Chapter 103 #103
Chapter 103
~Dante's POV~
The corridor was still buzzing with tension when I stood up.
"I'm going in," I said.
"The doctor said one at a time," Father reminded me.
"And I'm first. I'm her husband."
Dwayne was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, saying nothing. He hadn't said anything since Gramps left. Just standing there, watching everyone with those dark, unreadable eyes.
It pissed me off.
"Problem?" I asked him directly.
He didn't even blink. "No problem."
"Good."
I turned and walked toward the door.
"Dante," Father called after me.
"What?"
"Be gentle with her."
I didn't respond. I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The room was dim. Monitors beeping steadily. The antiseptic smell hit me immediately, sharp and cold.
And there she was.
Shailyn.
Lying in the hospital bed, hooked up to machines. Her hair was spread across the pillow, dark against the white sheets. Her hands were resting on top of the blanket, perfectly still.
She looked so small.
So fragile.
"Shailyn," I whispered.
Nothing.
I closed the door behind me and walked to her bedside slowly. Each step felt heavier than the last. I pulled a chair close and sat down, leaning forward.
She looked pale. Too pale. The kind of pale that made my chest feel like it was caving in.
I reached for her hand.
It was cold.
I wrapped both of mine around it, holding tight, and just sat there for a moment. Listening to the monitors. Watching the steady rise and fall of her chest.
"Shailyn, it's me," I said quietly. "I'm here."
Nothing.
I squeezed her hand gently.
"The doctor said the babies are okay," I continued. "They're healthy. You did good, baby. You protected them."
The monitor beeped.
Beeped.
Beeped.
I leaned closer, bringing her hand to my lips. Kissed her knuckles.
"I need you to listen to me," I said. "Are you listening?"
Silence.
"Good. Because I need you to hear this."
I paused, looking at her face. The way her eyelashes fanned against her cheeks. The slight part of her lips. She looked peaceful. Too peaceful for someone whose world was about to crumble.
"I know things have been... complicated," I said. "I know you've been confused. Scared. Lost."
The monitor beeped steadily.
"But those babies." I looked down at her stomach, at the slight bump visible beneath the hospital gown. "Those babies are everything, Shailyn. They're what hold us together. They're what matters."
I swallowed hard.
"And I need you to know something. Something important."
I leaned in closer, my voice dropping.
"Even if you remember everything. Even if all of it comes back, every single memory, every truth, every secret, it doesn't change this."
I squeezed her hand tighter.
"I will do everything in this world to make sure you're mine. That we stay together. That this family stays intact."
The monitors beeped.
"Everything, Shailyn."
I held her gaze even though her eyes were closed. Even though she couldn't hear me. Or maybe she could. I didn't care either way. The words needed to be said.
"I don't care what stands in the way. I don't care who gets in the way. People who try to come between us, between me and you, between me and those babies they will be dealt with."
My jaw tightened.
"All of them."
I brought her hand to my lips again, pressing a long kiss against her skin.
"Dwayne thinks he can play hero," I muttered against her fingers. "He thinks he can swoop in and save you. He thinks he's the good guy in this story."
I laughed. Short. Bitter.
"He's not."
I set her hand down carefully on the blanket.
I leaned back in the chair, my eyes never leaving her face.
"No one knows what I'm capable of when it comes to protecting what's mine."
The room was quiet except for the steady rhythm of the heart monitor.
"You are mine, Shailyn," I said. Softly now. Almost tenderly. "You have always been mine. And nothing, nothing in this world will change that."
I reached out and brushed a strand of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear.
"So when you wake up," I whispered. "Whatever you remember. Whatever you think you know. Just know this."
I leaned in until my lips were inches from her ear.
"I will burn everything to the ground before I let you go."
The words hung in the sterile air.
I sat back.
The monitor beeped.
Beeped.
Beeped.
I stared at her peaceful face, my mind already racing through contingencies. Frederick. The offshore accounts. Gramps. Dwayne.
Every move had to be calculated now. Every step had to be precise.
Because if Shailyn remembered everything, and something told me she would then the game was about to change completely.
And I intended to win it.
I reached for her hand again, interlacing our fingers, and let the silence settle around us.
The monitor beeped.
Beeped.
Then—
A knock.
Sharp. Firm. Deliberate.
I didn't move.
My eyes stayed on Shailyn's face.
Another knock.
Harder this time.
I turned my head slowly toward the door.
My hand tightened around Shailyn's.
"Who is it?" I called out, my voice dangerously calm.
No answer.
Just silence.
Then the door handle turned.