Chapter 7
“Lionel, love,” I shout again when I see him open his eyes. “My God, this is…”
“Hmm… Hmm…” he whispers, closing his eyes again, the light bothering him.
I don’t even know what to do with myself. I kiss his hands, his cheeks, his forehead.
He woke up. Lionel just woke up!
“God, I need to call the nurse. I’ll be right back.”
I run out of the room to call the nurse, feeling like my feet are hardly touching the floor. Luckily, I don’t have to take more than a couple of steps to reach the station, one of the nurses who usually tends to him is already standing there because I haven’t stopped screaming for help.
“Mrs. Kral,” she says as she approaches me.
“Brittany, Lionel woke up,” I squeal, removing the mask from my mouth and she smiles.
“It was to be expected,” she informs me. “With the reduction of medication, the doctor ordered, he’ll begin to spend more time conscious, although he will continue to sleep a lot.”
Yes, yes, that’s all good and well, but someone needs to check on him and make sure everything’s fine.
“I’ll send a message to the doctor, and we’ll be with you in just a moment.”
I remember the doctor was optimistic about his diagnosis, however seeing him open his eyes takes everything to the next level.
At that moment I remember I should probably inform Lionel’s mother, but I have no idea how to contact her.
I return to the room almost jumping of joy, this is truly a miracle.
A true miracle.
My heart is beating so fast, it might come out of my chest. Thanks to whoever moves this universe, thank you because my husband has returned to me.
We’ll have time to fix the rest.
We will have time. Time. One of the few things money can’t buy.
“The nurse is coming,” I say, taking his hand again. He doesn’t make the slightest attempt to squeeze it, but I don’t care. “I’m so happy, babe. You have no idea how much.”
The door bursts open and a stampede of people flood the room, pushing me against the wall. My heart races with excitement, knowing that this could be the moment everything changes. Maybe they’ll move him to a regular room, and I won’t have to follow strict visiting hours anymore. Maybe I can finally stay by his side overnight.
But as quickly as hope rises, reality comes crashing down. This new normal is anything but normal. It’s a twisted and unpredictable nightmare. And at the root of it all is Lionel, the person who has betrayed me with countless lies. I want answers, and I will not let him off the hook.
I glance down at my black Chucks, trying to hide myself from everyone else in the room. I don’t want to cause any trouble or get kicked out of here. But even as I try to blend into the wall, I feel his gaze on me.
Finally, I lift my head to meet his unreadable stare. His bruised face only adds to his rugged handsomeness, like a battle-scarred warrior who has emerged victorious. Despite everything he’s done, I still want to reach for his hand and whisper that I am here for him, that love can conquer all—even betrayal.
But for now, all I can do is wait and watch as the doctor points a light on Lionel’s eyes. And in that moment, it feels like the light is also shining on our shattered relationship, revealing all the ugly truths that were hidden in darkness. That while we’re together there is no mountain we can’t climb, or a river wide enough so we can’t cross.
But I stay in my corner, waiting.
Waiting for him to wake up felt like an eternity and now everything is happening in a rush.
The door opens and Mrs. Kral walks in, smiling from ear to ear. Her face lights up when she sees Lionel awake, although the doctors continue to examine him and take notes.
“Mom,” he greets her hoarsely. He sounds like he has eaten sand. “Can someone bring me some water, please?”
On the nightstand next to me are a couple of bottles. Before she left, Alexandra made sure I was well-stocked. Without wasting time, I unscrew the lid of one and, silently, raise my eyebrows, asking Brittany if it’s okay. She doesn’t say anything, so I pass it to Lionel with a smile.
“Thank you,” he whispers without giving me a second glance.
What the hell?
“Short sips,” says the doctor, as he checks the bandage on Lionel’s shoulder.
The wound is smaller than I imagined, but there are two others lower on his chest. They seem clean and don’t look swollen. I stare at his chest, as if for the first time. Before there wasn’t a single blemish that diminished its beauty, now the memory of what happened will be there, as a reminder.
Not to mention the scars on the soul, suffering trauma like this has to be horrible.
Lionel takes a couple more sips from the water bottle and for a moment he doesn’t seem to know what to do with it, so I go ahead and take it from his hands. When our fingers touch, I can feel the electricity run through me.
