Chapter 126 Six months
DAMIEN
Stumbling down the spiral staircase, I dragged in a sharp breath, my hand brushing against the cold railing as I descended. The house was quiet—too quiet—and for a split second, it pressed against my chest in a way that made something uneasy coil deep inside me.
I didn’t linger.
I couldn’t.
Shutting my eyes tightly, I forced the feeling away and pushed forward, stepping out into the crisp morning air. The faint hum of the city greeted me, distant but alive, and it grounded me just enough to keep moving.
I slid into my sleek black Audi, the leather seat cool beneath me, and twisted the key. The engine roared to life beneath my hands—powerful, controlled—just the way I liked it.
Unlike everything else in my life.
Pulling out of the driveway, I merged into the flow of traffic, navigating through the bustling streets of New York City. Cars honked impatiently, people rushed across crosswalks like their lives depended on it, and the chaos of it all should have irritated me.
But today…Today I was in a good mood.
A rare one.
So I hoped—briefly, sarcastically—that everyone else would take the hint and stop honking like a bunch of starved maniacs.
“Idiots,” I muttered under my breath, tapping my fingers lightly against the steering wheel.
Still, I drove carefully. Measured. Controlled.
Because no matter how good my mood was…
There was only one place that mattered.
\-
The hospital came into view far too quickly and yet not quickly enough.
I pulled into the parking lot with practiced ease, cutting the engine and stepping out without hesitation. The towering building loomed in front of me—cold, sterile… and yet, over the past seven months, it had become something else entirely.
Something familiar, necessary.
Something I both hated and depended on.
I walked in without slowing, the automatic doors sliding open as if they knew me by now. Nurses bustled about, doctors moved with purpose, machines beeped faintly in the distance—and the moment a few of them caught sight of me, their attention lingered.
Of course it did.
I sent them a curt nod, my expression unreadable, ignoring the not-so-subtle glances thrown my way. My tesoro would have something to say about that. I could already hear her voice in my head, soft but firm, slightly annoyed, definitely jealous and the thought tugged at the corner of my lips.
She’d probably argue with the staff again. Especially the ones I personally hired to look after her. God… I missed that.
Six months.
That was how long she had been here. Six long, dragging, suffocating months. Six months since I held her bleeding body in my arms. Six months since I thought...no.
I clenched my jaw, cutting that thought off before it could take root. She died.
For a moment… she really did. I remembered it too clearly. The way her body went still. The way the warmth drained from her skin. The way my world collapsed in a single breath.
I had broken that night, completely. But then..A miracle, a pulse. It was aint, barely there, but enough. It was nough to drag me back from the edge, enough to make me believe again.
The doctors had worked on her for hours. Endless hours that felt like lifetimes. Machines, voices, commands, everything blurred into one long nightmare until finally… they stabilized her.
Placed her in a medically induced coma.
And told me to wait. Those first few months were hell, absolute hell. Every time I walked into her room, I felt like I was stepping into a grave. She was so still, so pale, so fragile… it didn’t feel real. It didn’t feel like her.
It felt like I had already lost her, again. I couldn’t stand it, but I never stopped coming. Not once.
Because if there was even the smallest chance she could hear me…
I needed her to know I was there.
Then, she started getting better, slowly. Painfully slow but better. Her skin regained its warmth, that rich olive glow that had always driven me insane. Her body filled out again, no longer the frail, fragile thing that haunted my nightmares.
And when her eyes finally opened…
God, in that moment, that single moment made every second of hell worth it.
She had cried.
Clung to me like she was afraid I would disappear.
And I… I had never felt more alive.
\---
I reached her ward, my steps slowing just slightly before I pushed the door open.
And there she was. Her big brown eyes, once filled with fire and irritation, softened the moment they landed on me.
My chest eased instantly.
Just like that every tension, every lingering thought, every weight was gone in an instant because she was here. She was alive and she was mine.
She pouted, gesturing for me to come closer, and I didn’t hesitate. Not even for a second as I walked in, dropping the treats I had shamelessly stolen from my mother onto the foot of her bed before lowering myself in front of her.
Right at her level.
Right where I belonged.
Her arms wrapped around my neck immediately, and I didn’t waste a second pulling her closer, my hands settling firmly around her waist.
I inhaled deeply.
There it was, her scent, sweet, soft, familiar, home.
A quiet breath escaped me as my body finally relaxed, like something inside me had been waiting all day—no, all night—for this exact moment.
I pulled back slightly, just enough to look at her, really look at her. My fingers slid into her curls, twirling a strand gently as I studied every inch of her face.
God… she was beautiful, always had been, always would be. I tilted her chin upward, forcing her gaze to meet mine, and without another thought I kissed her slowly at first, soft.
Like I was reminding myself she was real, she was here, that I hadn’t imagined her. But then it deepened, I couldn’t help it. I had missed this.
Missed her, everything about her. My hand tightened at her waist as I drew her closer, my lips moving against hers with a hunger I hadn’t been able to satisfy for months.
She responded instantly, of course she did.
My girl, always so responsive.
Time blurred.
Everything did.
All that mattered was her, the way she melted into me, the way her fingers tangled in my hair, the way she breathed against my lips like she needed me just as much as I needed her.
When I finally pulled away, her cheeks were flushed, her lips swollen, her breathing uneven.
Beautiful, absolutely beautiful.
I caught the nurses still standing there, watching, staring. My expression darkened instantly. One look, that was all it took and they scattered fast.
Smart.
“Good,” I muttered under my breath before turning back to her, my attention fully on my tesoro again.