After I left Alpha father and son went crazy with regret novel Chapter 194

Cole’s heart pounded violently in his chest as he cradled Nora in his arms. She was limp, her skin unusually cool, her breathing faint but steady.

The sight of her unconscious body sent a surge of panic through him, an unfamiliar and unbearable sensation that gripped his very soul.

He wasn’t the type to panic. He had always been the one in control, the one who could keep his emotions in check no matter the situation.

But now... Now he was drowning in fear.

Bran rushed into the kitchen and shut off the main valve. By now the soup on the stovetop had extinguished the fire, and that's what triggered the gas leak.

The air was thick with the lingering scent of gas, a silent and deadly enemy that had almost taken her away.

What if we had arrived a few minutes later? What if I had never come at all?

The very thought sent a sharp, gut-wrenching pain through him.

Cole tightened his grip on Nora as he rushed out of the apartment. “Move!” he barked at Bran, who was already one step ahead, flagging down the nearest car.

Every second felt like an eternity.

Every breath she took... too shallow, too weak... felt like it could be her last.

Cole had always convinced himself that he could live without attachments, that he was fine keeping a distance from the people around him.

But now, looking at Nora’s pale face, her delicate lashes resting against her cheeks, he realized he had been a fool.

He couldn’t live without her.

The very idea of losing her sent a cold, hollow ache through his chest, an unbearable tightness that wrapped around his heart like a vice.

No. You are not leaving me, Nora.

His jaw clenched, his hands shaking as he pressed her closer to his chest, as if his very presence could tether her to this world.

He had never been a praying man. But at this moment, he found himself mentally pleading... to fate, to the universe, to anyone who would listen.

Don’t take her away from me.

By the time they reached the hospital, he was on the brink of losing himself to his emotions.

He barely heard the doctors as they wheeled her away. Barely registered Bran’s hand on his shoulder, urging him to sit down, to wait.

Wait?

How could he wait?

The minutes stretched endlessly, each one a torment.

For the first time in his life, Cole felt utterly helpless.

And he hated it.

---

A full day passed.

Cole hadn’t left the hospital.