Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 190

Willa reached out to comfort him, but the slightest movement sent a sharp, agonizing jolt through her entire body.

Her brow furrowed deeply, her lips pressing into a thin line, but she couldn't suppress a sharp gasp. "It hurts..."

The moment the words left her mouth, the man who had just radiated terrifying menace completely unraveled, panicking until he could barely speak.

"It hurts? Where does it hurt? Is it your back?"

He reached out to check, but the second his fingers grazed her clothes, his hand hovered in the air, terrified to touch her.

"I'm sorry, this is all my fault..."

Between his frantic apologies, he hastily unlocked the silver chain from her wrist, carefully gathered her into his arms, and rushed toward the door.

"We're going to the hospital. Right now."

Willa was drenched in cold sweat from the pain, unable to stop the soft moans escaping her lips.

"Drive! Get to the nearest hospital!" Randal roared at the driver the second they were in the car.

The driver flinched in terror and slammed on the gas.

But the estate was in the middle of nowhere. After thirty minutes of driving, they still hadn't reached the hospital. Willa was so dizzy from the pain she could barely keep her eyes open, only catching blurry glimpses of Randal's utterly terrified face.

Randal held her tightly, one hand supporting the back of her head, the other gripping her hand. "Willa, we're almost there. Once you're better, you can yell at me all you want."

Willa's lips twitched slightly, and she breathed out a single, faint word. "Jerk."

When the car finally screeched to a halt at the ER entrance, Randal practically kicked the door open and bolted inside.

The on-call doctor rushed over. "What happened?"

"She fell," Willa managed to say weakly.

The doctor glanced between the two of them, wise enough not to ask further questions. He quickly pulled over a gurney and had Randal lay her down.

Throwing herself in front of him had been pure, unthinking instinct.

Despite five years of separation, despite the mountain of scars and suspicion between them, the moment danger struck, her body had completely bypassed her brain to protect him.

But realizing that only made her feel a profound sense of sorrow.

They used to love each other so deeply it was etched into their bones, yet now they were reduced to this—endlessly torturing and doubting each other, ruthlessly grinding whatever love they had left into dust.

She closed her eyes, swallowing her emotions, and buried those impossible thoughts deep in her heart, refusing to dwell on them anymore.

In the middle of the night, Willa spiked a high fever. Randal bolted out of the room in a panic to grab the doctor.

The doctor assured him it was just a normal reaction to the trauma and set up an IV drip to bring her fever down.

Randal stayed glued to her bedside, never leaving for a single second.

Early the next morning, Willa was jolted awake by the sound of Sophie's voice.