Chapter 8 - AWAKENING AND CONFESSIONS
Three days later, the morning sun poured warmly through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the private VIP recovery suite on the top floor of Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
The room was filled with dozens of bouquets of fresh white roses, legal documents, and security updates. But inside the room, it was quiet, peaceful, and still.
Lucas lay on the comfortable hospital bed, his color completely restored, hooked up to a simple heart monitor that ticked with a calm, steady rhythm: Beep... Beep... Beep...
I sat in the armchair beside his bed, holding his hand, resting my head against the edge of the mattress. I had barely slept in seventy-two hours, refusing to leave his side until I was 100% certain the toxins were completely flushed from his blood.
Lucas’s fingers twitched gently.
He slowly opened his eyes, blinking against the bright morning sunlight. He looked around the room, his gaze settling down on me. A soft, deeply emotional smile spread across his face.
"You're sleeping on the job again, Nurse Vance," he rasped, his voice soft but clear.
I bolted upright, my heart leaping into my throat. "Lucas!"
He squeezed my hand tightly. "Hey."
"You're awake! How do you feel? Do you have any nausea? Any chest pain?" I asked frantically, leaning over him, checking his pupils, feeling his pulse, automatically slipping into clinical nurse mode.
Lucas chuckled softly, reaching up with his other hand to gently grab my wrists, pulling my hands down onto his chest.
"I feel like a man who was brought back to life by his guardian angel," he whispered, looking up at me with absolute, unwavering devotion. "Victoria came by yesterday while you were resting in the lounge. She told me everything, Bailey."
I bit my lip, feeling a sudden wave of emotion wash over me. "Richard is in federal custody without bail. He and Julianna are facing twenty-five years in prison. Bennett Global stock hit an all-time high yesterday after the board announced you were recovering."
"I don't give a damn about the stock price, Bailey," Lucas said softly, his blue eyes locking onto mine. "I care about the woman who stood up to a room full of dangerous billionaires, faced down my murderer, and saved my life again."
"Lucas, I was so scared," I confessed, a single tear slipping down my cheek. "When I saw you lying unresponsive in that penthouse... I thought I lost you. I realized... I realized I couldn't live in a world where you weren't breathing."
Lucas pulled my hand up to his lips, kissing my knuckles gently, lovingly.
"You will never lose me, Bailey," he promised, his voice thick with emotion. "Eighteen months ago, I died on the floor of an elevator. The world saw a powerful CEO collapsing. But you saw a human being worth fighting for. You gave me back my life, my heart, and now... you've given me a reason to love."
He reached under his hospital pillow and pulled out the small velvet box I had left on the kitchen counter the night he was poisoned.
He opened it, revealing the sparkling teardrop diamond necklace.
"My contract with your hospital ended yesterday at 5:00 PM," Lucas said, a tender smirk touching his lips. "You are officially no longer my nurse, Miss Vance."
"Is that so, Mr. Bennett?" I smiled through my tears.
"Yes," Lucas said, unclasping the platinum chain. "So now, as a free man standing before the most incredible woman I have ever met... will you allow me to take care of you for the rest of our lives?"
I turned around, moving my hair aside as he gently fastened the diamond necklace around my neck. The cool platinum rested against my collarbone, right above my heart.
May you like
I turned back to him, leaning down, putting my hands on his cheeks, and kissed him deeply. It was a kiss filled with relief, passion, and the promise of a future we had both fought so hard to win.
"Yes," I whispered against his lips. "Yes, Lucas."
