"NITA!" Her name ripped from my throat, a primal and broken sound. Her phone slipped from the dashboard onto the bonnet of the car, glass shards on the screen.
My heart was in my mouth, exploding as I stared at the blank screen void of sound or any life. And then I saw something. A figure—moving toward her wrecked car.
My eyes snapped shut in excruciating pain as memories slammed into me like shards of glass needling their way into my brain. I remembered our fights, our passion, but most importantly, I remembered how much I love her. I remembered our life together. I remembered everything. And then I slipped into my own darkness.
I came to being pulled onto a gurney with Martin barking and shouting into a phone, deploying people to find my wife. Nita. I can’t do this again. I can’t go through this pain again. The fear of losing her, I cannot. I’d rather die.
I struggled to get off the gurney, but the hospital staff held me down as I was wheeled into the hospital. Martin, find her, alive, but no one heard me. No one knew the way my heart was crushing and slamming all at the same time against my chest.
Why is she always the target? Whoever wants to hurt me should go through me; why do they always have to hurt her? Since she stepped into my life, I had been the reason she was constantly in danger.
If she survives, I swear to God, I will stay far away from her life. To keep her safe, she had to get away from me. To keep her safe, I had to lose the love of my life. I slipped into the darkness once more.
Once I regained consciousness, I yanked the sheet away from me and got to my feet. I looked around for anything—my phone, anything. I pushed the door open and staggered into the corridor.
"Mr. Numero!" Another of my bodyguards called from down the corridor. I stumbled towards him, my head still killing me.
"Where’s Martin? Did he find my wife?" I threw the questions at him, hoping for a miracle.
"Yes, sir. She is being attended to in the ICU right now, but you have to get back to bed; the doctors are really worried about you."
I shoved him off of me and headed towards the elevator to the ICU downstairs. I found Martin at the waiting entrance.
"Sir! You shouldn’t be here." Martin’s face was drawn and tense.
"She’s alive, sir. I found her in time. She is being operated on. Your family is in the waiting area."
My entire body sagged. My breath was shaking as I walked into the waiting room in my hospital robe. I moved much like a zombie into the arms of my mother, who had her face swollen and tears streaming down them. Her parents clung to each other, but all I wanted was my mom.
My mum held me like a child as I sobbed. I bawled remembering everything I put my wife through these past months, the way I treated her and the way I pushed her away.
"It’s going to be fine, love. Nita is a strong woman. She will pull through."
I only cried harder. Out of relief, regret, and pain about my future without her.
"Mr. Williams, your daughter is awake. And your granddaughter is in perfect health." A nurse came in to make the announcement.
Everyone gasped in happiness. I had another daughter. I have a love child. The queen of my empire had arrived.
The nurse looked at me in confusion. "She is my wife."
"I apologize, but you seem like a patient also. Were you also involved in the accident?"
I shook my head impatiently. "Just take me to my wife now."
She nodded and walked away while I followed.
Nita was awake. My daughter was alive.
I swallowed hard and pushed forward, my heart hammering in my chest as the doctor led me into the ward. Then, I saw her. My love, my first love.
She was lying there, pale with her face marred by scratches, her arm wrapped in bandages. Her hair was tangled, and she looked like shit, but she was breathing.
She looked exhausted, her eyes barely open before they landed on me. She gave me a weak smile, and I saw that her eyes were glassy, like she had been crying.
"Hey, Richard," she murmured.
I let out a relieved laugh, moving closer to her bedside. "You scared the shit out of me, Nita."
"I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened."
But I did. I knew exactly what happened, and the culprit was going to pay.
I dropped into the chair beside her bed, running a hand through my hair. "You’re alive."
"No shit, Einstein," she croaked, trying to laugh. "Where’s our baby?"
Before I could answer, the nurse from earlier entered, carrying a small bundle wrapped in soft pink fabric.
My daughter. My Queen.
The nurse smiled gently. "You have a strong girl here. The accident did nothing to scare her. Would you like to hold her?"
Nita looked at me, "Go on, Richard."
I hesitated for half a second before reaching out. The moment I held her, I felt my heart soar just like when I held Chayara for the first time. I was a daddy to two girls. I had to get a zoo in my house to keep boys away.
She was so tiny, her little face scrunched up as she let out a soft whimper. My heart clenched painfully.
"Nita," I whispered, my voice shaking, "she’s perfect."
Nita smiled weakly, watching me with something unreadable in her eyes. "Of course she is. She’s ours."
Something broke inside me at those words. Ours. I couldn’t tell her that I had regained my memories of the past. If I did, my plan wouldn’t work.
I bent my head, pressing a soft kiss to my daughter’s forehead. "I don’t deserve her. Or you."
Nita sighed. "Richard..."
The silence after that wasn’t uncomfortable. It was peaceful; it was beautiful. This moment was all I had with them before I had to let them go.
"Will you let me hold my daughter before you get too attached?"
I carefully placed the baby in her arms, watching as Nita gazed down at our child with wonder.
"She looks like you," I murmured.
"She does have your mouth," Nita said softly, "which means she’s going to be impossible to argue with."
I chuckled, "Great. That’s exactly what I need. Another woman in my life to outsmart me."
Nita laughed aloud before wincing in pain.
A knock came on the door, and my dad peeked in, grinning. "Are you good in here?"
I nodded, my throat thick. "Yeah. We’re good."
"Good, because your mothers are still waiting, and I don’t think I can stall them anymore."
Nita groaned. "Tell them to give us five minutes."
"I’ll tell them two." My father said, and he disappeared.
I turned back to Nita, "The storm is coming. But if you need some time away from them, I can arrange a suite on the hospital’s top floor where you won’t be bothered."
"It’s fine. We have been through a lot now; I think we all need a little joy."
I reached out and kissed her gently on the lips. "Whatever I do from here on out, just remember that I love you."
Her breath caught, her eyes searching mine. "Richard? Do you... do you remember?"
Before I could respond, even though the next words that would come out of my mouth would be a lie, our families breezed into the room much like the arrival of a volcano.