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Tears prickled in my eyes, but I fought them.
It took more than an hour for me to fall asleep, but my sleep was fitful, and eventually, I woke up. At first, I wasn’t sure why,but then I realized my nightgown was wet. I froze. My first thought was that I had wet myself. In the very beginning, after my accident, that had happened on occasion, but that was years ago. I turned on the lights, and panic filled me. I was bleeding. For several heartbeats, I couldn’t do anything but stare, filled with terror. I touched my belly as my pulse raced in my veins.
I grabbed my phone and called Samuel. The phone rang several times before he finally picked up. “What’s wrong, Emma?”
His voice was rough, not slurred but definitely more drawn out than usual. My heart sank.
“I’m bleeding.”
“What? I’m coming up.”
I moved toward the edge of the bed, trying not to panic. With an anterior placenta like mine, bleeding wasn’t entirely uncommon. My doctor had warned me that this could happen.
Samuel staggered into the bedroom, his hair disheveled, his trousers and shirt wrinkled as if he’d slept on the floor. Remembering how I’d found him once at the beginning of our marriage, I knew this wasn’t completely unlikely.
Samuel came toward me, his eyes taking in my bloody nightgown. “I’ll take you to the hospital.” When he bent over me to pick me up, a wave of alcohol hit me. I scrunched up my nose. “You’re drunk.”
“I’m fine. I just had a glass of brandy to wind down.”
“You’re drunk, Samuel. Call Danilo. He can take me to the hospital.”
Samuel’s eyes flashed with anger. “I’m your husband. I’ll take you. I’m in control.”
I pressed my lips together, fighting an onslaught of emotions as he carried me down the stairs.
“Samuel—”
“I’m fine! We don’t need Danilo.”
I shook my head again. “You aren’t fine!”
His gait was steady despite the heavy note of alcohol on his breath and the slightly feverish look in his eyes. Maybe he could drive. But a warning voice in my head reminded me of the past. Fear gripped me.
“Samuel—”
He put me down on the passenger seat and buckled me up. “We’ll be quicker if I drive than if we wait for an ambulance or for your brother to arrive. We need to get you to a doctor as soon as possible.”
He was right but still…
I touched my belly, focusing on my baby.
Samuel got in the car and started the engine. My stomach constricted. Hazy memories from a crash long ago that changed my life resurfaced. My bodyguard had also smelled of alcohol. It hadn’t been the first time he’d been drunk on the job. I had noticed the stench before, but he’d never had trouble driving before.
A vivid image of the car swerving to the side, of a truck heading our way, and the lights blinding me shot through my head. After that, everything was black. It was the moment that changed my life forever.
I swallowed hard. My instincts screamed at me not to let Samuel drive. But if I called Danilo or Pietro, they would know something was wrong, and they’d figure out that Samuel had a problem with alcohol.
I couldn’t betray Samuel like that. Right?
Samuel drove too fast.
I clutched the seat, fear clogging my throat. “Samuel, slow down.”
“You need help,” he muttered.
He drove way too fast into a curve, and the car swerved toward oncoming traffic. The headlights of a car blinded me. Iscreamed, raw fear ripping the sound from the depths of my body. Not again.
The car jerked to the side, barely missing the other car. I was flung against the door, then we jolted to a stop.