43| Life-2

"No," she argued, shaking her head, "no! It's not better you than me, I… Don't do that again, Dante. Ever. I mean it. I can't lose you." "You're stronger than you think, baby." "I'm not that strong," she said, "not enough to lose you and survive it. I don't want to live my life without you, I couldn't take it." "You have the whole world in front of you, Anastasia." "You are my whole world. My entire being is yours; my entire universe begins and ends with you, Dante," she whispered. Each word she said hit me straight in the heart. "That's how much I love you," she added. "If I'm your whole life, then you're mine too." For an entire minute, she rendered me speechless. I'd never even imagined I would hear those words from somebody, let alone from the fucking love of my life. Exhaling, she slowly rose up. "I have to bring a doctor in here." I caught her wrist one more time. "Anastasia." "Yes, Dante?" "Please kiss me." If she said no, I was certain I'd beg. Biting down a tiny smile, she leaned in and pressed her lips to mine softly for a few seconds before pulling away. "Let me bring you a doctor, okay?" she whispered before slipping out. Moments later, she returned with an entire fucking army behind her. A doctor, along with two nurses, and following them entered Tristan, Amara, Kai, Rose, Nathan, and even Marshal. Any more people and the entire private room at the hospital would turn into a goddamn concert. I sort of felt like a work of art off on display, but I remained quiet as the doctor conducted a general checkup, checked my vitals and blood pressure, and took a new blood sample before leaving with the nurses. My eyes drifted back to Anastasia. "Really? It's like you brought the whole city in here." She shrugged, "Everyone wanted to see you. Be nice. They saved your life." She glanced pointedly toward Tristan and Kai. Sighing, I turned to look at Tristan as he stood beside me, looking at me smugly. "You hear that? You owe me big time, Dante," he smirked. I stared back at him blankly. "Really?" "Welcome back, sweetheart," he winked. "I think we should thank our own doctor here," Amara said, subtly jabbing Tristan's ribs. "He stopped your bleeding before we even got to the hospital." I glanced at Kai, and then my eyes drifted to where Rose stood a few feet away from him, with Nathan conveniently stuck between the two. I'm surprised they didn't kill each other and managed to focus on something else instead. "Thanks," I ground out reluctantly, "for saving me." A smug remark was definitely dangling at the tip of his tongue but glancing at Anastasia, he suppressed it. And saved whatever was left of my ego. "Anytime," he simply said. I turned to Nathan, expecting him to give me another sassy remark like the other two did, another reason I owed him. "Frankly, I didn't do much," he mused, "I was simply the driver." The British accent still dripped from his words like ivy. I tipped my head down slightly. "Regardless of that, I should still thank everybody here," I sighed, then said to Rose and Amara, "especially you two. For taking care of Anastasia." Both of them offered me soft smiles in exchange. Marshall stood silently in the back, but with a reassuring nod from my head, confirming that I was okay, he silently left. Amara nudged Tristan again, and on cue, he cleared his throat, "Well… We'll give you both some time alone." Everyone trickled out behind him and Amara. Anastasia and I exchanged a glance as we watched Rose and Kai fall into step side by side, crashing in the doorway as they both tried to leave first. "For the love of God," Rose muttered in frustration, stepping back and dramatically gesturing for Kai to go ahead. "Please, your fucking highness." Kai stepped back and folded his arms, leaning against the doorway. "I don't like that tone, Ms. Chen. Perhaps you should ask me nicely," he said sarcastically. Scoffing, Rose took a step closer, looking ready to murder him on the spot. She probably would have if Anastasia hadn't chimed in. "Civil," Anastasia demanded, "both of you, please!" "Kiss my ass," I heard Rose mutter as she strutted out. Kai turned to Anastasia with the epitome of innocence plastered on his face. "And she tells you I'm the problem," he said calmly. "Get out," I said before Anastasia could reply, "before I make you." A tiny laugh escaped Anastasia as she watched me in amusement, letting me pull her down to sit by my legs on the bed. "I think you can be a little nicer to him," she said, taking my hand. "He did save your life, Dante." "I'll show him nice once I'm out of here. When am I out of here?" She arched a brow at me. "There's no chance I can get you all to myself while we're here," I explained. "You can hardly move," she scoffed, "so whatever those ideas in your head are, get rid of them." I agreed, "I can't move… but you certainly can." Scoffing, she stared at me in disbelief. "Self-control, Mr. Rossi." "With you, I have none." She laughed softly. "Seriously, when can I leave?" "Ten days is what the doctor told me." There was a knock on the door, followed by the doctor stepping in with a clipboard in his hands. "Mrs. Rossi," he said to Anastasia. My brows shot up as I watched her respond. "Yes?" Mrs. Rossi? "We need you to fill out a few papers on Mr. Rossi's behalf. Please." She took the clipboard with a smile. I waited until the doctor left and the door closed behind him. "Mrs. Rossi?" I called out. "Yes," she answered instinctively before stopping herself in realization. "He said only family could see you," she said sheepishly. "I kind of like Mrs. Rossi on you, baby." "Do you?" she laughed. "Mm-hmm," I nodded, resting a hand on her thigh, my palm lazily traveling to her inner thigh where I squeezed. "What?" she asked, "why are you staring at me?" Without even looking at me as she filled out my paperwork, she felt my eyes on her. "I can't fucking wait to marry you," I mumbled. She smiled, hiding her grin behind the clipboard. She didn't have to say it, I knew. She couldn't wait either. . . . . . Chapter 43 next ch: epilogue