While holding his new bandage, Max kept his eyes on the door. After a while, what he was waiting for finally came. Two nurses pushed a bed with Gabriella asleep on it.
“Gaby,” the man sighed, trying to get up.
However, before his shoulders left the bed, someone had pressed his head back against the pillow.
“Please don’t be stupid! I don’t want to take you to the emergency room again,” Sebastian grumbled, successfully inviting a cynical look from Max.
“That’s right, Sir. Please stay still. Your wife is okay. She’ll wake up as soon as the anesthetic wears off,” a nurse explained as she locked Gabriella’s bed next to the man.
Received the same ban, Max did not argue. After heaving a faint breath, with hands still attached by the IV line, he tried to grab his wife’s fingers.
Knowing the man’s predicament, the nurse brought Gabriella’s hand closer. “Take a rest, Sir. Don’t move too much anymore,” she suggested even though the patient didn’t pay attention. The man was too focused on his wife’s closed face.
After nodding at the man standing by Max’s side, the nurses left the room. As soon as the door was closed, an annoyed snort was heard.
“Stop making me sick. Your attitude is too dramatic,” Sebastian grumbled as he folded arms and shook his head at the show in front of him.
Instead of responding, Max kept calling his wife. “Gabby, wake up. Tell me you’re okay.”
“Tsk, there’s no use for me here,” Sebastian muttered as he walked towards the door. “I’d better wait for Julian.”
After the man left, Max was still staring at Gabriella. He didn’t mean to ignore Sebastian. However, his focus had been locked on his wife, while his heart was fixated on regret.
“Sorry that I keep insisting to see Dad. If I hadn’t been so stubborn, you wouldn’t have gone through such a scary thing, and Julian wouldn’t have been critical,” the man sighed before taking a quick breath. His chest was tight again.
“Wake up, Gaby,” he whispered before swallowing a very bitter spit.
***
As soon as she opened her eyes, Gabriella immediately gasped and was struck with fear. Frowning the brows, she turned her gaze in all directions, checking for any threats around. The woman was not aware that her fingers were holding her husband’s hand.
Knowing his wife’s panic, Max immediately tightened his grip. With limited movement, he tried to get the attention of his wife. “Gaby, calm down. I’m here. Gaby!”
After a while, the woman’s gaze finally fell on her husband. With eyes shaking violently, spilling out horror, she sighed, “Max?”
“Don’t worry, you’re safe.”
Hearing her husband’s voice so clear, Gabriella shed more tears. A second later, she rested her head on the man’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Max. I shouldn’t have chased after that criminal,” the woman regretted as she gripped the patient’s shirt.
“Don’t be afraid, Gaby. The criminal has been taken to the police station. He won’t see you again. Now, we are free from the threat,” the man whispered while stroking his wife’s head.
“I’m sorry, Max. I’m sorry,” Gabriella sighed as she tightened her hug. The horror was still too great to be conquered.
Realizing the fact, Max let the woman wet his shoulder with tears. He knew that his wife needed time to calm her own rumbling breath.
After a while, the woman’s sobs began to subside. While drying her eyes, Gabriella met her gaze again.
“What happened? How can I come back here? How did the police catch the criminal?” she asked hoarsely.
While rubbing the face with a reddened nose, Max forced the corners of his lips to rise.
“Julian saved you, and so did Sebastian. They fought the criminals bravely, so the man failed to take you in his car,” he explained while hiding the sadness.
“Is that true? Those men who saved me?” Gabriella sighed in disbelief.
“Yeah,” Max nodded curtly. “They want to make amends for what they’ve done.”
Flickering, the woman digested the information. After a brief contemplation, she muttered, “Then, where are they now? I have to thank them.”
Receiving the unexpected question, the man’s face automatically turned tense. He didn’t want Gabriella to fall into sadness. The woman had just been released from something very frightening.
“They just got out of here. Maybe now, they’re waiting for Dad,” Max lied with great compulsion.
Luckily, the wife was not suspicious at all. With a disappointed look, the woman sighed, “I should have woken up earlier.”
Worried that Gabriella was desperate to meet her savior, the man again said, “How about you sleep with me now? I am very sleepy.”
“But, I want to thank them first.”
“You can do it tomorrow morning. Do you really have the heart to leave me alone here?” Max interrupted while gripping his wife’s fingers tightly. He didn’t want her to shed tears of regret when he couldn’t comfort her properly.
Seeing her husband’s pitiful expression, Gabriella sighed in resignation. “Okay,” she said before laying back on Max’s shoulder. Without the slightest bit of suspicion, she patted her husband’s arm.
“Isn’t your back hurt lying in this position?” Max asked, trying to change the subject.
“A little, but I’m comfortable like this,” Gabriella said with furrowed brows. The bad incident on the emergency stairs still haunted her mind. Feeling unable to see the shadow of the criminal, the woman pressed her lips together and hugged her husband’s arm tighter.
Knowing his wife’s fear, Max secretly sighed.
“I’m sorry for not being able to protect you, Gaby,” the man thought as he kissed his wife’s head. After pressing his cheek against Gabriella’s head, he began to think about Julian’s fate.
“I hope there will be some good news tomorrow,” he mumbled before trying to sleep.
***
“Does it hurt?” Gabriella asked when she saw her husband clench his jaw, even though the bed was raised very slowly.
“A little,” Max said with a stiff lip.
“I think, you must not be allowed to visit Dad yet, Max,” the woman murmured as she felt sorry for her husband.
Unexpectedly, the man’s smile became wider. “It’s okay, Gabby. We’ll wait until my wound heals,” he said sincerely. In fact, he did not want his wife to know the unrest that was going on outside.
“How about we have a video call with Mia? She can show you Dad’s condition,” Gabriella suggested, successfully making her husband’s eyes widen.
Quick as lightning, the man shook his head. “Don’t!” Max exclaimed spontaneously. The wife automatically blinked.
“Why?”
Just as Max was about to answer, the door suddenly opened and Amber walked in with burning red eyes. Sebastian, who was trying to block her steps, grimaced in anger.
“Apparently, you are indeed an ignorant woman, huh?” the woman cried as she pushed Gabriella’s shoulder.
With limited movement, Max could only hold his wife’s back. Before he had time to rebuke Amber, the woman already threw the tantrum again.
“Why isn’t it you who lie there? How could you sacrifice my future husband? Are you happy if I have a disabled husband? Or perhaps, you expect Julian to leave me a pathetic bride-to-be?”
With furrowed brows, Sebastian dragged the woman away from Gabriella.
“Amber, calm down,” he whispered. However, the woman slapped his hand away and pointed her index finger at the face that was flickering in confusion.
“How can I be calm? My future husband’s intestines had to be cut off for trying to save this clueless woman. Look! She doesn’t even feel guilty. She enjoys relaxing here with her husband instead.”
Unable to contain the confusion, Gabriella finally sighed. “What do you mean? What’s wrong with Julian?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know! Julian is dying from that villain’s attack! He almost died because of saving you!”
An incredulous sigh suddenly escaped from Gabriella’s mouth. With vision beginning to be clouded by worry, she swallowed hard. “Julian is dying?”
In an instant, a very heavy regret finally weighed on Gabriella’s shoulders.