Master of his heart (Brielle and Max)

In the pediatric wing of the hospital, Dustin was pacing like a caged lion, worry etched on his face as his child's cries echoed through the halls. The sound made his heart race, fearing that their little one might just stop breathing from the intensity of it all. When the doctor finally came out, Dustin rushed over, barely able to contain his anxiety. "How are they?" he asked, tension clear in his voice.

"Mr. Lynch, try to relax. Your child is okay but needs a bit of observation until the fever breaks," the doctor reassured him.

Relief flooded through Dustin, and he quickly called Emma to set her mind at ease. But her phone just rang and rang, lying silent in a bush near the accident scene, its ringtone swallowed by the noise of passing traffic.

With a heavy sigh, Dustin sank into a chair, his mind replaying the image of Emma's distressed face from earlier that day, twisting his heart with worry.

Then his phone buzzed, Brielle's name lighting up the screen. "How's Emma holding up?" she asked.

"She's home, not doing too well," Dustin replied.

"I'll go check on her," Brielle offered.

Dustin hesitated. "Maybe not now. She doesn't know you that well and might not be up for a chat. Let's give her some space. We need to contact a lawyer, make sure the driver pays up."

Brielle. Emma and Peyton had been each other's rock for so long, and now with Peyton gone, what was Emma going to do? Would she regret moving to

hesitant to disturb her solitude. Emma sat by the window, watching the garden until the early hours, Jaime sleeping peacefully in her arms. Dustin returned with Heather, who was finally resting soundly after her fever broke. He entered the room and found Emma sitting alone. Hurrying over, he gently took both children,

You should be getting

startled by

are sleeping now, and you should be too.

quiet scream.

spoken to a lawyer about the driver. I also got you some time off from Stellar

respond, sinking deeper into her sorrow as Dustin continued. "The

cared for herself all

herself to drink, even though her

ét

like that? I should never have come

voice trembled as the weight of her choices hit her hard, blaming

made so many