Uncle Mike and Mark didn't let me leave until the doctor gave me the clear. This meant the nurses had to yet again hook me up to the IV. I appreciated their concern, I truly did but they were honestly the bane of my existence. Didn't they know better than to stop a pregnant extra hormonal woman? No, they didn't and I couldn't do much for arguing because my sister and Erin were on their side too. I knew none of them was seeing past my delicate state. It was sweet but still. I needed to see Will especially since they weren't giving me the details I wanted. Details no one but Will could give me.
Somewhere along all the maddening thoughts rushing through my head like a nineties concert, I realised something very crucial. Something, I-being very honest-wasn't just realising. Somehow, within these months meeting Will again, working for him then not working for him, the numerous push and pulls, I become the one thing I swore not to become. I was a fool. A fool undeniably in love with William Illston. Like a ton of bricks, it hit me. I love Will.
And I wasn't put out by this truth. Will had stomped all over my heart all those years ago, had been an asshole when I started working for him, tried to be an asshole again the night of Debbie's wedding yet he didn't do those things because he wanted to. In his foolhardy mind, the idea seemed logical. He wanted to protect me and everyone else. So he did the one thing he knew best and closed off, nearly losing himself too, hoping Runo would buy it. And, it worked. Runo bought it but so did I. Will was an even bigger fool than I.
But the possibility of waking up every day and not getting to see him, talking to him, banter about every minute and unnecessary thing, clenched my gut hard. He had to be okay. There was still so much to say and make up for. More importantly, I needed him to know I'd forgiven him. He'd done a lot of atonement these past few weeks we'd been running around searching for the memory card. He'd given me time and never asked for anything. Without acknowledging it, I knew something was changing between us. I'd love Will when I was nineteen and antsy and I loved him now that I was twenty-seven and subdued. Borrowing his words-albeit cheesy as hell-he was it for me.
If Cece ever got a glimpse into my head and saw even a fraction of my thoughts, she'd never let me live it down. I came to a stop a few feet away from the grey hospital door. Behind it was Will. Cece and Erin had given me instructions on how to get here when I told them I wanted to come alone. They didn't mind and even the bulldozers known as uncle Mike and Mark had nothing to say. Now, standing so close to Will's door, I wrung my fingers together feeling scared of the unknown and the possibility of knowing. Erin although, still exhausted had been smiling when she came into my room after seeing Will. She said the surgery had gone well but he was still asleep.
I took another step forward when a doctor came out of Will's room, heading my way.
"Hello?" I stopped him and he turned to me with an inquisitive smile.
"Hey there,"
"Is William okay?"
"Are you family?" He regarded me slowly and I nodded eagerly to get answers.
"You were in the accident with him." He said knowingly then his face took on a grim expression. "His comatose state is lasting longer than we expected. We might have to declare him comatose soon and hope for the best."
"Comatose?" I repeated shakily. Nobody mentioned anything about a coma. They said he was sleeping.
"It can last anything from weeks to years but as I said, we are hoping for the best." He was sympathetic as my heart sunk to the ground. I didn't wait to hear anything else he had to say and rushed into Will's room.
He was laying still on the bed, a bunch of wires sticking out and connected to an IV. I got to his side and slowly held his hand. His face was a swollen mess from the punches and beatings he'd sustained from Runo. A tear dropped on our conjoined hands. I was crying.
"You have to wake up. You can't be in a coma." I shook my head. "Runo can't win like this, you have to see him rot behind bars forever. It's not fair. There's so much we need to talk about. We need to try not to be crime-fighting parents together, remember? I didn't even get to tell you this but I've wanted to for days now, I forgive you, Will. For everything that's happened. The past is where it is, in the past. I want to focus on the future now," I leaned my head down after rushing everything out, "also, I-"
"Ophelia?" A throaty voice called out and my head shot up. Will's dark eyes were staring at me in wonderment and I'm sure my eyes carried the same expression.
"You're awake?" I cried even more.
"I woke up a few hours ago, I was just sleeping." He said softly and raised a hand to wipe the tears under my eyes away.
"You did? But the doctor said you were comatose!" I turned and there was the doctor who stood by the door looking between us with a guilty face.
"I'm sorry. The patient next door is also a William and we've been referring to Mr Illston as Illston to avoid confusion." He scratched the back of his head. "So when you asked for William, I thought you meant the other guy..."
My cheeks heated. I glared at him and he visibly took a step back.
"It's fine Tom, you can leave," Will said and the doctor muttered another apology before scurrying away.
I faced Will again and my cheeks felt even hotter. Groaning, my head fell against his arm. I was mortified. I just bared my soul to him thinking he was comatose and even almost told him I loved him. Jeez. I was taking being a fool to the next level it seemed.
"Hey," Will slowly lifted my head. His eyes were understanding and he smiled. "Thank you. For forgiving me, you have no idea how much it means to me to hear that. You're right, the past is in the past but I'll never be sorry enough."
"I thought you'd never wake up again." My lips quivered and I looked down. God, these hormones were going to be the death of me.
"It's going to take more than a bullet to take me down." He laughed and I scoffed. "Want to get on here?" He patted the space next to him and I obliged, careful not to hurt his bandaged chest. We stared at each other for what must have been a full minute. His face was a puffy mess but when he smiled, it lit up the entire ward.
