CHAPTER 252: THE SOUND OF ASHES

CHAPTER 252: THE SOUND OF ASHES
“Please come back to me.”

Alex’s thumb moved slowly across the back of Bella’s hand.

“Please.”

Alexandro’s voice was barely a rasp, stripped of every trace of authority, arrogance, and power. 

He sat bent over the edge of the mattress, his head resting against the edge of the mattress, his fingers interwoven with Bella's cold, slender hand.

The master suite was silent save for the steady, low hum of the oxygen concentrator. The afternoon sun cast long, amber shadows across the floor, painting her pale skin in soft, golden hues. 

He reached up with his free hand, his knuckles gently brushing a stray lock of dark hair away from her temple, his thumb tracing the sharp curve of her cheekbone.

"Just come back to me, bellissima," he whispered into the quiet room, pressing his lips against her cold knuckles. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. Just open your eyes..."

The room was quiet.

Too quiet.

The machines beside her bed continued their steady rhythm, filling the silence with soft beeps and mechanical breaths.

He looked exhausted.

Ever since her episode, he hadn’t been able to leave her side 

He knew he looked as exhausted and unkempt as he felt but he hadn’t moved. 

He hadn’t been able to sleep too. 

Not for long.

Every time he tried, something inside him dragged him back to her.

His fingers tightened around hers. “Don’t you think you’ve been sleeping long enough?”

Alex swallowed.

“I don’t know if you can hear me.”

His thumb continued moving over her knuckles.

“But I’m going to keep talking anyway.”

His smile faded. “I miss you.” He muttered, his words coming out quieter. “I miss you so much.”

He lifted her hand and pressed his lips against her fingers. “So please.” His eyes closed. “Come back to me.”

Minutes passed.

Then more.

Eventually, exhaustion won and his eyelids started feeling like lead, weighted down by weeks of sleepless nights, constant street shifts, and suffocating guilt. 

Slowly, the quiet hum of the machines blurred into a low static and his head drooped further onto the mattress, his heavy grip loosening as exhaustion finally dragged him under into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Time lost its shape.

A faint, feather-light sensation brushed against his forehead.

Alexandro stirred, his brow furrowing as he blinked against the dim light of the room. He shifted his head, his vision blurry as he looked around the silent space. 

Nothing. The room was empty save for the quiet monitors. He let out a weary, ragged sigh, realizing he had been leaning heavily against her right hand, his forehead pressed directly into her palm.

Then, beneath his cheek, her index finger twitched.

Alexandro bolted upright, his heart leaping straight into his throat. He stared down at her hand, his breath catching in his lungs. "Bella?"

Silence. Her hand lay completely still against the white sheet.

Alexandro squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his hand against his face as a bitter laugh escaped his lips. You're losing your mind, he told himself savagely, rubbing his tired eyes. You're so desperate you're hallucinating movement.

He stood up from the armchair, his joint popping as he stretched his stiff back. He turned his body toward the window to clear his head, taking a deep, steadying breath.

Behind him, a tiny, raspy gasp broke the quiet.

Alexandro whipped back around.

Bella’s dark eyelashes were fluttering wildly, her eyelids wiggling as her brow pinched together in a deep, agonizing struggle against the heavy fog of the sedation.

"Oh my God," Alexandro breathed, his voice cracking as pure, electric shock surged through his veins. "Oh my God!"

He lunged forward, slamming his palm against the emergency page button on the wall unit to alert the medical team downstairs. Before the signal even finished chiming, he dropped to his knees beside the bed, his hands framing her face, his thumb trembling against her jawline.

"Baby, can you hear me?" Alexandro pleaded, his voice trembling with an emotion so raw it terrified him. "Bellissima, open your eyes. I'm right here. Open your eyes for me!"

Bella’s chest heaved beneath the light blanket. Her lips parted, dry and cracked, as she let out a long, shuddering breath. Slowly, agonizingly, her dark eyes fluttered open.

Her vision was unfocused, swimming in the soft sunlight, but as her pupils dilated, they locked directly onto Alexandro's face.

"Alex...?" her voice was a faint, scratchy whisper, raspy from weeks of a feeding tube resting in her throat. "Where... where am I...?"

A breathless, choked laugh burst from Alexandro’s chest. Tears welled unbidden in his dark eyes, spilling over his lashes as a bright, disbelieving smile broke across his face. He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her temple, his hands shaking violently against her skin. "You're home. You're safe. Oh my God, you came back..."

The heavy double doors burst open. Maria ran into the room, her hair wild, her mouth slightly agape as she stopped dead in her tracks at the foot of the bed. Her jaw dropped.

"Oh my God!" Maria shrieked, tears instantly flooding her eyes as she rushed to the side of the mattress. "Bella! You're awake!"

Bella blinked slowly, her eyes darting between Alexandro’s tear-stained face and Maria’s ecstatic expression. A weak frown touched her brows. "Maria...? What... what are you doing with Alex?" 

She looked around the sunlit room, her brow furrowing deeper. "Why am I... in Alex's house?"

Neither of them answered. Alexandro was simply laughing through his tears, holding her hand like a lifeline, while Maria buried her face in her hands, weeping with sheer relief.

Footsteps hurried down the corridor, and Dr Vance rushed into the room alongside two private nurses, carrying diagnostic kits and penlights.

"Step back, please! Let us evaluate her!" The doctor ordered smoothly, stepping up to the bed.

Bella croaked out, her throat feeling like absolute sandpaper, "Water... please..."

Maria instantly reached for a glass of water on the bedside table, but Dr Vance immediately put his hand out to stop her. 

"No! No liquids yet!” He yelled, collecting the cup from her . “Her swallowing reflex has been dormant for three weeks because of the intubation tube. Give her ice chips first."

A nurse quickly brought a small cup of crushed ice, using a tiny spoon to place a chip on Bella’s dry tongue. 

Bella closed her eyes as the cold moisture melted down her throat, letting out a long, weary sigh.

Dr Vance clicked on a small diagnostic penlight, shining it into her eyes one by one. "Follow the light with your eyes, Miss Moretti. Good. Pupil response is equal and reactive." He wrapped a blood pressure cuff around her arm, checking the digital readout. "Vitals are remarkably stable. Neurological reflexes are responsive."

He stepped back, offering a warm, professional smile. "How do you feel?"

"Like I got hit by a truck," Bella rasped, her voice still low and gravelly. "My head is pounding... and my throat feels like glass."

"Entirely expected," Dr Vance reassured her, making a note on his tablet. "Your body has undergone massive trauma."

Bella squinted at him. "What happened? How long have I been out?"

"Three weeks," Alexandro answered softly, his thumb continuing to stroke her knuckles. "You've been in a medically induced coma for three weeks."

"Three weeks?" Bella repeated, a faint spark of her old, stubborn fire flashing in her dark eyes. "Fuck... no wonder I feel like garbage."

She instinctively shifted her shoulders, bracing her elbows against the mattress as she tried to push her upper body upright. "Let me sit up—"