Chapter 28 Don't leave me
CHAPTER 28
Don't leave me
The hospital smelled of disinfectant and antiseptics. Ruby paced the hallway, heart pounding in her throat. Her hands were still shaking from holding him as they rushed him to the ambulance. She still felt the coldness of his skin on her palms.
She hated her.
Hated her for walking in at a moment when Leo was finally starting to breathe again in his life, for throwing him back into the darkness he had barely escaped.
Leo’s father stood by the wall, speaking urgently to the doctor.
Some of the Carter siblings sat quietly, worried but unsure what to say.
But Ruby couldn’t sit, she couldn't stop trembling.
She needed him to wake up.
Minutes felt like hours.
Clara walked into the waiting room, arms crossed, acting like she wasn’t the reason Leo was fighting unconsciousness.
Ruby stepped toward her.
“You need to leave.”
“Look at you, acting like you matter.” she smirked.
Ruby’s voice didn’t waver.
She wasn’t strong, but she loved him enough to stand tall.
“I told you to leave.”
“And if I don’t?” She challenged me.
Before Ruby could answer, the doctor appeared.
“You?” Ruby rushed forward. “Is he okay? Please tell me.”
“He’s stable for now,” the doctor said gently. “But he’s very stressed and needs rest. ”
Ruby exhaled in shaky relief—
“I’m going in.” Clara interrupted.
The doctor shook his head.
“No. He already made the request.”
“Request?” she repeated sharply.
The doctor nodded.
“He mentioned Miss Ruby is the only one allowed to see him.”
Clara froze…Her eyes darkened with fury.
Ruby felt her heart stop — then burst into a thousand trembling butterflies.
He wanted her, she was more than relieved.
Ruby followed the doctor, unaware of the silent rage burning behind her.
When she entered the room, she saw Leo lying weakly against the white pillows, eyes half open, chest rising slowly.
He looked fragile — something she never thought possible.
“Ruby…” his voice cracked.
She rushed to him, holding his hand tightly.
“I’m here. I’m right here.”
He closed his eyes, relief softening his features.
“You didn’t leave,” he whispered.
“I never will.”
She pressed a cool cloth to his forehead, brushing his hair back gently.
Her fingers slid down to his cheek, and he leaned into her touch like he’d been starving for it.
“You scared me, Leo,” she whispered through a trembling voice.
“You scared all of us.”
“I saw her, and… everything came back.” He swallowed.
His voice broke. “I thought I was over it. I thought I was stronger. But I just—”
He shut his eyes, fighting tears.
Ruby sat beside him, lifting his hand to her chest.
“You are strong. But even strong people break when someone who hurt them reappears.”
His breathing steadied under her touch.
Her presence wrapped around him like warmth on a freezing night.
“Don’t leave me, Ruby,” he whispered again, more vulnerable this time.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
She stayed by his side the entire night — brushing his hair, massaging his hand, wiping his tears when nightmares made him tremble.
And each moment, Leo melted deeper into her care.
Outside the room, Clara watched through the small glass window — her jaw clenched, her eyes burning with jealousy.
If love couldn’t bring Leo back to her…
She would find something else that could.
Something dark, that would make him forget Ruby entirely.
\`\`\`\`\`\`\`\`\`\`\`\`
Vivian poured herself a glass of wine as she met secretly with Jules.
“You said you have an update?” she asked coldly.
“Yes,” the investigator replied. “But I need access to Leo Carter’s private life.”
Vivian paused — then smirked.
“Plant a spy,” she ordered.
“Not in his mansion. Too risky.”
She took a slow sip.
“Hide them… in one of his workers’ homes. That’s where secrets leak.”
The investigator nodded.
“As you wish.”
Vivian leaned back, satisfied.
Ruby would never escape her grip.
And if Leo was truly getting serious with her stepdaughter…
Vivian would ensure it didn’t end well.
\`\`\`\`\`\`\`\`\`
When Leo was discharged days later, he returned home with Ruby at his side — fragile but stronger with her holding his arm.
He didn’t take chances anymore.
That same evening, he called his head of security.
“I want a new bodyguard for Ruby,” he ordered firmly. “His name is Carl. He will shadow her everywhere.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And a driver,” Leo added. “Alex. He drives her anywhere she wants and needs.”
Ruby blinked.
“Leo—”
“No.” He cupped her face gently. “I almost lost you the night I broke down. I can’t risk it. Not with everything happening around us.”
Her breath softened.
He was afraid for her.
Not himself.
“Okay,” she whispered. “If it makes you feel safe.”
“It does,” he murmured, pulling her into his chest.
“And Ruby… I’m not letting anything take you from me.”
For two days after the hospital discharge, the Carter mansion was unusually quiet.
The staff whispered in the hallways.
The air felt thick, sensitive — like the walls themselves remembered how Leo collapsed.
Ruby noticed it too.
Whenever she passed a guard or a maid, their eyes lingered on her with a strange mixture of curiosity and concern, as if wondering who she really was to their young master.
Was she the reason he fell?
Or the reason he lived?
Leo refused to let her out of his sight.
Whenever Ruby walked across the living room, he tracked her with his eyes, as if her mere existence grounded him more than oxygen.
Whenever she picked up a cup, he asked if she needed help.
Whenever she tried to leave the mansion’s gates, he followed, even if just for a moment, assuring himself she was safe.
But the biggest change? The security.
It was intense now.
Guards rotated every hour.
Cameras were doubled.
Entry logs were checked three times.
Leo’s instructions were strict — bordering on obsessive — and Ruby understood why.
He broke down once.
He wouldn’t survive breaking again.
But what confused her most was how he softened around her in ways she didn’t expect.