Chapter 282
She woke up with a sharp pain radiating throughout her body. Her limbs felt as if they couldn’t move and she barely managed to open her eyes, squinting even in the dim lighting of the hospital room. She felt something on her face and reaching up.
Looking at her hand, however, she noticed just how much it trembled. The effort of simply lifting it felt near impossible.
She rested her fingers along her cheek and felt the tubing there. It fit into her nose. A nasal cannula. In other words, she wasn’t breathing right on her own.
“Elaine,” Liam choked out beside her. She turned her head to look at him as he hurried to her side, taking her hand in his. He leaned forward to press a desperate kiss to her knuckles before meeting her gaze. “You’re okay.”
She breathed in, and heard the rasp in her own throat, which burned. “What…”
“You had another episode,” Liam said, squeezing her hand a little tighter. “I got you here in time. It’s okay.”
Elaine looked up at the ceiling as her vision swam. It didn’t feel okay. Nothing felt okay. She inhaled again. That rasp loud in her own ears. She cleared her throat.
“Where…”
“Hospital. Dr. Howard should be here soon to check on you again. He…he brought you back,” Liam said.
“Back?” Elaine muttered, eyes finding him again. His jaw was tight, his eyes red–rimmed. “Back from what?”
Liam shook his head, leaning down to simply press his forehead to their connected hands. “Elaine…”
The door behind him opened and he looked up once more. Elaine’s eyes flickered over to the light that spilled into the room. Dr. Howard entered with a solemn expression, though he managed a faint smile at seeing her eyes open at last.
“There you are,” he said, though the smile didn’t last for long. “You had us worried there.”
“You’ve been asleep for a few hours,” Liam admitted.
Dr. Howard went to the heart monitor, checking on her vitals before striding to the end of the bed to look at her chart. “You are looking better now, though your heart is weak,” he said.
“My heart…?”
“It seems your latest episode put strain on your body.”
“How long do I have?” Elaine asked. Dr. Howard had originally said she’d only had three months. That was a long time ago now. She’d already far exceeded her expected time.
She didn’t want to die.
There was so much left she had to uncover. So many mysteries she was so close to unraveling.
“I don’t know,” Dr. Howard admitted.
12
+20 BONUS




Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: After She's Terminal The Alpha Regrets (Elaine and Lucas)