She chuckles. “No, that’s not possible, sir. But we will do our best to—”
A knock on the door instantly draws my attention away.
“Okay, I guess they’re already here,” the nurse says, looking a bit flabbergasted at the speed things are moving.
As she opens the door to walk out, Jasmine nearly stumbles over her to get inside. She immediately runs to my side and wraps her arms around me, crying intensely. And it warms my heart she’s here to hold me and be by my side.
All the pain is worth this. Just this.
“Jas …” I groan, my voice still hoarse from the tube that they used during surgery.
My eyes lock on with Luca’s, who’s peeping in through the doorway for only a second.
My body instantly preps for the fight, muscles tensing, despite the pain.
But Jill pats him on the shoulder, and they both leave, closing the door behind them.
Jasmine’s cries tear my gaze away and force me to focus on her. She buries her face in my chest, and I let her stay there for a while, knowing this is what she needs.
Even if my body aches on all sides.
Even if the anger is still flooding my body with adrenaline, seeking to destroy the next thing in my path set on keeping me away from her.
For now, I put it all on hold.
For her.
And for all the tears she refused to cry all these years.
Jasmine
* * *
I can’t stop crying, even if I desperately want to. It’s as if a tsunami of emotions all floods out of me at once.
The second I heard his heartbeat, all the worry in my soul evaporated.
“Don’t cry for me …” Liam says, but all it does is make me weep even more.
“You almost died,” I reply, rubbing my face against his chest, smelling his scent to carve it into my brain.
“I’m not worth the tears,” he says.
“Yes, you are!” I yell back, enraged he’d even say that.
His face contorts. “Why would you stand between Luca and me like that? You could’ve been killed.”
“Because I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you’d died,” I say. “Not because of me.”
“Jas …” His hand curls around my neck, and he gently caresses my hair and skin. “I’m sorry. Making you cry is the last thing I wanted.”
God. All I want to do is hug him tight.
But a strangled groan makes me pull back and look into his eyes.
“Sorry,” I mutter. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
He smiles. “I can take your hugs, Jas.”