It’s there, it’s not gone.
Lionel looks at me startled. I’m sure what just happened surprised him too, however, he says nothing, turns his attention to the doctor, who is now busy with his arm. The doctor asks him to make a few movements, first with the whole hand and then just the fingers.
Although slowly, Lionel complies with the instructions.
“Everything seems fine, Lionel,” says the doctor. “But you must continue to rest, at least for today. Depending on how you feel tomorrow, you need to get up and take a few steps, at least around the room. If all goes well, we’ll transfer you to a room, and then hopefully, you’ll get to go home.”
“Excellent!” Mrs. Kral shrieks, putting her hands to her chest, then steps around the two nurses to kiss Lionel on the forehead after she turns to the man in the white coat. “Doctor Wong, may I speak to you for a moment in the hallway?”
“Yes, of course,” answers the doctor. “As soon as I finish here, I’ll be with you.”
She stays in the room, but closer to the door.
The doctor gives the nurse directions to redress Lionel’s wounds before following Mrs. Kral into the hallway.
Ten minutes later, the nurse has taken care of the bandages, and for the first time since this mess happened, I’m finally alone with Lionel. Well, with a conscious Lionel.
“What are you doing here?” he asks me, and those words hit my chest like a wrecking ball.
Hard.
I slowly approach the foot of his bed, feeling quite uncomfortable and very small.
“I was shocked when I found out you were here.”
I look him in the eye, his expression is harsh. Cold. Distant.
Is he upset that I came? What did he expect me to do?
“Lionel, there are so many things I don’t understand, like why did you lie to me?” I scold him in a low voice, while he continues to watch me in icy silence. “I had to find out through the news that you were here, instead of Dallas like you told me. Then imagine my shock when I got here and met your mother.”
He looks at me for a long minute, cocking his head, like he’s studying me. He looks so different, he looks at me differently. If I wasn’t sure it was him, I might think he was someone else.
“You don’t understand,” he finally says. His voice is as hard as his gaze. Although he looks tired and hurt, he’s a man in control, it doesn’t matter that he’s bedridden in the hospital. “I have no idea who you are, so I advise you to get out of here before I call security.”
I keep my mouth open, not knowing how to answer. Damn, the air has left my lungs, so not a word would come out even if I wanted to.
“Lionel?” It’s the only thing that comes out of my lips.
“Get out!” he says without raising his voice but in a forceful tone. Unwavering.
And it makes my body tremble.
Out of all the reactions I thought to face, this was the last one I expected.
One of the scenarios that crossed my mind was that he would be upset. After all, our relationship was a secret to his family.
But wanting me to leave and denying he knows me, never in my wildest dreams.
This is the worst feeling.
“Lionel, what’s going on? What are you saying? It’s me, Stella, your wife.”
He opens his eyes, surprised by my statement. I’m only telling the truth. I didn’t look for this, it was him who kept insisting I go on a date with him in the first place.
And, above all, I wasn’t the one who lied.
“I have no fucking idea who you are. Get out of here.”
My stupid knees refuse to work, my legs barely support me. I’m sure if he could get out of that bed and get me out of here himself, he would.
“Look, miss, ma’am or whatever, you’re nothing but a swindler. Get out of here before I call security.”
I’m about to fall to the floor when I feel a pair of hands on my shoulders support me.
“About time you decide to wake up,” Ethan states the obvious to Lionel. “The next time you need a vacation, choose a quieter destination. They say Bali is beautiful this time of year.”
“You want to explain to me what the hell is going on here?” Lionel rasps, it wasn’t a request.
“Stella,” this time Ethan speaks to me. “Alexandra is in the hall. Go talk to her while I speak to Lionel. The doctor said no more than twenty minutes with Lionel. He needs to rest, and so do you.”
Ethan lets go of me, but not before making sure I can stand on my own. But my body refuses to move. Lionel’s words have turned me into a pillar of salt, but instead of curiosity when looking back causes me to transform, it was his indifference.
“Go,” he rushes me, this time giving me a gentle nudge. That makes me move.
Without daring to look at Lionel, I leave the room, closing the glass door behind me. I let myself fall against it, sliding until I touch the floor.
