His Discarded Bride #thefictionawards2019

Part Twenty

CHAPTER NINETEEN

She felt a hand reach out and touch her just a moment before she heard his voice, "Leilani."

Her ears thundered, and a rush enveloped her body and from a distance she heard an ear-piercing scream before falling into darkness.

Leilani clawed her way back to sanity and heard the sound of Vittorio's voice calling her to consciousness. "Are you alright?" he asked her with genuine concern.

She tried to sit up, but he held her still. "I-"

He cut her off as she started to assemble the fragments of her mind. "You've had a shock. Now stay still until the doctor comes in to check on you." She was still lying on the floor. "Leilani, you hit your head on the way down, so it's best not to move until we can be sure there is no damage." He urged her gently to stay where she was.

"Renato," she whispered. She had felt his hand and heard his voice; she prayed it wasn't just her imagination.

The doctor came in checked her movements and looked for signs of a concussion. She was moved onto a stretcher and taken out of the room. They wanted to do a scan as a further precaution.

Vittorio squeezed her hand, "You will be okay, and when you come back from your scan, you can see Renato," he promised, and before she could ask, he answered her question. "He is alive and well. So don't worry any further," he demanded gruffly before the orderlies took her out of the room.

"How are you, son?" Vittorio asked Renato.

"I'll be better when I know Leilani is okay. I heard her head bang on the floor, and there was nothing I could do from here," he clenched his fists, frustrated that he had not been able to prevent her fall.

"Do not worry. If they find a problem, we'll have the best surgeons flown in," he reassured.

"It was as though she thought I was dead," Renato had been taken aback by her reaction.

"That's because she no doubt thought you were. The news has been buzzing all afternoon with stories of your horrific accident and your death," Vittorio clarified. "I was surprised that she came here, though," he admitted.

"Why would you be surprised?" Renato asked.

"Because someone has leaked a story to the press that you were on your way to Venice to file for a divorce," he clarified.

"What?" Renato boomed.

"Take it easy. Investigations have already started. Whoever has done this has sought to hurt the Favalli name. I don't take that lightly, and they will regret their hand in this," he stated ominously.

Renato did not doubt that Vittorio would deal with the matter; he just wondered how much more damage his relationship with Leilani could withstand. He had woken to her weeping profusely over his chest; it was an encouraging sign.

Leilani's scans were complete, and the doctor had seen her. He was insisting that she stay overnight for observation. She'd been wheeled into a private room to rest, but she didn't want to lie uselessly in bed. What she wanted was to find Renato. Unbelievably and most certainly against all odds, he had survived. Disregarding the doctor's caution, she slipped out of bed and looked for her clothes. They were not in the room, but she didn't let that deter her. Finding a second hospital gown on a rack in the hall, she popped it on like a jacket, effectively covering her up and went in search of her husband.

She was terrible with directions and hoped that she could manage to find her way back to him. She found the emergency area but when she asked to see Renato, she was given a look by the nurse and, when she found someone more fluent in English, they insistently took her back to her room. Stopping the nurse forcefully, she once again demanded, "Renato Favalli is my husband. I need to go to him, please," she begged.