Chapter 148 Be There For Her
Luke remained inclined on his seat. When the nurses came to change her IV, he was there, watching their every move with a strange intensity.
“Seems like you love your wife a lot,” Nurse commented, smiling at his intensity.
“No, it’s the opposite,” He smiled dryly, tracing his thumb over her cheekbone, “She loves me a lot. She can do ‘anything’ for me.”
“And now you are going to do everything for her?” She chuckled, speaking those words playfully but it served as a path for him.
“Everything for her… huh?” He repeated those words, recalling their past, ‘What did I get by doing this last time?’ He thought sadly.
Before he could find the reply, the nurse was gone, leaving him in a state of turmoil.
But, then his eyes fell on the unconscious woman, her condition, their intertwined hands, the wedding ring. An unwanted sting traveling to his core.
When the room grew cold, he draped his own coat over her. He lived for the slight, rhythmic rise and fall of her chest. But, he had no response to the question.
What should he do?
He didn’t know yet.
For now, all on his mind was to redeem his actions and reduce the ache of his hurtful words.
Hours later, the sun began to crawl over the Venetian skyline, casting a pale, cold light across the hospital bed.
Luke felt a twitch. A small, microscopic movement in the hand he was holding all night. He bolted upright, his heartbeats enhancing upon sensing the shift.
"P-Peach?"
Her eyelashes fluttered, casting long shadows against her bruised cheeks. Slowly, painfully, she opened her eyes.
They were glassy, unfocused, and bloodshot, recalling the moments before the disaster until a shrill voice broke her haze.
"Peach... Oh God, Peach." Luke’s voice broke, he was impotent to control his overflowing feelings.
A sob he had been holding back for days finally tore out of him, resonating in the room as she remained stunned, recovering the memories gradually.
He pressed his face into the side of her mattress, his shoulders heaving, breaths coming out rough and unstable as a display of his powerlessness.
“I am so sorry. I am so, so sorry. I’m here. I’m never leaving you. I will spend every day making it up to you, I swear-"
Peach didn't move. She didn't squeeze his hand back.
She stared up at the sterile ceiling, her expression as cold and flat as the marble when the moments before the accident crashed on her.
The warmth, the impishness, that had always lived in her gaze- the light and desire that had looked at Luke with such need- it was temporarily gone.
"Peach?" Luke whispered, looking up, his face wet with tears, contemplating her beautiful features with hesitation.
"Can- Can you hear me?"
Slowly, she turned her head. Her gaze landed on him, but there was no recognition of a husband. There was only the recognition of a wound, of the pain his words inflicted.
"Get out," Her voice was a dry, hollow rasp, devoid of any anger. It was worse than rage, it was indifference.
A painful whimpering escaped his lips, "Peach, please, I didn't mean any of it. I-I was just- "
"I know what you were," she cut him off, her eyes drifting back to the ceiling.
She pulled her hand out of his grip, her movements slow and agonizing. She tucked her arm under the thin hospital sheet, creating a barrier between them.
"I’m tired, Luke. I don’t want to handle further heartbreak. Leave me."
Luke stood frozen, the realization of the damage he caused by his hidden truth rush in his veins.
He had stayed by her side to save her, but as he looked into her distant, deadened eyes, he realized he had arrived too late.
He had become her shield, but she no longer wanted to be protected.
Lowering his gaze with tears of guilt filling his vision, he wiped them roughly with his sleeves before stepping back in defeat.
“If… If that’s what you want…”
Defeated and lost, Luke dragged his heavy steps across the floor and left the room for the time being, giving her time and space to relax.
Eventually, Luke returned with a tray of light broth and fruit, his movements were meticulous, glancing at the expressionless woman from time to time.
"You need to eat, Peach,"
He pulled the rolling table over her bed, his hands steady despite the exhaustion etched into his face.
He held a small amount of broth, his eyes pleading, "Just a little. For your strength."
Peach turned her head away, her lips pressed into a thin line, "I am not hungry, Luke. Put it away."
A nurse stepped in to check the monitors. She saw the standoff and paused, placing a firm hand on the foot of the bed.
"Signora, your body needs it. You should eat.”
Peach looked at the nurse, then at Luke. His eyes were wide, brimming with a desperate devotion that made her chest ache.
Reluctantly, she turned back and opened her mouth but the grimace was still plastered.
Luke’s breath hitched in relief. He fed her with a tenderness that was almost painful to witness, inducing a strange sensation in Peach.
“You-” Before she could confront him her phone ended up ringing insistently. Her brows twitched in discontent.
The caller ID flashed a name that made the temperature in the room drop: PAPA.
“Did you tell him?”
“Yeah-”
Peach simply let out a ‘tsk’ of annoyance and picked up the call, using her usual tempting resonance, concealing her ache instantly.
“Hello, Papa,”
The voice on the other end was booming and impatient, the sound of a man who measured time in millions.
"I told you not to go, Peach. He couldn’t even take care of my daughter properly. How are you? Is it bad? What- How did this happen-"
“Luke lied, Papa,”
“W-What?”
Peach looked at the bandages on her legs, the monitors keeping her alive, and then at Luke, who was watching her with a haunted expression.
"There was no accident," She let out a perfect fake sigh, “We just wanted to see how early you would try to get to me.”
She glanced at her screen, checking the time and call log, “24 hours. Not bad for you.” A cold, empty smirk came to her lips.
“I was busy, Peach. I called the moment I was free. Don’t involve me in you guy’s shenanigans.” He chuckled nervously, trying to shift the topic.
“Yes, yes. We are going out for Lunch. I will talk to you later. Bye.”
The line went dead.
Peach stared at the black screen for a long moment before letting the phone slip from her fingers as it clattered onto the sheets.
"Peach..." Luke started, his eyes softening, “Should I-”
"Don't," she snapped, though the fire in her voice died out quickly.
"He never had time for me, Luke. Not when I was a child, and certainly not now.” She exhaled, eyes affixing outside the window.
“It’s just a 'waste.' A waste of time, a waste of money, effort, and stupid effort of building relationships."
She leaned back into the pillows, her gaze softening as she looked at Luke, the man who had broken her, was currently the only person in the world who wouldn't leave the room.
"At least you're here," she whispered, so low he almost didn't hear it. "Even if it's for the wrong reasons." With this, she closed her eyes.
Luke sank into the chair beside her, his head bowing, he had one reply to those words.
“If I won’t be there for my wife, who will be?”