Chapter 126

Nic regained consciousness about an hour later. The nurse on duty approached the anxious group, informing them that the patient was awake and could receive visitors, two at a time. Agnes and Christos immediately stood, their faces etched with relief and worry, and went in first. Lucie didn’t mind; they were his parents, and they had the right to see him first.

She watched as they disappeared into Nic’s room, the door closing behind them. The minutes ticked by slowly, each second stretching into an eternity. Lucie sat on the cold bench outside, her hands clenched in her lap, forcing herself to stay calm.

When Agnes and Christos finally emerged fifteen minutes later, Lucie rose from her seat, ready to go in next. But then she saw Eris stride forward, and to her shock, she brought Maya along with her. They walked past Lucie without a second glance, their heads held high, and Lucie felt a fresh wave of pain wash over her.

She sat back down, her legs suddenly weak. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, but she forced them back, biting her lip to keep from crying. The hallway felt colder, the air heavy with a mixture of antiseptic and tension.

Nic was fine and that was what mattered most to Lucie. He was going to be fine! So what if she didn’t get to see him? Lucie asked herself, staring at the cold, sterile floor. If the presence of the illustrious beauty Maya here was any indication, it only meant one thing: her time as Nic’s wife was finally over. He would divorce her soon, and maybe he would even marry Maya.

She looked at the glowing red hue on the beautiful blonde’s cheeks as Maya emerged from Nic’s hospital room alongside Eris. Her heart burned with a painful intensity, jealousy and despair twisting inside her. She hated herself for feeling like this.

As Maya passed by her on the bench, and her eyes fell on Lucie, she once again blushed bright red with embarrassment and she mouthed a little sorry at her. But Lucie didn’t give a damn about her sorrys.

“Aren’t you going in to see your husband, Mrs. Dimetriou?” She looked up, surprised to find Eros Kozakis standing in the doorway, looking like a remote a silent spectator at them all. He was a nice man, Lucie sighed. He had been the one who had bought Nic to the hospital in his own car as soon as possible without even waiting for the ambulance, he had then informed her about Nic’s accident when no one else had taken any initiative and had came here to the hospital numerous times throughout last night to check up on Nic’s health.

“Mrs. Dimetriou?” Lucie gulped. “I-I….” She looked around Nic’s parents along with Maya and Eris were involved in some kind of discussion on the other side of the corridor. “I-don’t know if he would want to see me.” Lucie finally let out the thought that had been plaguing her all this while. She still hadn’t forgotten about his red angry eyes, exploding at her from across the hotel room as he had looked at her for the last time.

She couldn’t look up to meet Eros Kozakis’s eyes anymore. Embarrassment washed over her after making such a confession to a relative stranger. God knows what he might be thinking.

“Then trust me, Mrs. Dimetriou,” Eros said softly, “when I say that the person he most wants to see right now is you.” His gaze was steady, almost making Lucie believe him.

“How do you know that?” she asked, wary of receiving platitudes from a stranger.

Eros wasn’t one to give up. He walked forward and sat beside her on the bench. “I know because I was there when my men broke the lift and pulled him out of the rubble. I was there in the car, driving him to the hospital as he lost consciousness. And you know what he kept saying throughout all of that?” He raised his eyebrows, waiting for her response.

Lucie could only shake her head, her curiosity piqued despite herself.

“Your name,” Eros said gently. “He called out to someone named Lu, over and over again, even during what must have been the most painful moments of his life. So, I am pretty sure he would be ecstatic to see you.”

Lucie was too stunned to speak. “He—he really called out my name?” she stammered, the tears she had been holding back suddenly making their way to the surface.

“Yes. Why else do you think I called you?” Eros asked, his eyes holding hers. “When they took Nic into the operating theater, I called his family. I even asked them if they knew someone named Lu, but they denied knowing anyone by that name. I had my entire team search through his phone, but we found nothing under Lu.”

He paused, shaking his head with a small, amused smile. “Then my wife suggested that Lu might be short for something. But there was no contact for Lucie in his phone either. That’s when we realized your number was saved as ‘Wife.’” He chuckled softly, the lines around his eyes crinkling. “It was a bit of a journey, but we got there in the end.” He looked at her again.

Lucie’s heart pounded as she absorbed his words. Eros looked at her intently. “Now, do you want to get in there to see your husband, or should I go in and tell him that his precious Lu was outside, refusing to see him?”

Lucie knocked softly on the door, her heart pounding as she waited for a response. When she heard his faint “Come in,” she took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

Nothing could have prepared her for the sight inside. The doctor had explained Nic’s injuries, but seeing him in person was a shock. The left side of his head was heavily bandaged, the other side swollen and bruised. His left arm was encased in bandages and a sling, and his exposed skin was marred by severe scratches and bruises. Tubes and drips surrounded him, and a green monitor beeped steadily at his side.

But he was alive. Her heart soared with relief, even as her eyes filled with tears.

And then she saw his eyes. His dark eyes glittered with an intensity she had never seen in them before, as if he couldn’t believe she was really there. There was a lot in that storm that brewed in his eyes, disbelief, surprise and a shocking vulnerability that she had never seen there before either. Pain and ache not far behind.

“Lu?” His voice was horse unrecognizable, but the way he said that one word wasn’t! Tears fell out of her eyes like fountain uncontrolled as she looked at him. “I thought you would never come.” He whispered.