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“There was damage to one of my ovaries from the knife, and they couldn’t stop the bleeding. They had to remove it, but I still have one of my ovaries and my uterus.” Rose reveals the truth without meeting my eyes.
I reach out carefully with a shaky hand, place two fingers under her chin, and lift her face. The pain is clear in her eyes, but so is something else. Something like guilt. Oh, for the love of…
“You’re alive. That’s all that matters to me.”
“But I might not be able to get pregnant again. One ovary makes things much more difficult, and I’ve always wanted a big family like you and—”
“Rose.” She stops abruptly and waits. “There are other ways to have children of our own. Surrogacy is an option. Right?”
“Right,” she agrees after a long second.
She may agree with me now, but I know this conversation is far from over. The guilt she feels is something we need to address because it’s unnecessary.
A knock on our door interrupts our conversation. Raphael returns with the man I presume is my lead doctor.
From the sound of the doctor’s report, I’m lucky to be alive. A gunshot wound to the upper thigh that nicked my femoral artery caused an excess amount of blood loss, which led to my heart stopping twice during surgery, forcing my doctors to put me in a coma so my body could recover without interruption.
I don’t remember much about my time in the coma. It feels like a faint dream, like a long sleep that has left me tired still. I look over at Rose, and she lifts her eyes to mine. She’s the reason I’m alive. Rose and our son. They gave me something to fight for while I floated in the never-ending darkness.
Begrudgingly, the doctor puts me through a string of tests, much to my immediate disappointment. When we finally return from having every inch of my body poked, scanned, and prodded, my room is full. Only now Gabriella is there along with Enzo and a strange woman I’ve never seen before.
My best friend is bundled up in a wheelchair with an IV pole set beside him. White gauze wrapped around his chest pokes out from his sad mint green hospital gown. He’s pale with bags under his eyes, and his blond hair is tied up high in a very messy bun. Rose updated me that he ended up losing a part of his liver from the gunshot he sustained while protecting the most important people in my life. I owe him more than he will ever know.
“You look terrible, Enzo,” I remark with a teasing smile.
“I can still kick your ass,” Enzo tosses back.
I turn serious, my mind shifting once again to the reason he’s in the wheelchair to begin with. “Thank you, Enzo. I could never repay you.”
Enzo bows his head and nods, understanding the gratitude behind my words. “And you never have to.”
I lift my eyes to the blond woman behind him. “Who are you?”
“That’s Evelyn,” Rose introduces the woman. “She’s my best friend from Europe. She’s the one who helped me escape when I found out I was pregnant.”
So now I owe another person. “Thank you for helping Rose and our son.”
“My pleasure,” she replies.
Gabriella wipes her eyes and smiles at me from where she stands next to Raphael. “I’m just glad everyone’s okay.”
I look around the room, noticing one absentee. “Where’s Uncle Leo?”
“He and Dominic are representing our family at Igor’s funeral today,” Dad answers.
Mom shifts on the couch, clearly uncomfortable as she mumbles, “Our family shouldn’t even be there.”
Dad places his hand on his wife’s knee. “We had to send someone. Leo offered.”
I’m torn because I agree with Mom but understand Dad’s point of view politically. Regardless of the grievance against our family, the DiAngelos still rule the High Table. If we’re not there in some form or capacity to show support for another High Table family's loss, then it looks bad to other crime families in Miami.
“How angry is Sergei?”
“He’s upset over the death of his brother but has extended his apologies to us and the O’Leary family. He claims he had no idea of his brother’s actions.”
“Do you believe him?”
“No,” Dad answers honestly after a long moment. “But I have no proof otherwise, so we’re forced to keep watch for now. Connor has offered to help in any way he can.”
