CHAPTER SEVEN #2
But I'm too tired to care. Too wrung out to filter my thoughts.
"I lost my mother when I was fifteen." The words come out hollow.
Empty. "Sat in a room just like this one and watched her slip away.
And now I'm back here, in another hospital room, watching another machine breathe for someone I love.
" I look at him, and I can feel the tears threatening.
"I'm afraid to blink. Afraid that if I look away for even a second, he'll be gone too. "
Something shifts in William's expression. The hardness softens, just slightly.
"He's not going to die," he says, but his voice is quieter now.
"You can't know that." My legs feel shaky. "No one can."
"No. But I can keep you alive." He steps closer, and I see something flicker in his dark eyes. Determination. Or maybe obligation. "And I can't do that if you're sitting in this hospital room, exhausted and vulnerable, making yourself an easy target."
"So that's what this is about?" Bitterness seeps into my voice. "Protecting your asset? Making sure your political alliance stays intact?"
"That's not…" He cuts himself off, jaw working. "You're twisting my words."
"Am I?" I cross my arms, suddenly cold despite the warm room. "Because from where I'm standing, that's exactly what this is. I'm valuable to you alive. So you'll keep me safe, whether I want it or not."
William's eyes narrow. "You want to stay here? Fine. But I'm not leaving. And neither is my security team. So you can sit in that chair and hate me all you want, but you're not getting rid of me."
I open my mouth to argue. To tell him exactly where he can shove his protection and his team and his arrogant assumption that I need him for anything.
But Reilan speaks first.
"Aoife." He's awake now, pushing off from the wall. "He's right."
I turn to my brother, betrayal sharp in my chest. "You're taking his side?"
"I'm taking your side." Reilan comes closer, his expression gentle but firm.
"And right now, what's best for you is getting out of this hospital for a few hours.
Getting food. Rest. A shower." His eyes flick meaningfully to the blood still caking my dress.
"Father wouldn't want you sitting here destroying yourself. "
"You don't know what he'd want." But even as I say it, I know Reilan's right.
Father would want me safe. Would want me strong. Would want me to take care of myself so I can take care of him when he wakes.
"I'll take her back," Reilan says to William.
But William shakes his head. "No. My team is ready. We leave now."
"She's my sister…"
"And she's my fiancée." William's voice drops. Goes hard. "Which means her safety is my responsibility."
I watch them face off. Two men fighting over who gets to control me. Who gets to decide what's best. Who gets the privilege of ordering me around.
The rage comes back. Burns through the exhaustion.
"Enough." My voice cuts through their posturing. "Both of you."
They both turn to me, surprise written across their faces. Like they forgot I was standing right here. Like they forgot I have any say in my own life.
"Reilan," I say carefully. "Thank you for staying with me last night. But William's right." The words taste bitter. "His security team is already here. They're prepared. It makes sense to go with them."
Reilan's eyes search my face. Looking for what? Confirmation that I'm okay? Permission to leave? I'm not sure.
"I'll call you as soon as I hear anything," I promise. "The second Father wakes up, you'll know."
He nods slowly. "Okay. But, Aoife…" He moves closer, voice dropping so only I can hear. "You don't have to do this. Any of this. If you want out, if you want to walk away from the Murphys and this whole mess, just say the word. I'll handle Father. I'll handle the Elders."
The offer is tempting. So tempting. But we both know it's impossible.
"There's no walking away from this," I tell him quietly. "Not anymore. Not after last night."
Something like grief crosses his face. Then he pulls me into a hug, holding tight for a long moment. "Be careful," he whispers against my hair. "Please."
"I will."
He releases me and steps back. Nods once to William, who returns the gesture. Some kind of masculine understanding I'm not privy to.
Then Reilan leaves, and I'm alone with William and the security team and my unconscious father.
I turn back to the bed. Lean down one more time. "I'll be back soon," I whisper. "I promise. Just...just keep fighting. Okay?"
Father's chest rises and falls with mechanical precision. He doesn't respond. Can't respond. But I pretend he hears me anyway.
I straighten, turning to William. "Let's go."
He nods once, then moves to the door. Opens it, checks the hallway. Security mobilizes around us as we leave Father's room.
The walk through the hospital is a blur. Corridors. Elevators. More corridors. People stare, but I don't care. Let them look. Let them see the blood and the exhaustion and the rage barely contained beneath my skin.
The SUV is waiting exactly where we left it last night. William opens the back door, and I slide in without comment. He follows, settling beside me with that same tense alertness he had on the drive here.
The door shuts. The engine starts.
And as we pull away from the hospital, I watch it disappear in the side mirror. Watch the building get smaller and smaller until it's just a shape in the distance.
My father is in there. Fighting. Surviving.
And I'm out here, being driven back to the Murphy house by the man I'm supposed to marry. The man whose family's enemies put my father in that hospital bed.
The man who just told me it's not a request.
I lean my head back against the seat and close my eyes. Not to sleep. Just to block out the world for a few minutes.
To pretend, for just a moment, that when I open them again, everything will be different.
But I know better.
This is my life now.
And there's no escape.