Page 22 of Saint Of Envy (Tangled Hearts, Sinful Hands #2)
As soon as the hospital is in sight, I speed toward the ER doors where, just like Vincent said, the staff is waiting for us with a stretcher for Valentina. I barely get the door open before the doctors and nurses are lifting her out of the car and whisking her off into the hospital.
“I’m coming with her,” I demand as one nurse stands in my way.
“Please, sir, you need to wait here and let us do our job. She’s in good hands,” the nurse says firmly.
I open my mouth to argue with her and barge my way past, unwilling to let Valentina out of my sight again, but then I feel a gentle touch on my arm and turn to see Isla standing there with Vincent beside her.
“She’ll be okay,” Isla smiles, her eyes worried but calm. “It’s best if you stay here with Vincent and not get in the way of the medical team. I’ll go talk with the head intake nurse and see what I can find out, okay?”
Minutes feel like hours as I pace the halls of the waiting area while Vincent sits stoically in a chair, whispering to Isla every time she returns from the nurses’ station with no additional news.
Finally, after what seems like literal hours, there’s an update.
“Mr. Moretti?” the doctor says as he walks toward us. “You’ll be able to see Ms. Ricci now. We’ve moved her into a private hospital room to rest.”
“How is she?”
“She’s suffered some internal hemorrhaging, likely from the pill doing the job it was created to do,” he says with a frown.
“What pill?”
The doctor glances between all three of us.
“My apologies. I thought that perhaps you already knew. Apparently, someone forced Valentina to take abortion medication, according to what she told us after the pain medication took effect and she could think and articulate. That, combined with the extreme stress she endured, caused some hemorrhaging, which led to her pain and blood loss. We’ve got her stabilized now, and the worst of it should be over. She’s going to be fine.”
I’m frozen in shock. Not only at the news that Valentina suffered such a cruel and horrific act, but that it’s likely resulted in the loss of our unborn child.
I want to ask if we’ve definitely lost the baby, but that seems a foolish question with an obviously horrible answer. Thankfully, Isla asks it instead.
“And the baby,” she says softly, with a sorrowful tone. “Are you certain that the pregnancy has been terminated?”
“It’s honestly hard to say this early on,” the doctor sighs heavily.
“From my understanding, she was only given one pill when the process consists of two pills. Later in the pregnancy, we should see the usual signs of fetal heartbeat and movement. The success of those pills largely depends on how and when they’re taken, as well as factors like expiration date and drug effectiveness.
That said, there is some evidence that a rare, persistent pregnancy or two slips through the margin of error rate.
But if you’re asking for my professional opinion, the fact that Ms. Ricci experienced hemorrhaging is not a good sign.
I would, unfortunately, bet that the baby is gone. ”
His words echo around me as if I’m standing at the end of a tunnel. I feel Vincent put his hand on my shoulder in condolence, and hear Isla ask if she can see Valentina. I watch as she and the doctor walk off toward Valentina’s room, and I want to follow, but need to gather my emotions first.
“It’s not impossible,” Vincent says as he hands me his handkerchief.
I wipe away the lone tear from my cheek.
“Come on, Vincent,” I say, steeling myself before I see Valentina. “We both know that you suck at being an optimist. Let’s be realistic—the baby is gone. But Valentina is still here, and for that I’m grateful.”
He nods, and I go to see the woman I love.
When I walk into her room, Isla steps out, and I sit at Valentina’s bedside, reaching an arm around her and kissing the side of her face.
“I’m so sorry,” she cries. “I tried to protect the baby as much as I could.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about,” I say as I wipe her tears away and give her a grateful smile.
“You’re alive, and we’re together. Leonardo Conti is gone forever, and we have forever to spend together now, unencumbered by those who would oppose our relationship.
I love you, Valentina, and we will have many, many more chances to try again. ”
She lifts her hand to my face and cups my jaw in her palm.
“Do you promise?” she says with a small, tearful smile.
“Oh, I can definitely promise you that,” I grin.
“As soon as you’re out of this hospital room, I intend to wine and dine you, shower you with all the pampering you deserve after having gone through so much.
And then, when you’re feeling up to it, I intend to make love to you for days on end until we are both too tired to do it anymore. ”
She giggles. I can see the light and hope returning to her eyes.
“What if I never grow tired?” she teases softly.
“Then I will never stop making love to you,” I say as I lean down to put my mouth on hers.
Part of this might have ended in a tragedy, but this isn’t the end of our story.
Valentina and I both live on, and our love lives on, despite our enemies’ attempts to snuff it out.
That means that there is always hope. As soon as the hospital releases Valentina, she will finally be free to live her chosen life, free from constraints and men who would imprison her.
She will be free from fear and confinement, and I will be free from envy and anger—because we will both have each other going forward, and that is all we will need to build a future together.