29. Clara
Chapter Twenty-Nine
CLARA
My hands are stained with Andre’s blood.
I apply pressure to Andre’s wound as Marco races us toward the nearest hospital.
I’ve watched enough medical dramas to know Andre isn’t doing well. The bleeding isn’t stopping, and it’s likely the bullet has done some damage to some of his internal organs. Even if we make it to the hospital, there’s no guarantee he’ll still make it.
Marco is driving like a maniac, but I can’t help but fear that it won’t be enough, that Andre will bleed out right here in the back of this car.
If it wasn’t for the slight rise and fall of Andre’s chest beneath my hands, I would have thought we had already lost him.
My heart pounds so hard it makes my chest ache, and the silence in the car is deafening.
Marco hasn’t said a single word, and his body is so tense he looks like he’s been carved from stone.
When we finally make it to the hospital, Marco abandons the car in the ambulance bay and jumps out of the car. Only then does he start shouting for help as he comes around to lift Andre into his arms.
Time that seemed to have been moving through molasses, is put on fast forward as nurses rush to our aid.
We must look a sight, both of us covered in blood with Andre’s unconscious body hanging limp in Marco’s arms.
One minute, Marco is lowering his brother onto a gurney and the next, Andre’s being rushed into emergency surgery.
My vision blurs as Andre is wheeled down the hall.
Marco stays by my side, his eyes cold and distant.
Neither one of us says anything, but the reality is we may never see Andre alive again.
The second the doors to the surgical floor swing shut behind Andre, Marco pulls out his phone and calls Lila.
I stay silent as he talks, not trusting myself to keep it together.
The last thing Lila needs is to hear me hysterically crying on the other end of the phone.
Marco keeps it brief as he tells Lila the news before informing her that he’s sending a guard to come get her and Rosa and bring them to the hospital.
He’s quiet as she replies, and I’m grateful that it’s not loud enough for me to hear.
I’m not sure I could handle Lila’s cries of pain as she learns her husband is barely clinging to life.
This is all my fault.
When Marco ends the call, he turns and looks at me for the first time since we arrived, as if he’s just remembered I’m here.
I open my mouth to speak, to apologize, to say something, but there are no words that I could say that would make him feel better. So, I snap my mouth shut again and hope that Marco can find it in him to forgive me for getting his brother shot.
He steps forward before cupping his blood-stained hand around the back of my neck, and I swallow a sob at the contact.
“You okay?” His voice is hoarse.
“I’m fine,” I lie, but he’s already looking over my shoulder.
“Get a doctor. She’s pregnant. I want her checked over, now .”
“Marco—”
He looks down at me, his expression one of pure determination.
“Please…” His voice cracks. “I need to know you’re both okay.”
And just like that, I let the fight go.
Somehow, I manage to keep it together even when the sound of my baby’s heartbeat comes through strong and steady on the machine, though I can’t ignore the fact that Marco is not at my side.
This moment should be joyful, but right now, all I feel is a hollow sort of relief.
I want to cry and scream and collapse all at once.
When I return to the waiting area, I find Marco sitting with his elbows on his knees, staring down at the floor. I’ve never seen him look so… defeated .
But before I even take a step to approach him, the double doors to my left burst open, and I glance over to find Lila and Rosa hurrying toward us, carrying Holly and Zoe.
Seeing my daughter breaks the last thread of control I have, and I instantly burst into tears at the sight of her.
“W-where is he?” Lila’s panicked as she rushes over to us.
“He’s still in surgery.” Marco calmly gets to his feet.
Rosa hands Zoe over to me, and I hold my baby tightly, breathing in the smell of her hair as she buries her face in my chest.
“I love you so much, baby girl.”
“Why would someone do this?” Rosa asks quietly, and my chest tightens
How do I tell her the truth? How do I look her in the eye and tell her that her brother is dying because of mine?
Lila collapses into a chair, looking shaken beyond belief, as she listens to Marco’s update. There is not an ounce of color left in her face, and her eyes are red and swollen as she holds Holly.
Rosa doesn’t look much better.
I did this.
I’m the reason they’re feeling this pain right now.
Marco must see the guilt on my face as he subtly crosses over to me and wraps an arm around my shoulder, guiding me away from Lila and Rosa.
“This wasn’t on you,” he murmurs in my ear. “Ben’s actions are on him. No one else.”
I nod, but the guilt is so heavy on my chest that I can barely take a breath.
