Page 159 of Illicit Games

I cradle her face, caressing every soft curve and kissing every inch of it. “I thought I lost you. You left me terrified, Rainbow.”

Our tears mix as I press my forehead to hers.

“Have… have I really been asleep for a week?”

“Yeah.” I bring her hand to my lips and kiss it. “You can’t do it again, Iris. You can’t scare me like this ever again. Or put yourself in harm's way to save me. You come first.”

“You weren’t hurt?” she asks, fearful. “Yukta didn’t shoot you?”

“No, baby. You saved me.” The scene haunts me again. I still can’t believe she jumped in front of me. “I wish you hadn’t because holding you bleeding in my arms, I felt like I was dying along with you.”

Her gaze softens, cupping my scruffy cheek. “I’m not sorry. I would do it again.”

“No. I’m never letting you out of my sight or anywhere near danger.”

“You’ll be insufferable, huh?”

“Yes. I will be.” I chuckle, fighting the damn tears. They’re of happiness and gratitude that she’s better and joking. Leaning up, I scan the rest of her, careful not to press on her wounds.

The next few months as she recovers will be grueling, but I’m going to be with her every step of the way. Until she’s perfectly healthy and healed.

Hope ignites.

We will get through this.

Pushing her hair away from her face, I stare at her to my heart’s content. “How are you feeling? Do I need to call the doctor to check in again? How bad is the pain?”

“I feel exhausted, like my muscles haven’t moved in ages. I don’t feel any pain, though.” Licking her lips, she asks, “How badly am I hurt, Kian?”

I sit down on the chair, still holding her small hand. “How much do you remember?”

Her brows pinch in concentration as she tries to recall the night. “I remember being petrified and diving in front of you, then both of us crashing to the floor. Nothing but pain. You hovering over my face, saying something, but I couldn’t hear. I also couldn’t tell if I protected you or not. I wanted to… wanted to say I love you, but everything went dark.”

Listening to her shatters my soul all over again. “You were shot twice, Iris. In the chest and abdomen. There were some complications during the surgery. But-”

“What complications?” She visibly tenses.

Iris won’t be able to handle it yet. I just got her back. I don’t want to risk her having a panic attack, or something worse. I’m not ready to destroy her world again. So, I lie, “Nothing to worry about. The surgeons handled it.”

Except even in her weak state, she reads me like a book. “You’re hiding something. Tell me, Kian.”

I hesitate, my tongue feeling thick and swollen.

“Kian?”

“One of the bullets hit your ovaries. The doctors had to remove one because of the severity.”

“What does that mean?” She gasps, puzzled. “I still have one ovary, right. Don’t I?”

“Yes, you do.”

“Then what? Why are you looking at me like that?”

I peer at her sadly. “The ovary is too weak to be able to reproduce. There’s a very low chance of you getting pregnant. I’m sorry.”

“No!” She thrashes. “It—it can’t be possible. We… we want kids, Kian.”

“I’m so sorry.”