Chapter 77

*Rose*

I sat anxiously in the stiff hospital chair, my gaze fixed on the motionless figure lying in the hospital bed. Tubes and wires snaked from Tanner's body to various machines, monitoring his vitals. I reached out to hold his hand, seeking the warmth that had always comforted me, but found only the clammy touch of illness.

Tears welled in my eyes as I remembered the events that had led us to this moment: his sudden appearance at my house with a nervous expression on his face, his frantic rush to help me pack my most necessary belongings, and the last words of love he said before running away.

I did what he asked me to, but in my wildest dreams, I had never thought that we would reunite like this. Of course, there was a vast possibility that we would never be together again, but I prayed. I prayed so hard that God would allow us to find our happy ending.

And now I got the chance to reunite with my Tanner to cry, overhearing the doctor's grim diagnosis of poisoning. I couldn't beli