Chapter 43

Chapter 43 Crystal's POV Within twenty minutes, I arrived in the hospital. The moment Jack stopped the car at the main entrance, I got out and ran inside. My heart throbbed so fast, my anxiety was too strong as I went straight to the ICU area, to Liam's room. I suddenly stopped. I was overwhelmed with fear as I stared at the room. All the things I dreaded to happen in these past days started to creep inside my mind. No. This is not happening. I went inside the room and asked the only person I found there. A young male janitor, who was mopping the floor. "Where is he?" The janitor looked at me, and said. "He's gone." I felt like all the blood drained off my body. I covered my mouth as a sob broke inside my throat. Fat tears rolled down my cheeks instantly as I ran outside the room. I did not know where I was going. I don't even care if I go to hell. I felt like my world suddenly ended. I wanted to shout and cry aloud. To curse, to hate, to kick, to punch, or to kill. Anything to express my misery. At that moment, I hated living anymore. I just wanted to be where Liam was. "Miss Petrakis." Someone called me when I got out of the ICU area. I stopped. It was the same female senior nurse. "Come with me. I'll take you to him." She said. I followed her to the other side of the building. I suddenly gasped when a middle-aged male orderly pushing a gurney with a dead body, walked past beside me. "Another one?" The senior nurse asked him. "Yeah. Our second this morning." The orderly answered. My heart felt like being squeezed tightly, knowing that Liam was the first. Why did it happen to Liam? He was a good guy and helped a lot of people. Why not all those criminals who are plagues to societies? A senior nurse and the orderly were talking as I followed them, until we arrived at the morgue. We stopped at the morgue. The senior nurse helped the orderly by opening the door. I was ready to go inside the morgue when the senior nurse said. "No, not there." She said and guided me as we crossed to the next building. "Sorry for using that way, it's a shortcut." I nodded and followed her inside the building. We crossed the cozy lobby and headed to a hall with many doors. "We're here." She said and knocked on a door. The door opened immediately by Dr. Cruz. The moment I saw him, I burst out crying. I could not control my misery anymore. I broke down. Dr. Cruz put an arm around my shoulders as he comforted me. "Calm down, okay? Come on, I'll show you to him." I realized it was a big room, like an apartment, as he guided me to the bedroom. The door was slightly open. Dr. Cruz pushed the door wider, and I entered slowly. My heart was beating too fast and my pulses were racing. I turned, then I saw Liam. He was looking as handsomely gorgeous as ever, sitting on the bed and smiling at me. For a few seconds, I stared at him. I blinked several times to make sure I was not dreaming. The bandage around his head was gone, as well as the life-support devices, monitoring equipment, IV fluid, and other things attached to his body. He also changed from his hospital gown to white V-neck shirt and gray cotton shorts. "Crystal." He said. Oh god, he's real and so alive. Hot tears of joy immediately fell down on my cheeks. I went into his open arms and buried my face into his chest. "Oh, Liam." I gulped hard as I cried all my frustrations in the past days. The feeling of intense relief as all the fear, anxiety, and misery were lifted off me. "I'm so glad you're awake." "Thank God. The thought of not waking up again was terrible enough." He hugged me tightly. "How are you feeling? Are you okay now?" "So much better, now that you're here." His chuckle was such a wonderful sound I love to hear again and again. He let go of me as he wiped my tears. Then he held my face and lifted it towards him. My calm was immediately shattered with the hunger of his kisses. Every caress of his lips on my mouth set my body into flame. Igniting an ache, longing to be quenched. He tasted so good. Toothpaste and mouthwash...and that unique addictive taste of him, like heaven. His lips left mine as he pulled me on the bed beside him. I was back in his arms as we continued to talk about what happened. A muscle quivered at his jaw when I mentioned Billy. He was very furious of Billy and about the incident, but he was just trying to hide it. I told him about the footage of the CCTV, the people who gathered outside the hospital to support him, the news on television, social media, newspapers, and everything he needed to know. Dr. Cruz told him some bits about it already, I just fed him additional details. He confessed of his own doing, framing up Billy on the island. "You have every right to be angry at me. I know I should mind my own business, but—I did not want you to marry that asshole. You'd end up miserable. He's a fuck boy, and I knew he would never change." "Still, you should have told me." "Do you think you would listen? You contradicted me in every possible way." "True." I bit my lower lip to stifle a grin, then asked, "Tell me, honestly. If it was not Billy, would you still invite us to your island?" He chuckled and looked very guilty. "Most probably. I got crazy... so jealous and mad as hell. I realized that I did not want you to get married. Not just to Billy, but to any other guy." "I wonder why..." I frowned. "Isn't it too obvious? I wanted you for myself." He gave me a brief kiss that made me ache for more. "I bought an island and built our dream vacation house. All the time I was thinking of you." "Hmm... I thought you wanted revenge." He laughed, holding my hand against his chest. "That's what I thought also. But I was only deceiving myself and kept denying my feelings for you. Are you convinced now that I'm a jerk?" "A handsome gorgeous jerk that I'm so crazy in love with." I kissed his cheek and settled my head against his neck. "I heard you. Everything that you've said." I knew what he was referring to. My confession at the ICU room. "I mean it. I'm here for you now, Liam." I paused, then said. "I won't go, unless you ask me to." "That will never happen. I won't ever let you go." His voice was so gentle and calm, his gaze steady at me as he continued, "You know what, my dreams were filled with you. The sweet words and promises that you whispered played again and again in my head. I believed you and I was holding on to your words. They gave me the will to fight for my life...to live." "Everything I've said came straight from my heart," I heaved a sigh, "I'm so sorry for being so stubborn. When I told you that I don't get back with an ex, it was my pride talking. I did not want to admit to myself how you still affected me. I had enough of giving in to my feelings...I thought I was being weak again." He shook his head, then said. "That's totally understandable. I know what you've been through, and I'm guilty for being one of the reasons why you lost trust in men. I was a disappointment as your first love." "The past is the past, we learned from our mistakes. What is important is what we have now." "Exactly. I realized how precious life is. It could be taken away from us in just a snap of our fingers. Anytime. No matter how young or old a person is. I devoted myself to helping people, saving their lives, making them live longer and become happy...that I forgot about myself and my own happiness. Now, going through that terrible experience, I want to change my life and focus on being happy as well. " I nodded as I continued to listen to him. "There are many ways to be happy in this life, but all I really need is you." Warm feeling of joy filled inside me. I felt the same way for him, and it was very overwhelming hearing him confess his feelings for me. He held my eyes with his and our hands clasped together. My hands were trembling for some reason...or it was his hands? "You're my happiness, Crystal, and I promise you, I will work harder to make you happy for the rest of our lives." My eyebrows raised questioningly. He was back talking in circles again. "What I'm trying to say is..." he continued, "I don't want to waste our time anymore. I love you so much, Crystal. Please marry me, my love, and I'll give you all of me forever." I was speechless as I continued to stare at him. "Crystal...can I have all of you?"