Chapter 12: The Therapy Room

Pain became Scarlett's second language.

Dr. Helena Cross pushed her harder than any doctor had since the accident. Every morning, Scarlett entered the private therapy room in Moretti House, and every morning she left exhausted, angry, and secretly hopeful.

'Again,' Dr. Cross said.

Scarlett gripped the parallel bars until her knuckles whitened. Her legs trembled beneath her weight. Sweat gathered at her temples.

'I cannot,' Scarlett whispered.

'You can stop,' Dr. Cross replied. 'But do not say cannot when your body is still trying.'

Scarlett hated her for that. She also loved her for it.

Alexander watched from the doorway, silent as a shadow. He never offered empty encouragement. He never said things like be strong or you are inspiring. He simply stayed. Somehow, that made the pain easier to bear.

Scarlett forced one foot forward. Fire shot up her spine. Her arms nearly gave out.

Alexander moved instantly, but Dr. Cross lifted a hand. 'Do not.'

He froze.

Scarlett looked at him through blurred vision. For a second, humiliation flooded her. She did not want him to see her like this—weak, sweating, failing.

Then she remembered her father's pity. Ethan's guilt. Victoria's smile.

She moved her foot again.

One inch.

It was nothing. It was everything.

Dr. Cross nodded. 'Good.'

Scarlett collapsed into the chair, breathing hard. Tears slipped down her cheeks before she could stop them.

Alexander entered then and handed her a towel. 'You moved.'

'Barely.'

'Barely is still forward.'

She laughed through the tears. 'You sound like a fortune cookie.'

His mouth curved. 'A very expensive one.'

The unexpected joke made her laugh harder, and for a moment, the room did not feel like a battlefield.

Later, while Dr. Cross reviewed notes, Scarlett looked at Alexander. 'Did you ever think I would recover?'

He answered honestly. 'I did not know.'

'But you still brought the doctor.'

'Hope is not a guarantee. It is a weapon.'

Scarlett looked down at her legs. They still felt foreign. Still fragile. But not dead.

That night, Victoria's engagement photo appeared online. She wore Scarlett's mother's ring and smiled beside Ethan as if she had won.

Scarlett stared at the image for a long time.

Then she closed the phone.

'Tomorrow,' she told Dr. Cross, 'we do two inches.'