Cara’s POV
“Any news?”
Frustrated, I clenched the fabric of my gown to control myself from snapping at my stressor of a husband, gritting out between clenched teeth.
“No.”
He stared at me for a second more before turning his face the other way.
I began a mental countdown.
Three, two, one-
“Shouldn’t they have reached out by now?”
“No. No, they shouldn’t have.” I replied with a tight smile. “It’s been barely an hour since they left.”
“Just an hour?” Adonis breathed heavily, showing how weaker he was getting by the minute. “It feels longer.”
Yeah. Definitely weaker. The normal Adonis wasn’t this talkative.
“It wouldn’t feel that way if you stopped asking. You’ve asked five times since they left. The phone is on the table.” I gestured to my device, which I had placed on a desk I had dragged between the sofa and the bed to prove to him that I wasn’t hiding anything when he asked the second time.
“Look at it. The moment it beeps, you’d know.”
“Yeah, I would.” He murmured. “I just feel useless.”
“No. You’re not. ‘Sick’ is the right word, and it wouldn’t be this bad if you had listened to me.”
As expected, I didn’t get a reply, and this time, he turned his side completely, facing away from me.
“This is better than being unconscious while it happens.” I heard him say.
Pushing myself to my feet, I went over to the bag a maid had dropped off earlier a few minutes ago. Pulling out a free dress and a toothbrush.
“What are you doing?”
“Going to have a bath. I smell.” Picking up the items in my arm, my gaze found his as he looked over his shoulder. “Do you think you can manage without me for a few minutes?”
“Yeah.”
I started towards the restroom only to remember something important and eyed him suspiciously.
“Do not touch the phone, Adonis. I mean it.”
And then I left to freshen up. The moment the door closed behind me, a gush of air rushed out of my lungs, and my hand moved to my chest, feeling my heart pound against it rapidly.
I hope all was going as planned.
Within twenty minutes, I’d had a quick shower and brushed my teeth. Opting to leave my hair in a messy bun. There was no time to wash it anyway, and I didn’t even think I had the patience to.
Stepping out feeling clean and smelling good, the room looked different than how I left it.
Doctor Bruno was back with two extra doctors and nurses as they checked a drowsy Adonis over.
My heart rate picked up.
“Is everything fine? What’s up?”
“We’re just checking to see how he’s doing.” He shared a look with the nurse who had helped us an hour ago.
My lips parted to speak, but he shook his head, his eyes darting to Adonis for a millisecond.
Okay. Something was up.
I didn’t say anything, standing by the side with my heart in my throat as they did their thing for the next thirty minutes.
“Bel…” Adonis called lowly, drifting in and out of consciousness. I moved closer, my hand closing over his.
“Yes?”
“What’s… what’s going? Why do I feel this way?”
I looked up at the doctor. “He doesn’t feel good.”
“His brain activity spiked, so injected a dose into his IV to calm him down. It’s nothing much.”
“Did you hear?” I smiled at my husband. “He says it’s nothing serious.”
“And Luca?”
I glanced over at the phone. “We haven’t heard anything.” I was beginning to get worried.
It’s been two hours, yet no word.
“We’re done.” Doctor Bruno announced. “Why don’t you get something to eat, Cara? Let him sleep.”
“But…”
“The system will send an alarm if anything should go wrong. You need your strength. Right, Mr Bernardi?”
Adonis’s face hardened, trying to look as much as he could like his normal self. “Fuck off, Bruno.”
“See?”
I stifled a crackle of laughter. Even in trying times, he still limited being vulnerable to me. I didn’t feel hungry, but I agreed anyway.
As soon as we were a good distance from a hearing point, Dr. Bruno stopped.
“I didn’t call you out to eat.”
“I didn’t follow you out for that either.” My voice dropped to a whisper. “What is going on? I saw the look on your face in there. Have things worsened?”
He shook his head negatory.
“It’s stable.”
“Yes, you said that before. What is it about then?”