“The floor looks very uncomfortable. Don’t think I’m going to sit there with you,” Alexandra jokes. She’s dressed in green pants and a blouse with big white dots, and heels so high, I would never dare to wear them. My lips tug up slightly, although mine is a sad smile. “Take my hand,” she says as she extends it out to me and somehow, I find the strength to do what she tells me to do.
I’m standing, but my spirit is still on the ground. I feel overcome by deception.
Shattered.
“Let’s go for coffee,” she says, taking my arm for me to move because I’m still an immovable object.
“I don’t want anything,” I whisper. “I want my life back.”
That’s the truth in a nutshell. I want to go back to a time when I was happy.
“All in good time,” she replies, as she pushes me to walk down the long hallway with her.
She doesn’t take me to the cafeteria, but to the same private waiting room where I’ve been waiting for hours. Who could say that such a small woman would have so much determination inside her? Anyone who doesn’t know her might think she’s a delicate and sweet girl, but in the few days I’ve known her, I can easily say that Alexandra has a firm determination and a will of steel. Right now, I envy her.
I feel like a tree that has been left to fend for itself in the midst of a tornado.
I tell Alexandra everything that’s happened since Lionel woke up, or as much as I can because the tears silence me at times. From her elegant purse, she takes out a bottle of water and passes it to me, along with a small package of tissues.
I wipe my eyes and nose, then take a few sips from the bottle as she looks at me with compassion in her eyes.
“I think he’s confused. Didn’t the doctor say the hit caused some swelling in his brain? I’m sure that’s it.”
I wish I had her optimism. But she wasn’t there, witnessing the way Lionel spoke to me.
“I don’t know, the way he looked at me, he looked so different. It was like being in front of another person. Like being in front of a stranger.”
She smiles at me and pats my leg gently. “Don’t be silly, he isn’t a stranger. He’s your husband. But you’ll see, as soon as he gets some rest, everything will be fine. It’s impossible for a man to forget the woman he loves.”
“Amnesia? Wow, that’s a pretty convenient way to get off the hook.”
She laughs a little. “No, not amnesia, but what happened to him was traumatic, maybe some things are still a little fuzzy.”
Again, that seems like a poor excuse to me.
How is it possible to forget about the last six months of your life?
What we’ve been through together.
I can’t answer, because a male voice behind me does it first.
“He’s resting now,” Ethan states as he sets foot in the room. “He’s confused and some things are fuzzy right now,” he says and Alexandra looks at me raising her eyebrows like she’s saying , See? I told you . “He asked me to take you wherever you want so you can rest, it’s quite late and it has been a long day.”
No. No, I don’t want to move from here. Regardless of the circumstances of our reunion, this is the place I need to be.
“I don’t know…”
“Listen, Stella,” Ethan interrupts me. “The press already knows you’re here. As expected, there has been an uproar, so we had to do damage control. Lionel needs to rest, to clear his head, so do you. You haven’t left this place in three days and the lack of sleep isn’t good. If you don’t want to go home, I can arrange for you to stay at a hotel nearby. Just give me a few minutes to make a couple of calls. I have to make reservations and organize security.”
That makes me frown, I understand about reservations, but security?
“I don’t need a security team or anything like that and don’t bother making hotel reservations.” I look for my phone in my bag and open up my email, to find the hotel’s information my friend Valerie got me. “I’ve already arranged a place to stay. I can go in a taxi, no biggie. Look, this is where I’ll be.” I pass my phone over to Ethan, so he can look over the information.
Ethan looks at me. Somehow he makes me feel like a little girl his father is about to scold.
“Lionel would cut my balls off if I take you to that place,” he tells me. “And security is very necessary, believe me.”
I turn to Alexandra looking for support, but she seems to have sided with her husband, since she only shrugs and gives me a look that says there ’ s no point in arguing .
Where is the girl code? Chicks before dicks, doesn ’ t she know?
After a few more minutes of discussion with Ethan, I finally agreed to go to a hotel that he has booked. They’ve won this time. Lionel has bought a few hours of tranquility, but my husband needs to prepare and get ready for war. Tomorrow, I’ll return with my batteries recharged and my armor in place.
Be wary, Lionel Kral, because you’ve awakened the warrior who’s been asleep inside me.