Sebastian's POV
Time fractured the instant I watched Maya collapse down those unforgiving marble steps.
My mind refused to process what was happening before me. My pregnant wife was crashing down the staircase, her body striking each step with horrifying force. The sound of each brutal impact reverberated through the exhibition space like gunshots.
"Maya!" I roared, abandoning everything I held and racing toward the stairs.
The entire pavilion went silent. Hundreds of spectators stood paralyzed in horror, but my vision tunneled to only one thing - my entire universe lying broken at the foot of those steps, completely still, crimson spreading beneath her.
I collapsed beside her, my hands shaking violently as I cradled her ashen face.
"Maya, sweetheart, look at me!" My voice shattered with raw terror. "Don't leave me, please don't leave me!"
Her eyelids flickered weakly, fighting to find my face. Then, in a voice so fragile it barely existed, she spoke.