“That’s what I mean. It’s now or never, Cara. The swelling seemed to have reduced significantly. I had to slow down the activity of his brain to prevent the pressure from building again. He seems anxious about something.”
“Yes, he is… we all are.”
“You need to convince him to make a decision. I can’t say we’ll get another chance like this.”
“You know I can’t force him. Can’t we just drug him and go ahead?” I pleaded desperately.
“I’m sorry. It’s against the law.”
“What are the risks of the surgery? The rate?”
“At this point? It’s 40%, and there are possibilities of memory loss, brain damage, or coma. –
“Coma again?”
“I assure you that we have the best doctors here, and all would be fine. Some complications may arise after surgery, but with close monitoring, we’ll be safe.”
I was torn. This wasn’t about doing what was right. Both were. The problem was one was illegal and implicating, and the other was legal, but I might lose him.
What if I turned off one of the vital machines connected to him, or I could also call one of the guys who do my father’s dirty work and ask for a drug that could render him unconscious?
“Oh god.” I sighed, running a hand down my face.
I can’t believe I thought about that.
“Can you give me five minutes to-
Gbam!
The sound of something crashing in the distance pricked at my ears. “What was that?”
As if on cue, Doctor Bruno’s eyes met mine. We both looked at the door to Adonis’s room, and then we were running.
“What the fuck was that?”
“Mr. Bernardi, are you alright?”
We enquired simultaneously, coming face to face with a swaying Adonis, covered in sweat as he stood over my broken phone.
“I told you not to get it. You don’t have the strength to move around by yourself.”
He looked up from the phone, wide bloodshot eyes meeting my worried ones. My eyes darted to the phone again and back to his. His hands were already trembling.
No. I didn’t want to hear it. At least not now.
“Why don’t we get you back to the bed?” Doctor Bruno moved towards him, and he spoke.
“The phone… it beeped.”
The doctor glanced at me. “I think you should help me lead him back. He shouldn’t be away from the monitors for too long.”
“O… okay.”
Please don’t say it.
I chanted repeatedly, heading over to his other side. Whatever it was, I didn’t want to know.
“I’m going home.” It was a determined statement coming from a man who knew he could die if he wasn’t careful enough; nevertheless, he didn’t care.
Whatever happened… it was bad.
“Don’t touch me.” He repeated. “I’m going to the mansion.”
“Mr. Bernardi, you can’t. You need to calm down.”
“Calm down?” Adonis sneered.
No…
“My brother is f*cking dead, and you say I should calm down.”
My heart stopped, I nearly choked on my breath.
“I shouldn’t be saying this, but you might die before you reach home.”
“I don’t f*cking care.” He wheezed, trudging over to our bag of supplies. “Didn’t you hear? Luca’s dead! He needs me.”
My knees buckled at his confirmation, and I absentmindedly watched the doctor and my husband argue.
“Okay. Do whatever you want, but I want you to take a deep breath.”
“A deep f*cking what? Are you craz…” He wheezed again. “… zy. Get the f*ck away from me.”
“Adonis Your lungs are closing up. You’re showing signs of a cardiac arrest, and-oh shit! Adonis?”
My husband collapsed against the wall, struggling to breathe, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.
I would’ve laughed at Doctor Bruno swearing, but I was too busy holding back my tears.
Why?
He hit the button I was now familiar with, and the room filled up in no time, more crowded than the last, and a defibrillator was wheeled in.
Yells were thrown about.
“Help me get him back to the bed! Set it up!”
Rip!
Adonis’s gown was torn open.
“Are you ready? 120 joules. Charge!”
The first tear slipped from my eyes as his body jerked, but he didn’t wake up.
“150 joules. Charge!”
The same thing happened, and a gut-wrenching sob tore out from my throat.
They repeated the procedure two more times before the machine flowed into a steady beeping once again.
The entire room let out a deep sigh of relief, and Doctor Bruno turned to me.
“It’s your call now.”
His gaze spoke volumes-we’re barely hanging on.
“Then what are you waiting for?” I wiped my tears. “Move the bastard into the theatre.”