I might not have been the one to pull the trigger, but if it weren’t for me, Ben and Andre would’ve never crossed paths.
If Andre dies, Marco will have every right to want to avenge him.
Even though I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that Ben never really was my brother in the way that matters, there’s still a hollow ache in my chest when I think of what’s to come. A faint echo of something I can’t name.
What I do know is that I won’t be the one to stand in the way of Marco when he ultimately decides to make Ben pay for what he’s done, because Andre has been more of a brother to me than Ben ever was.
I blink hard, trying to pull myself together, when the door to the waiting room swings open, and a doctor in a surgical gown walks over to us.
Lila is on her feet before he even speaks, her entire body trembling.
The doctor offers her a reassuring smile. “He’s stable. We managed to stop the bleeding, and the bullet just missed any of his major organs.”
Lila’s body almost deflates. “Oh, thank god.”
Marco steps up to her side and wraps a comforting arm around her shoulders. “So, what now?”
“He lost a lot of blood, so he’s going to need time to recover, but he’s strong. I have no doubt he’ll make a full recovery.”
My knees almost give out, and I let out a shaky breath I didn’t even realize I was holding. Relief rushes through me so fast that my body sways as I fight to keep upright.
“Your husband was incredibly lucky.” The doctor pats Lila’s arm. “Would you like to see him? He’s still sedated but he should wake up from the anesthesia soon.”
“Y-yes,” Lila chokes on a sob, and that sets off Holly, who starts crying at the top of her lungs.
“Let me take Holly.” Rosa reaches for the crying toddler.
Holly only screams louder, her little hands gripping onto her mother.
Lila hesitates, looking at Marco. “Maybe you should go.”
He shakes his head. “You’re the first person he’ll want to see when he wakes up.”
His words are enough to send the tears flowing down my cheeks.
Lila nods before peeling Holly off of herself and handing her over to Rosa.
“Shh, it’s okay,” Rosa soothes as Holly tries to reach for her mother.
None of us speaks until the doors close behind Lila, and we all collectively exhale with relief.
Holly is inconsolable, so Rosa straps her into her stroller and starts walking her up and down the corridor, giving Marco and me a chance to be alone.
The silence that hangs between us feels strangely intimate, weighed down by everything we’ve been through, everything we’ve survived .
I go to speak, but before I can even form the words, Marco wraps his arms around me and pulls Zoe and me tight against his chest.
I rest my head against him, letting the soft thud of his heart ground me.
All of a sudden, he pulls away.
My eyes widen as he drops to one knee in front of me. “What are you doing?”
My heart starts to pound in my chest.
Is he doing what I think he’s doing? Here? In the middle of the hospital waiting room?
Marco’s face is a picture of determination, his dark eyes looking up at me with such intensity that I forget how to breathe.
“I’ve spent too many nights thinking there will be a perfect time, that I should wait for everything to be just right.
” His voice is low and rough. “But after tonight? After seeing my brother on the floor, nearly bleeding out…” His throat bobs as he tries to keep a lid on his emotions.
His shoulders straighten. “Well, after tonight, I say fuck that.”
Emotion clogs my throat as I look at Marco.
The beeping of the hospital monitors close by and the voices filtering through from the overhead speakers suddenly fade away.
Right now, there’s just me, Marco, and Zoe.
“I don’t want to waste another minute, Clara.” His voice trembles as he looks up at me. “I love you, so damn much.”
My throat is closed tight. “I love you too.”
Zoe wriggles in my arms, trying to reach for Marco still kneeling before us.
When he doesn’t take her, she starts crying.
He takes her hand. “Daddy’s kind of busy right now, princess.”
I can’t help but laugh. “She’s just reminding you that she’s your number one.”
Marco shakes his head. “You’re all my number one.” He climbs to his feet and takes Zoe, setting a hand on my belly. “You, Zoe, this baby… You’re it for me.”
“Marco…”
“I want to spend the rest of my life with you. All of you. So, Clara Peterson, will you do me the honor of marrying me?”
My eyes fill with tears that start overflowing before I can stop them. “Yes. God, yes, Marco. A million times yes.”
He exhales, and I laugh.
“Did you think I was going to say no?”
“Honestly, I’m just glad that I finally asked. You have no fucking idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”
“How long?”
His lips pull up into the most gorgeous smile. “Since the night I rescued you from Tommaso.”
I let out a strangled sob.
We’ve been through so much already, but despite all the pain and hurt, it’s made us stronger.
I can’t imagine a life before Marco.