Page 168 of In Love and Revenge

‘Don’t ask if we can leave again.’ I sob, giving him a stern look. ‘They need to monitor you overnight first. You heard the doctor.’

He’s hooked up to an ECG machine, his chest is bare. Seeing him lying here, shirtless, his scar like a beacon over his heart, brings a wave of fresh tears to me.I could have lost him forever.

He frowns as I cry, his forehead creasing with worry like I’m about to walk out of here.

‘It was a weird episode, that’s all,’ he says.

I shake my head, wringing my hands in my lap. ‘The doctors called it Tako ... Tao ...’ I frown.

‘Takotsubo cardiomyopathy,’ he whispers.

‘Yeah.’ I sniff. ‘Broken heart syndrome.’ Fresh tears stream from my eyes as I look at him. ‘I made you ill.’

‘You didn’t. This is all my doing. I wasn’t paying attention to what my body was telling me, that’s all. I should have—’

‘They said it’s brought on by extreme emotional or physical stress.’

Rafe grimaces. ‘I’m fine. It’s reversible. I’ll just be more careful.’

‘You were so pale, I-I ... We’re staying until they say you can leave, okay? I’m in charge this time.’

‘Okay.’

He says it so easily as his molten bronze eyes capture mine. Energy dances through my veins seeing some of the light coming back to them.

‘I never want to see you like that again. It scared me,’ I confess, wiping at my cheeks.

‘I’m sorry.’

‘You’ve been sleeping in your car. I’ve seen you through the window.’

His gaze narrows on mine for a moment, like the knowledge that I was checking on him throughout the nights brings him comfort.

‘I have a hotel room nearby,’ he says.

‘And I bet you shower there and then come straight back.’

The muscle tensing in his jaw tells me I’m right.

‘Rafe,’ I whisper. ‘This has to stop.’

He leans his head back against the pillows, staring up at the ceiling as he inhales slowly. I know he’s gearing up for insisting he isn’t leaving without me again. But the thought of going over the same thing and potentially getting him worked up when he needs to rest has concern weaving its way through my weary muscles.

‘Why don’t you get some sleep?’ I suggest.

‘Will you be here when I wake up?’

My heart sinks at the flash of fear in his eyes.

‘I will. I promise.’

His shoulders relax and for a moment I think he’s about to close his eyes, so I get up and turn the light in his room off, before returning to the chair. But then his voice, no more than a soft husk from his lips, drifts through the dimness towards me.

‘This is my fault. I knew I shouldn’t have let you get close and—’

‘What do you mean?’

Even in the dark I can make out the way his face crumples and his cheeks glisten.