I can barely leave the house anymore. Even coming to this wedding was a challenge for me. I only came because Briar wanted to go. She told me I should stay, but fuck no.

With her looking like a goddess like that? I don't think so.

“Okay,” I say, forcing a smile.

Briar smiles back and wraps her arm around my lower back to help me stand.

I stand up but feel a sharp pain shoot through my chest. I gasp and immediately grab onto Briar’s hand because because holy fucking shit.

That hurt.

I could hear Briar's voice echoing, but I couldn’t even reply to her. Everything seems distant and hazy as if I were underwater.

“Rurik!” Briar places her hands on my face, forcing me to look at her. Her beautiful eyes brimming with tears as she stares at me with panic in her eyes.

I close my eyes, and the next thing I know, I’m in a hospital room.

I look around, listening to that familiar beeping sound and the IVs sticking in me.

Fuck. Not again.

“Baby?” I breathe out. Soft hands immediately squeeze mine, and I let out a heavy breath. “What happened?”

Before Briar could respond, three knocks came at the door.

“Come in,” Briar says, and we watch as both my doctor and Rogers's family doctor walk in with grim looks.

My stomach drops, like it decided now was the time to take a nose-dive down Satan's hole. We both listen to the doctors telling us that my heart is failing and that I need a transplant to survive.

Things I already know.

But fuck... I just didn't expect this day to come so suddenly.

I mean, sure, it's been five years, so I’ve been fortunate.

I look over at Briar and feel an overwhelming sense of fear. I'm not ready to leave her yet.

Oh, fuck… I don't believe in a higher power, but I will get down on my knees and pray for some miracle.

Anything.

Please let me stay with her longer. I can't leave her. I’m not ready.

If there is a God or anyone out there past those stars that can grant me this one wish, please let me stay.

I promise I’ll be better.

Please, please, please—

“You're incredibly lucky, Rurik."

My heart skips a beat, both literally and figuratively.

My doctor listens to something in his earpiece and nods before continuing. “We confirmed that there's a heart available for you.” He pauses and glances at Rogers’s doctor, looking surprised but hopeful. “It's rare to find a match so quickly, but... I guess luck is on your side.”

“What are the chances that he’ll survive the surgery?” Briar asks softly.

“Well, Rurik, despite your heart, you’re perfectly healthy,” My doctor says. “You’re also very young, so I don’t expect any complications to occur.”