"How's your head and wrist?" He took my broken wrist in his hand. "Mark told me. I wish I could have got some on Runo but I'm satisfied he'll get enough in prison."
"That he will. I'm better, the pain is a little more manageable now. I've been avoiding the drugs because of the baby."
Will's hand settled on my lower belly and a thrill ran down my spine from the contact. I snuggled a little closer to him.
"I've never been that scared before when Runo had his gun focused on you. I could have killed him if given the chance."
"Me too and I was equally terrified when he shot you." The sound of the two bullets going off hadn't quite left me yet. His hand moved into my hair and I sighed. "But yeah, it's going to take more than a bullet to bring down Mr indestructible."
He chuckled. "Exactly. I'm sorry you had to go through all of this and I'm glad it's over."
"We made the news. The bloggers are the worst, spinning up crazy theories. Some say you're in the mafia. If Debbie wasn't still on her honeymoon, she'd be having so much fun right now."
"We thank God for her nuptials."
We remained on the bed until he got more visitors and a nurse came to shoo me away. I walked back to my hospital room with a smile on my face. Will was okay. Everything would be okay. The next day, I was discharged and free to leave, only to come back to change my cast occasionally then eventually cut it off. They gave me a safe alternative for the concussion as well which worked wonders for my headache. Will wasn't let out until a week later. In that week, I was home all day, receiving calls and visits from my friends and it was admittedly fun to lay off work and just relax.
"Someone's at the door!" Cece yelled from her room. Today was her off day from work and we'd been binge-watching reruns of How I Met Your Mother.
"I'll get it!" I yelled back and bounced over to the door wondering who was on the other side.
I opened the door and saw the last person I expected to see today.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the hospital?" My eyes took him in. He was dressed in trousers and a plain tee. His parlour looked better too.
"I was discharged early." Will smiled charmingly and let himself in.
"Then you should be at home." I crossed my arms following him to the living room.
"I wanted to see you."
"We saw yesterday, and the day before and every other day this week." I laughed.
"I still wanted to see you." He sat and pulled me with him. I fell half on his thigh and half on the couch, careful not to press into the stitches on his chest. I asked him if he worried about the scar it would form and he told me battle scars were sexy and 'women dug it'. It turned into a whole other talk of 'what women Will?' that he immediately regretted.
"You're an idiot. You should be at home resting." I complained. He completely ignored me and wrapped his hands around my waist. I thought he was pretty agile for someone who just suffered a chest wound. He was holding it up pretty well although, he still winced from time to time and I was always checking to be certain he hadn't pulled any of his stitches. His face injuries had also considerably healed and he didn't look like a balloon about to pop anymore.
"I missed you." He nuzzled his face into my hair. Will had definitely undergone some changes in the last week. I forgive you somehow translated to I want you for him but I wasn't complaining if he wanted to be stuck to my side like glue.
"For just a day." I chuckled. He raised his head and regarded me.
"Imagine how much worse it was for those six years. I don't want to ever have to let you go again. I promise that'll never even be an option again in the future, that's if you'll have me," he smiled, "at this point, I don't think I can let you go anymore even if you wanted to go. I'll fight tooth and nail for you P, always."
I didn't think I could let go either.
"And I want you to know, I love you, Ophelia. More than words can tell. I've always loved you and won't ever stop loving you. I can't apologise enough for the past and can't thank you enough for forgiving me but I want you to know that with everything in me, one-quarter half lungs and all," he gleamed, "that I love you and want to spend forever with you."
"What's a girl to say to all that?" I leaned down on his shoulder and he held me. I felt him smile against my hair. Raising my head again, I stared into his eyes full of everything I hadn't understood before but now did. I took his hand placed it against my chest. "I love you too, Will."
His hand moved to my neck, tilting my head backwards till our lips connected. All that couldn't be said with words, we exchanged it in our kiss. It was sweet, slow and tender till it wasn't and my hands were pushing their way into his shirt, desperate for that skin to skin contact. Will stood with me and I wrapped my legs around his waist.
"Your stitches," I breathed against his shoulder.
"I'm indestructible, remember?"
"You're ridiculous," I laughed.
He led the way to my room and kicked the door open with his foot then closed it back. He placed me down on the bed gently and our eyes locked. "Where were we?"
"Here." I pulled him down, letting his full weight crush me to the bed. His lips met mine in a fervent lock and soon I could hardly tell where he ended or where I began.
The future was full of possibilities and one of them I was starting to warm up to, was the billionaire and I; together for a long time, maybe even forever.
***
The End.
Yo guys!😭 I'm happy-sad! This book is over. No more Will and P? I honestly prolonged the chapters to this point because I couldn't say bye yet. But, all good things must surely come to an end and now we must close this chapter. Don't worry guys, we still have an Epilogue left and there we'll see how these guys are fairing a few months in.
Thank you all for staying with me this long. I mean if you've gotten this far, you're a real one and deserve the best! I love all of you so much🥺❤
As always, tell a friend to tell a friend, share, comment and vote! I'll see you in the Epilogue!