Chapter: The Unseen Storm
Andrew and Gabriel stood outside the clinic, their expressions serious as they exchanged a tense look. The weight of the news they had just received was too much to bear. Elena was unaware of what had happened while she had been unconscious. But the rumors were already spreading like wildfire, and it didn’t take long for the whispers to reach them.
Andrew had been the first to hear about it. He had just returned from checking on Elena’s condition when a student had approached him with a phone in hand. They had shown him the post-the photo of him carrying Elena to the clinic, with the caption mocking her, twisting their concern for her into something shameful. His stomach churned, and the last thing he wanted to do was let Elena know about it.
But he knew she would find out sooner or later. And the thought of her hearing it from someone else made him sick.
“Is she awake?” Gabriel’s voice broke through the tension, his eyes scanning the clinic doors, as if expecting Elena to walk out any moment and tell them it was all a bad dream.
“No,” Andrew replied, his voice tight with worry. “She’s still out. But she needs to wake up soon. I don’t want her to find out about this… not like this.”
Gabriel nodded. “She deserves better than all this. She’s already dealing with so much, and now this? It’s not fair.”
Andrew clenched his fists, his mind racing. “I won’t let them do this to her. Mia and her gang-this has gone too far.”
But Gabriel didn’t respond. His attention was still on the door, his mind preoccupied with the idea of Elena waking up to find herself caught in the middle of the lies that had been spread. He had known her for a while now, and he knew how hard she worked to prove herself-how much she cared about everything and everyone around her.
And now? Now, she was being torn apart by rumors that weren’t even true.
Inside the clinic, Elena remained unconscious, her breathing steady but shallow. The faint beeping of the machines around her provided the only sound in the otherwise quiet room. She lay there, unaware of the storm that had been unleashed outside.
She had been unconscious for hours, and while her mind was still foggy, the distant feeling of being cared for lingered. But there was something more pressing she couldn’t yet understand-the weight of the world had been placed on her shoulders without her knowledge.
Andrew and Gabriel stepped into the room together, their footsteps soft as they approached Elena’s bed. They could see the peacefulness of her face, the way she seemed so far removed from the chaos that was swirling around her. But as they stood there, neither of them could shake the feeling of impending disaster. The rumors, the photo, everything-it would break her if she knew.
“Is she okay?” Gabriel whispered, stepping closer to the bed.
“She’s fine for now,” Andrew said, sitting beside her. His voice was filled with a strange mix of concern and anger. “But the moment she wakes up, she’ll find out about everything. The rumors, the gossip…”
Gabriel’s eyes darkened. “She doesn’t deserve this. She’s been nothing but kind and focused on her work, and now this?”
Andrew was about to say something when Elena’s fingers twitched. Both of them froze, eyes wide, as they watched her slowly open her eyes. She blinked a few times, her gaze unfocused at first, before her eyes finally settled on Andrew.
“Hey,” he said gently, his voice soft and warm, though there was a hint of sadness behind his words. “How are you feeling?”
Elena tried to speak, but her voice was hoarse, barely a whisper. “What… what happened?”
“You fainted,” Gabriel said quietly, moving to the other side of the bed. “You’ve been out for a while now. We brought you here.”
She looked from one to the other, her mind foggy. “But… the rumors?” she asked, her voice shaky. “Is everything… okay?”
Andrew’s heart sank at the mention of the rumors, but he quickly pushed them aside. “Don’t worry about that now. You just need to focus on getting better.”
But Elena, even in her disoriented state, could tell there was more. The tension in the room was palpable. “What do you mean?” she asked, her voice trembling. “What’s going on?”
Gabriel exchanged a glance with Andrew, both of them silently debating what to tell her. They didn’t want to burden her with it, not yet. But the longer she lay there, oblivious, the more it seemed like it wasn’t going to be possible to keep her in the dark.
“I’ll tell her,” Andrew said after a long pause. He turned to Elena, his expression softening as he reached out and took her hand. “You need to know, Elena… there are rumors going around about you. About what happened earlier… with me and Gabriel.”
Elena’s breath hitched as she processed his words. “What kind of rumors?”
Andrew hesitated, but he couldn’t avoid the truth. “They’ve been spreading lies. Saying things about… about us.”
Her face paled, her heart racing. “Lies?” She didn’t understand. “Why would they-”
“Because some people don’t care about the truth,” Gabriel interrupted, his voice hard. “They just want to create drama.”
Elena’s eyes filled with tears, though she blinked them away quickly. She hadn’t done anything wrong, and yet here she was, caught up in something she didn’t deserve. “But… why? Why would they do this?”
Andrew squeezed her hand, his expression pained. “I don’t know. But we’ll make sure they stop. No one is going to treat you like this.”
Elena closed her eyes for a moment, trying to process everything. It felt like a nightmare, one that she couldn’t wake up from. She had just wanted to do her best, to prove herself. And now this? It was too much.
But before she could say anything else, Andrew’s phone buzzed, breaking the tense silence. He quickly checked it, his eyes narrowing when he saw the message. He showed it to Gabriel another post, more comments.
Elena glanced at it, her heart sinking when she saw the image Mia had shared. She could feel the blood drain from her face as she read the hateful words beneath it.
“It’s so obvious now… Elena’s caught between two guys, and they’re letting her get away with it. But it’s all for show, isn’t it?”
The words stung like a slap to the face. Elena sat up a little straighter, the weight of the rumors starting to hit her like a tidal wave. Her throat felt tight, and for a moment, she could barely breathe.
Gabriel moved closer, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t let them win,” he said softly, his voice full of conviction. “They’re just trying to tear you down. But we won’t let them.”
Andrew nodded, his eyes hard. “We’ll make this right. They won’t get away with it.”
But Elena could only shake her head, the tears that had been threatening to fall now slipping down her cheeks. “I don’t know how much more I can take.”
And with that, the weight of the rumors, the whispers, and the lies seemed to close in around her, leaving her feeling more lost than ever before.
Outside the clinic, the storm was far from over.