277- Promise Him Happiness

277- Promise Him Happiness
POV Raica:

"Raica, calm down for God’s sake!" Isabella pleads as I run toward the waiting room. I need to see Nicholas, endlessly, I need to see him. "He’s in the ICU, no one is allowed in, calm down."

She holds my arm as many eyes watch our interaction. Dominic stands a meter or two away beside the doctor, red-eyed, shoulders slumped—the distorted image of suffering.

"I need to look at him, Isabella." The words leave me as a supplication. "It may be too late, I need to look at him."
"Only Sara can go in, friend."
"I’M HIS FIANCÉE, I NEED TO GO IN, DAMN IT!"

Isabella hugs me before I collapse onto the floor, clutching my body as it weakens, the feeling of being sucked into a dark, miserable pit overtaking everything inside me. The fear of feeling this pain again—when another, so recent, still hurts so much—explodes in a painful, melancholic cry.

My best friend asks something of someone, and soon a soft fabric covers my body. With short steps I’m guided to a chair. I recognize some voices—Melissa’s and her boyfriend Ruben’s, Nick’s cousin—but nothing sinks in. Words go in and out of my head without comprehension. Eyes closed, I retreat into the sad darkness of my subconscious. I don’t want to see my surroundings. I don’t want to face the truth, even as it crushes my insides.

"Preta, look at me." Isabella lifts my head with two fingers.
"Raica," she begs, "Dominic needs to speak with you." Her choked voice forces my eyes to meet the older brother.

"He’s going to survive," he assures me, kneeling at my feet. The promise reignites my world. "Listen. My brother and I have the same blood type, so I’m a potential donor."

I nod over and over, tears constantly running from my eyes, agreeing with him, agreeing with the promise. I glance at Isabella, tearful, arms wrapped around herself, then back at him.

"Are you going to donate a kidney to your brother?" I ask, and Dominic’s lips stretch wet with his own tears.

"I’d divide my heart if I had to, Raica. Nicholas is part of me and I’m part of him. We’ve carried our relationship this far built on love and hate, mistakes and victories. We wasted time, moments." He inhales. "So much could have been different," he pauses, a whirlwind of thoughts corroding his mind, "if a part of me can give life to my brother, I’m grateful to God for this opportunity. The feeling of helplessness would kill me. I only ask you one thing: make him happy. Turn every day of my brother’s into a sunrise as soon as he wakes. Promise me that?"

I wipe my eyes with the back of my hands, holding back the sobs.
"I promise."

Dominic kisses the top of my head and turns to his wife. They embrace and cry; it’s like a heartbreaking farewell. There isn’t a single soul in the waiting room who doesn’t shed tears because of the scene.

Soon after, the doctor calls him. With a quick wave he says goodbye to everyone and disappears down the corridor.

Nicholas was shot in the abdomen; one of the bullets hit the pelvic region, damaging a kidney. The other is already compromised; even with all available resources it could fail at any moment. He needs a kidney transplant. The fact that Dominic has the same blood type and is his brother guarantees absolutely nothing—this is why anguish paralyzes everyone in the hospital.

Every surgery has risks, and at the moment Dominic is on the operating table, his life will also be at stake.

The next 48 hours will be crucial. Dominic will be hospitalized for immunological tests and compatibility exams; only after that will the transplant be confirmed.

How will I live until this entire arduous process is concluded?

In the meantime, I’m forced to leave the waiting room, return to my hospital room, and am closely monitored by an attendant. Escaping for news isn’t an option.

Isabella tries not to cry in front of me, her heart crushed, afraid that any detail could fail and her husband’s life, as well as her brother-in-law’s, be lost in tragedy.

It’s night. The moon takes its rightful place in the starry sky. The pale room’s windows frame the external spectacle. Silent crying doesn’t abandon me, no matter how hard I try. It’s hard to control the thoughts, the memories, the moments… so I curl up and pray inwardly for the brothers. It’s crazy to think how the tracks of this bullet train derailed, what twisted mind lies behind the story of this universe.

"Raica, excuse me…" I look toward the door. Red hair falls in layers through the crack of the door. "May I come in?"

Aline isn’t a face I intended to see so soon. Even so, I allow her to enter.

"Come in." I adjust myself on the bed.
"How do you feel?"
"Bad."

She inhales sadly.
"He’s going to make it." She tries to smile. "Nicholas is a survivor, Raica. And so are you."
"What are you doing here?" I ask bluntly.
"I need to explain about Dubai."
"Yes, you do."

Aline relaxes her shoulders before continuing:
"I’m a lawyer. I handle the UP network here in Brazil. I was included in the trip whether you went or not. Nicholas and I mixed pleasure with work until you entered his life. The night we met in the hallway, he gave up staying with me to go after you. I’ve never seen Nicholas so distraught as that day."

"Have you two been sleeping together for a long time?"
"A few years. First he hired me as a lawyer and then I surrendered to his charm." I take a deep breath, merely irritated by the intimacy. "But don’t worry, there were never feelings involved, it was just sex and pleasure, plus a great friendship."

"He could have made that clear," I mutter, angry at the tears I shed because of this damn misunderstanding.

"The truth is there wasn’t time, and…" She smiles as if remembering something funny. "We lost millions in Dubai as soon as he couldn’t talk to you to explain my presence there. Nicholas canceled everything, left the hotel, and rushed back to Brazil. Can you understand how special you are?"

I massage the center of my chest, freeing my thoughts from the worst. He didn’t lie.
He kept his word.

"He was capable of leaving everything in Dubai?"
"Yes, he was." Aline supports my hands. "Don’t be hard on him. Giving himself to someone wasn’t part of his plans. You caught him by surprise."

I try to smile; I have so many swear words stuck in my throat to throw in Mr. Cactus’s face. Let all this be over—he’ll see.

"Can I ask you for something?" Even feeling used, I shrug.
"As you can see, I’m not in much shape right now." It wasn’t a joke, but it drew a smile from her.

"Nicholas deserves to be happy, and you’re the right woman to unlock the locks of his heart. He’s going to be fine and he’s going to come back to you. Please, make him happy!"
"There’s nothing I want more in the world."