Chapter ninety-six

Chapter ninety-six
The doctor walked out and Victor rushed to him.

Mirabella was the next.

“What is the situation?” Victor asked, breathless.

“How is he?” Mirabella asked too, her voice shaking.

“Calm down… please,” the doctor said, raising both hands as if trying to calm them down.

“Please… how is he doing?” Mirabella asked again, her impatience slipping through her voice. She looked like she would fall to her knees if he didn’t talk fast.

“Mr. Groves is fine" the doctor finally said.

Mirabella’s entire body went relaxed.

Victor let out a shaky breath he didn’t realize he had been holding.

“Although the surgery was successful” the doctor continued, “one of the bullets brushed his vitals. His lungs precisely. He is in a critical healing condition now.”

They kept nodding as the doctor explained.

“And no, you cannot see him now,” the doctor added, as if he already knew what they were about to ask. “Like I said, he is still in a critical state even though the surgery was successful. We need to keep a close eye on him and examine him thoroughly.”

Mirabella’s shoulders sagged with relief.

Though the doctor’s news was not completely satisfying, it still gave her hope.

He was alive.

He survived.

He was fighting.

Hunter was a strong man…one of the strongest she had ever known. If anyone could pull through this, it was him. She clung to that belief with everything inside her.

“Thank you, doctor,” she said softly, her voice breaking with a teary smile.

The doctor nodded respectfully and started to walk away with his clipboard in hand.

Victor and Ramos followed behind him, asking more questions about Hunter’s medications and care.



It has been almost a full week now.

Hunter still hadn’t woken up.

Mirabella sat on a chair very close to his hospital bed, her legs tucked together, her eyes tired and swollen from days of crying and barely sleeping. She rested her left hand on his forehead gently, brushing back his hair over and over again.

She did it so much she didn’t even realize she was doing it anymore.

It had become her way of reassuring herself that he was still warm, still here.

But it was terrifying that he hadn’t opened his eyes even once.

Hunter’s skin, usually warm and tan, looked pale. His lips were slightly purple and dry from the oxygen tubes. Each time she saw him like this, lying still, she felt her heart clench painfully.

She occasionally tries to oil his dry mouth.

She was scared that he might enter a very long coma.

The doctor had warned them that it could happen. Hunter's body experienced severe trauma during the surgery. That he could sleep for days or weeks or even months.

But mirabella had hoped it wouldn't get to that.

She wanted him awake. She wanted him to talk. She wanted him to tease her, hold her, call her “baby” the way he always did.

She looked at his chest rising and falling with the help of machines. She stood, reaching for the bowl of warm water on the small table beside the bed. She picked up the clean white cloth and soaked it in the water.

Then gently, she dabbed his face. His forehead. His neck.

She took her time, moving slowly, carefully. All her movements were tender, careful not to shift the oxygen machine.


By evening, as she napped with her head resting on the bed beside Hunter, she suddenly felt something faint in her hair.

A hand.

A hand brushing her hair.

The movement was slow, gentle and warm.

Her eyes fluttered open, heavy with sleep and disbelief. For a moment, she wasn’t sure if she was dreaming.

She raised her head slowly.

And there he was.

Hunter.

Awake.

On his back.

Staring at her.

And smiling.

Her breath caught in her throat. Her heart stopped. She stared for a few seconds, as if needing to confirm this was real.

“H–Hunter?” she whispered.

He blinked slowly and nodded.

That was all it took.

Mirabella let out a choked sob and practically jumped onto him, wrapping her arms tightly around his chest. She buried her face in his neck, crying so hard her entire body trembled.

Hunter groaned softly from the impact but still lifted his right hand to hold her by the waist, pulling her gently onto him.

His voice was weak. “Hey… hey… baby, I’m right here.”

She cried harder.

“I thought you’d leave me forever,” she choked out. “It was so scary… so scary.”

Hunter brushed her back with slow movements, breathing softly into her hair. “I would never” he whispered. “There is no way in hell I would leave you and Rena behind. Never. I’m sorry I made you worry.”

She pulled back slightly, sniffing as she looked into his tired eyes. “I got you into this” she said shakily. “I am sorry.”

“Come here” he whispered, and pulled her tightly against his chest again. She felt the steady but weak rhythm of his heart beneath her ear. “We made it. Don’t beat yourself up. Huh?”

She nodded against him and closed her eyes to the feel of his warmness. She had missed everything with him

He lifted a shaky hand and wiped her cheek. “You didn’t leave my side?” he asked quietly.

“Not even for one second” she whispered.

He looked at her for a moment. The dark circles under her eyes. The tired face. The worry carved deep into her features.

He swallowed thickly. “Baby… you look exhausted”

“I don't" she said quickly. “I just wanted you to wake up.”

He smiled softly and brushed her hair again. “I missed you,” he said.

Mirabella’s heart squeezed.

She hugged him again. “I missed you too”

“I heard you” he whispered.

She lifted her head. “Hear me?”

He nodded weakly. “I hear your voice when you talk… sometimes when you cry. I heard everything. I just… couldn’t move my body”

Her tears came again instantly.

He slowly touched her chin. “Hey, babe. No more crying. I’m here now”

She smiled through her tears. “I’m sorry”

They stayed glued to each other until the doctor and nurses came in to examine him.