Page 46 of Liam (The Valeur Billionaires #4)
Darkness creeps in at the edges. The beeping slows, hypnotic in its rhythm. My eyelids feel like lead weights. The last thing I see is a tangle of worried faces melting into a swirl of color as I drift away on a narcotic tide.
My eyelids weigh down on me like lead as I try to open them. The world is a blur of white and muted colors, slowly sharpening into focus. The antiseptic smell of the hospital hits me first, followed by the steady beep of monitors.
I try to shift and immediately regret it. Pain lances through my ribs, sharp and insistent despite the fog of medication. A groan escapes me before I can stop it.
“Liam?” Dad’s voice is rough with worry. “Son, can you hear me?”
I blink a few times, finally able to make out the concerned faces of my family surrounding the bed. They all look haggard, dark circles under their eyes suggesting they’ve been here for hours.
“Water,” I croak, my throat dry as sandpaper.
Logan reaches for a cup with a straw, helping me take a few sips. The cool liquid is a blissful relief.
“How are you feeling?” Cora asks, her voice small and guilt-ridden.
I take stock of my body. Every breath is a challenge, my ribs protesting with each inhale. My head throbs dully, and various parts of me ache in a way that suggests I’m more bruise than man right now.
“Like I went ten rounds with a freight train,” I admit, attempting a weak smile. “What’s the damage?”
“Three broken ribs, severe bruising, mild concussion,” Lucas recites, his tone clipped with barely contained anger. “The doctor says you’ll need to take it easy for a few weeks, but you’ll be okay.”
“Is he dead?”
Dad nods.
The concern etched on all their faces, the fear that still lingers in their eyes.
The room is thick with unspoken fears and guilt.
I summon what strength I can, forcing lightness into my voice.
“Come on, guys. It’ll take more than this to keep a Valeur down.
I’ll be back annoying you all in no time. ”
A small laugh ripples through the room, but the worry still lingers in the air, thick and heavy.
My eyes scan the faces, picking up on every exhausted smile and tear-streaked cheek, but there’s one face missing. Where is she?
Cora steps closer, guilt etched on every line of her face. “Liam, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. I let him near us, I?—”
“Cora, you couldn’t have known. None of us did.”
Dad moves forward, his shoulders bowed with the weight of years. “No, son. The blame is mine. If I hadn’t?—”
“Stop,” I interrupt, ignoring the flash of pain. “Elias made his choices. That’s where the blame lies.”
“But if I hadn’t?—”
“No.” My tone brooks no argument. “We deal with what’s next. That’s all we can do now.”
The door creaks open, and my heart leaps. Aleria steps in, disheveled and exhausted, yet she’s never been more beautiful. Our eyes meet, and the world narrows to just us.
“Hey,” I croak, wincing at the roughness in my voice.
Aleria rushes to my bedside, her hand hovering uncertainly before grasping mine. Her touch sends warmth through me, more potent than any pain medication.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper, the words tumbling out. “Those awful things I said... I didn’t mean any of it.”
The room empties, my family leaving, trying to give us privacy.
Her fingers tighten around mine. “I know,” she murmurs, her voice thick with emotion. “We figured it out. I’m so sorry it took me a while.”
I swallow hard, searching her face. “Now you know everything.”
Aleria nods slowly, her eyes never leaving mine. “I do.”
The air between us is heavy with all we’ve been through. I take a shaky breath, steeling myself. “I understand if it’s too much. If you need time, or space, or?—”
She cuts me off, pressing a finger gently to my lips.
“Liam Valeur,” she says, “I’ve spent the last forty-some hours imagining a world without you in it. Trust me when I say that’s not a world I ever want to live in.”
Her words wash over me, a balm to wounds deeper than any physical injury. I tug her closer, ignoring the protest of my ribs, and press my forehead to hers. We breathe together, finding our rhythm again.
“You know,” Aleria whispers, a hint of her usual humor creeping into her voice, “for a genius, you can be incredibly dense sometimes.”
A chuckle escapes me, turning into a wince. “Hey, go easy on the injured man.”
She pulls back, her eyes shining. “I’m not going anywhere, Liam. Not now, not ever. You’re stuck with me, broken ribs and all.”
“I love you, Aleria. I think I’ve been in love with you since college. I was just too blind to see it back then, too scared. I’m sorry it took me this long to figure it out.”
Her eyes soften, a warmth spreading across her face. “I love you too, Liam,” she says, her voice steady, but the intensity behind it makes my heart lurch. “I love you with every neuron firing in my brain, every quark in my being. I love you in ways that defy logic and reason.”
A small, self-deprecating laugh escapes her. “I love you in the most embarrassingly cliché ways, too. The kind that would make any respectable scientist cringe.” Her free hand comes up to cup my cheek, her touch feather-light against my bruised skin.
“I love you, Aleria, wholly and completely. In the only way worth loving—with everything I am.”