“You told me that night that I wasn’t allowed to leave you, Matteo,” I ground out between gritted teeth. “But that goes for you as well. You are not allowed to leave me.”
His eyes blinked open, and he stared right at me. A shaking hand reached up to stroke down my cheek, and his lips opened to say something, but no sound came out.
His hand dropped to his side, and his eyes closed.
“We are losing him. Drive faster.”
Losing him? I couldn’t lose him? No again. Not when the truth was finally out in the open.
“I love you, Matteo,” I whispered, and my tears fell onto his face. “I love you, and you’re not allowed to leave me ever again.”
Chapter Forty
Matteo
The world was too bright when I finally managed to open my eyes, and I quickly shut them again, but not before I had caught a glimpse of Sophia.
Sophia and my daughter. My heart seemed to swell at the sight of them sitting together.
Her voice filled my mind, and for a second, I couldn’t understand what she was saying. Then, it hit me. She was reading Lily a story, a kid’s story, as they sat haloed in a beam of sunlight.
A small sigh left my lips, and I relaxed against the pillows as her voice washed over me. It was like all the tension melted away, although that might have been because of the drugs they were pumping into my veins.
No. I gave a small shake of my head. No, it wasn’t drugs. It was her. Sophia was the only drug I ever needed to feel better, and she was here.
That meant we had won. I didn’t know what had happened to Gio, but we had won, and that meant we were safe. Anything else could wait.
Again, my eyes blinked open, and this time I didn’t shut them again. Instead, I watched them from beneath my lashes.
How was it possible that they looked so comfortable together? It was almost like I was spying on them, looking through a window into a tiny part of their lives.
They were a family.
My heart gave another pang, and this time, the machines I was wired up to started to beep.
“Mommy.”
My daughter had the sweetest little accent. Across the room, she lifted her head from the book they were poring over, and our eyes met.
She looked like Sophia, but she had my eyes.
“Mommy,” she said again, more urgent this time. “Daddy is awake.”
She had called me Daddy.
Dropping the book to her lap, Sophia glanced at me and smiled. “I’ll get the doctor.”
“No.” My voice was a harsh whisper.
She froze, looking toward the bed.
“Don’t leave yet?” Jesus, why did my voice sound so uncertain?
Her smile was as uncertain as my voice. “You want me to stay?”
Mutely, I nodded. “For a little bit,” I managed the lie, because I wanted her to stay forever.
“Mommy!” Lily shouted in glee. Her small hands were clapping together excitedly. “Can we?”
