Page 91 of Sexting My Ex's Dad

“Stella, can you hear me?” I can feel his breath against my cheek. “You need to stay awake, alright? Open your eyes!”

But I can’t. I’m drowning in darkness, and no matter how hard I fight, it’s pulling me deeper.

“Owen... Elio...” I manage to choke out, my voice barely a whisper. “I’m so sorry.”

“Save your strength,” Owen says, his voice thick with emotion. “You’re going to pull through this.”

“Promise me,” I beg, my grip on consciousness slipping further away. “Promise that...you’ll both be okay...”

“Stella, just stay with us,” Elio pleads, desperation etching itself onto his face. But the darkness is relentless, swallowing me whole as his image fades away.

“Stella!” is the last thing I hear before the world falls silent, and I succumb to the numbing embrace of unconsciousness.

54

ELIO

Istand at the foot of Stella’s hospital bed. The sound of the machines monitoring her heartbeat is the only noise in the room, but it does nothing to calm me down, not when most of the arrows are unsteady. She’s hanging on by a thread.

Shit.What am I going to do if she dies?

“Mr. Lombardi,” a doctor says, entering the room. Their faces are masked with professional concern, but I can see the fear in their eyes. “The bullet wound is serious—too serious. There’s too much blood loss. Too many complications.”

That’s not an answer that I’m willing to accept.

“There has to be more that you can do,” I snap, my voice tight with worry. “She can’t just die.”

“We’re doing everything we can,” the doctor replies, his tone hesitant.

“Do more!” I growl. “I’ll pay you whatever you want, just save her life.”

But this is something that even my money can’t fix.

My heart races as I watch Stella lie motionless on the bed, her long, wavy brown hair splayed across the pillow. She looks so fragile and vulnerable, a stark contrast to the strong, independent woman I know. How could I have let this happen?

“Does she have any other family we can call who would want to be aware of her condition?” The doctor asks.

He doesn’t say the words out loud, but I know what he means.Any other family members who might want to say goodbye.

Briefly, her mother and brother flicker into my mind. Leo wouldn’t understand even if they did tell him, and her mother… Stella would kill me if I invited that woman. “No,” I answer. “Just me.”

The doctor nods. He sighs and looks at me with sympathy. “We’ll update you as soon as there are any changes, but it wouldn’t be so horrible for you to start preparing for the worst. These next few hours will determine if she’ll pull through or not.”

His words hit me like a freight train, and I struggle to keep my composure. “I understand,” I say because I have to, not because the words are the truth.

She’s strong. She has to pull through.

This feeling of powerlessness gnaws at me from within – it’s a feeling all too familiar. I remember when I lost Margot, and how I couldn’t save her. But now, with Stella lying here like this…I can’t let history repeat itself.

I can’t lose another woman because of Massimo.

“Mr. Lombardi,” a nurse says softly, interrupting my thoughts. “It’s time for her medication. You might want to step outside for a moment.”

“No,” I answer, gripping Stella’s hand tighter. “I’m not leaving her side.”

The nurse stares at me for a while before realizing that it’s not a fight that she’s going to win. “If you insist,” she comments, as she prepares the syringe.

I’m never leaving Stella’s side again.