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But before I can reach them, Dallas shoves Gage’s chest, making him stumble backward.

My breath catches, waiting for him to steady himself, to push back, to retaliate.

But that’s not what happens.

Because Gage never finds his footing.

No.

His face drains of color. His body sways. And he collapses.

That’s when I know something is wrong—terribly, terribly wrong.

***

“Gage?” I shake him again, hovering over him while a crowd of wedding guests gather around us. “Gage? Wake up!” My hands are trembling, my voice is wobbly, and I feel like I’m living in a nightmare I can’t wake up from.

But this is as real as it gets.

“What the fuck happened?” Penn asks from behind me.

But I don’t look back at my brothers, especially the one that was in a heated argument with Gage before he went down. My eyes are fixed on my husband lying unconscious on the ground, wondering if there is something else I should be doing.

He ’s breathing, but it’s shallow. His skin is pale and clammy, and as I pick up his hand and bring it to my lips, I feel his pulse in his wrists, but it’s weak.

Parker and Cashlynn come running over, stopping short at the sight of Gage lying on the ground.

“Oh my God, Hazel. What happened?” Cashlynn asks.

“I—I don’t know.”

“The ambulance is five minutes away,” Willow announces.

“They need to hurry! I don’t know what to do.” I shake Gage again, desperation clawing at my throat. “Gage…Gage! You have to wake up!”

“Was he feeling off today?” Astrid asks. “Like dizzy, or…”

Realization dawns on me. “No, but he has had dizzy spells before…”

“Fuck,” Dallas mutters, raking his hands through his hair.

My head snaps up. “What did you do, Dallas?” My voice shakes with anger.

“I pushed him…”“Why?” I shove at his legs, making him stumble back. “Why were you trying to start a fight?” Sirens echo in the background, signaling that help is almost here.

Dallas doesn’t say anything as he stares at my husband lying unconscious on the ground.

“Gage,” I choke out through a sob, tears spilling down my cheeks. “Please, baby, wake up.”

And that’s the last thing I remember before the paramedics arrive and take my husband to the closest hospital as I hope and pray with everything in me.

***

“ Any updates?” Parker asks as he and Cashlynn enter the waiting area, still in their wedding attire.

I feel horrible that their wedding was cut short, but that’s an apology I can worry about later. The only thing I care about right now is knowing if my husband is dead or alive.

“No, not yet,” Mom says, rubbing my back as she has been since we arrived. She drove right behind the ambulance and has stayed by my side, telling me over and over again that everything is going to be okay.

I want to believe her. Hell, I always want to trust anything that comes out of my mother’s mouth. But I’m not a child anymore. I’ve loved and lost enough to know that life doesn’t always play fair, dreams don’t always come true, and some goodbyes are forever.

I just hope that isn’t the case for Gage.

A nurse approaches us. “Mrs. Kingston?” she asks.

My mother taps my leg. “Hazel, that’s you, honey.”

Launching myself from the chair, I rush over to her. “Yes, that’s me.”

“Come this way, please.”

I don’t bother looking back at my family as I follow the nurse down the hall. “Your husband is stable, but his heart is experiencing irregular rhythms. That’s expected, given his condition.”

My heart lurches. “What condition?”

She stops outside a room, placing a reassuring hand on my forearm. “You weren’t aware of your husband’s HCM?”

“No.” I shake my head, my entire body trembling. “We haven’t been married long, and didn’t know each other well before that, and—”

“Mrs. Kingston, breathe.”

That’s when I realize I’m borderline hyperventilating.

“That’s it. Deep b reaths.”

I blow out another. “I’m sorry, I just—I don’t understand what’s happening.”

“No need to apologize. The doctor will be in shortly to explain everything.” She gestures toward the bed. “You can sit with him.”

Nodding, I follow her inside the room and freeze.

Gage is lying in the bed, his face pale against the white sheets, wires and tubes attached to him.

I stifle a sob with my hand.

“He’s going to be okay. He’s resting. He regained consciousness about thirty minutes ago, but he’s going to be in and out of it for a bit.” The vision of him grows blurry through my tears as the nurse hands me a tissue. “Take a seat. The doctor will be in shortly.”

