and stressed—but it was only a shadow