“You should’ve woken me up,” she scolds, grabbing the glass and holding it to my lips with one hand, the other sliding behind my neck to support me. “Why would you try to move?”
“I didn’t want to wake you… You looked too peaceful,” I say, taking a small sip and wincing as the water goes down.
Her stormy eyes narrow at me instantly. I watch her quietly… the shadows under her eyes, the way her hair is messily pulled back, the exhaustion etched into her face. And still, even in this state, she’s breathtakingly beautiful.
“Peaceful?” she snaps. “You’re lying here with a bullet wound, barely able to move, and you’re worried about not waking me up?” She shakes her head, muttering under her breath. “You really do love testing my sanity, don’t you?”
She sets the glass down, adjusts my pillows carefully, and helps me lie back before settling into the chair again.
I wink at her, a slow, cocky grin tugging at my lips. “You know you make it way too easy, sweetheart. Always fussing over the little things.”
Her eyes narrow. “You lying in a hospital bed is not alittle thing,” she huffs. “You scared the hell out of me. Don’t you dare do it again.”
I manage a faint smile. “You’ve got nothing to be afraid of. I’m right here, breathing just fine.”
“I know.” Her shoulders slump as she takes my hand in hers. “But when I saw you bleeding, lying there unconscious… I couldn’t breathe.” She swallows hard, her fingers tightening around mine. “I thought I’d lost you.” Her voice cracks on that last word.
“You didn’t,” I say, my voice rough as I squeeze her hand. “You know I’d never leave you. I promised you forever, and I damn well meant it.”
Her lashes glisten as tears well in her eyes.
“Then don’t you dare break that promise,” she whispers, pressing a soft kiss to my knuckles. “Because I don’t know how to survive a world that doesn’t have you in it.” She looks me straight in the eye and hiccups, “Why did you do that, Sidharth? When you saw the gun, why did you provoke her? Why didn’t you just wait for the cops? Why would you put your life on the line when you knew what it would do to me?”
I stay quiet. I just watch her and listen, as the floodgates finally open.
This is the first time she’s let herself fall apart since I woke up. For the past three days, she’s held herself together… calm, composed, pretending to be stronger than she felt, only for me. She smiled through her pain and just focused on my healing, as if it were the only thing that mattered.
“Do you even know what it felt like?” she goes on, tears spilling freely now. “When they took you into surgery, I didn’t know what the doctors would say when they came out. I didn’t know if I’d ever hear your voice again, or if I’d ever get the chance to yell at you for being so goddamn stupid?” Her hands shake as she speaks. “A part of me was dying as I sat outside that damn operating room for hours, just praying you’d come back to me.”
Her voice cracks, and in that moment, my heart aches in a way no pain ever could. I want to pull her into my arms and tell her I’m sorry, that it’s over, that I’m okay. But I stay still. I know she needs to let out everything that’s been tearing her up inside.
Hell, if I were in her place, I don’t know how I’d have survived it. Watching the person you love bleeding, unconscious, fighting for their life? That kind of fear isn’t something I ever want to feel, let alone go through.
“I tried to be strong. I didn’t want to fall apart in front of you. But God, Sidharth… it nearly killed me to see you like that.” Her voice breaks again, and this time, I lift my hand and brush a tear from her cheek with my thumb.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. But when I saw that gun pointed at you, all I could think about was protecting you. I didn’t care what happened to me in that moment. I just knew I couldn’t let her hurt you.”
She closes her eyes, a shaky breath escaping her lips.
“But please next time, don’t play the hero,” she sniffles, her eyes meeting mine again.
I give her a faint, crooked smile. “You know I can’t promise that, especially not when your life is at stake.”
“Sidharth…” she starts, but this time I cut in, smirking just a little despite the pain.
“Hey, I’m the one lying here in a hospital bed. Cut me some slack, will you? I deserve a hug, not you snapping at me.”
She stares at me for a moment, torn between frustration and love, before a helpless laugh escapes her lips.
“You’re impossible,” she murmurs, shaking her head. Then she leans forward and wraps her arms around me with careful gentleness, mindful of my injuries.
Her warmth seeps into me instantly, and I exhale slowly, resting my cheek against her hair, breathing in the familiar scent that feels like home.
“Yeah, but I’m all yours,” I say, pulling her just a little closer.
“I still hate you for scaring me like that,” she says quietly. “But I love you more for coming back to me.”
I smile against her head and press a loving kiss to the top of her head. “Fair enough,” I murmur. “Hate me all you want, as long as you keep loving me more.”
