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The minutes are amplified by the fact that she can’t swim, and she couldn’t even try to with her hands tied up. The gag on her mouth would have let the water in instantly, so it would have happened quickly.
With every rescue breath I give her, I pray it will bring her back to me.
But it doesn’t.
Like a doll, she’s motionless in my arms.
The world fades into the background, and the shadow of death draws near. I’d be the one to sense him first. After all, the Grim Reaper and I are one and the same being.
But still, I can’t give up.
I won’t.
I don’t, but it’s the hardest thing in the world to focus on what to do when Gwen isn’t breathing.
When I start CPR, I promise on my soul that if I get her back, I’ll do right by her this time. I’ll do whatever I need to do to ensure she gets everything she ever wanted in life, including a chance to just live and be herself.
Gwen St. James.
Not Gwen Volkova. The woman I turned her into.
The angels must smile down at me because as I have that thought, she coughs up the water. It spurts from her mouth and her eyes flutter.
She’s breathing again. Praise God. I expect her to wake up and see her beautiful green eyes staring back at me, but she doesn’t.
She’s remains unconscious.
* * *
Two hours later, I’m sitting by Gwen’s bedside at the Massachusetts General Hospital, holding her hand.
The doctors have finished taking care of her and have allowed me to see her.
Aside from a few broken ribs, Gwen is in a coma. The blow to her head was significant.
The doctors have said the only thing that can be done now is to wait for her to wake up on her own.
No one knows when that will be.
Jeanne is here, too, but still in surgery. I’ve been told to prepare for the worst.
In all honesty, I know the same rings true for Gwen because there’s only so much anyone can do if she doesn’t wake up.
I remember years ago, after the showdown with my mother and Viktor, Desmier got shot trying to save his wife. He was in a coma for weeks, and there came a point where we didn’t know if he was going to make it, but he pulled through.
I always believed it was his love for Anastasia that brought him back. As if he fought death just to see her again.
I’m hoping Gwen will do the same. If not for me then for the people around her who she knows need her alive.
But most of all, I’m selfish. I want her to fight death to come back for me.
I stare down at her beautiful face marred with bruises but still so beautiful. Just like her soul.
Gwen is a lover. She cares for people, putting them first above herself. That quality shines through even now, making me love her even more.
It shouldn’t have come to this for me to accept the depth of that love, and now I feel like I’m too late.
Footsteps tear my eyes away from her face.