Slowly, I walk to the chair by his bedside and sit, dragging it closer to him as I dab away the tears under my eyes.

“Oh my God, Gage,” I whisper, reaching for his hand, relieved to feel his warmth. He’s still alive. He’s still here. But I have no idea what the nurse was talking about, and suddenly I wonder if this is what he’s been keeping from me, just like Dallas suspected.

I sit there staring at him before resting my head on the bed right next to his arm and feeling the adrenaline start to subside from the past hour. Just as I feel myself drift off to sleep, Gage moves and startles me.

My head pops up to find his eyes open, staring at me. “Gage?”

When he sees me, his eyes widen and then close just as fast. “Fuck.”

“You’re okay. You’re in the hospital, but…”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” he yells, pressing the button on the remote next to him, paging the nurse.

The same nurse from before comes barreling through the door. “Mr. Kingston? Is everything okay?”

“No. I need to get out of here.” Gage starts pulling at wires, but I grab his hand.

“ Stop!” I grab his hands. “What are you doing?”

“Ah, Mr. Kingston, you’re awake.” A doctor enters the room and Gage freezes. “I highly recommend you refrain from pulling any chords, sir, or things could get worse before they get better.” Then he turns to me. “You must be his wife?”

“Yes, but forgive me. I honestly have no idea what is going on here.”

Gage mutters again through clenched teeth. “Fuck.”

I turn back between him and the doctor. “And since there only seems to be one word my husband is capable of speaking, could you please explain it to me?”

The doctor extends his hand. “Well, I’m Dr. Owens, but I’ve been in contact with Dr. Miranda, who is Gage’s heart specialist back in Florida, so I’ve been brought up to speed on his condition.”

“Dr. Miranda?” I ask, looking back at Gage. “ That’s who Miranda is? Your doctor?” But Gage doesn’t say anything, so I take a seat on the edge of the bed and grab his hand, even though I can feel him stiffening beside me. “What condition?”

“Your husband has something called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, or HCM.”

“What is that?” I ask as I look back at Gage, who’s avoiding my eyes now.

“It’s a condition where the heart muscle becomes thickened, making it harder for the heart to pump blood. Symptoms include shortness of breath, dizziness, and fainting, which is what led him here today. Some cases are mild. Others, like your husband’s, are more severe.”

“Fuck,” Gage mumbles again.

I glare at him. “Yes, we’ve established that’s your new favorite word, babe. Now, if you would, please let the doctor finish.”

“ You shouldn’t be here, Hazel,” Gage says suddenly, taking me by surprise.

“Where else would I be?”

He shakes his head, looking away from me. “You need to go.”

The doctor clears his throat. “I’m going to give you two a minute. Nurse Hailey and I will be right outside if you need us.”

I watch them leave and then stand from the bed, staring down at the man that has much more explaining to do before I let him off the hook. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what the hell is going on.”

“You heard the doctor. I have HCM.”

“And what does that mean?”

He finally turns to face me. “It means that you shouldn’t be here. That I never should have agreed to this marriage. That—”

“No.” I cut him off, stabbing a finger in his direction. “You don’t get to push me away right now. You need to talk to me. Help me understand.”

He pinches the bridge of his nose, inhaling deeply.

“This is why I didn’t want to get involved with you, Spitfire.

My dad died from this condition, and who the fuck knows when my time will come.

” When he opens his eyes, I see a pain there that I’ve never seen before—like hopelessness, sadness, and grief all rolled into one.

“I don’t know what the future holds for me, Hazel. I don’t know how serious this could get, how limited my life might be. The last thing I want to do is put that burden on someone, and that’s why I never should have married you. That’s why I wanted to keep feelings fucking out of this!”

My heart breaks for him. He’s been holding this inside, keeping this life-changing condition to himself for God knows how long.

I swallow hard. “Well, it’s a little too late for that, isn’t it?”

He shakes his head. “No, it’s not. I want you to leave. Fucking go.” He turns away from me again, closing his eyes as his voice cracks. “Please.”

I reach for his chin and turn his face back to mine as tears fall down my face. “No, Gage. You don’t get to make that decision on your own. You made me fall in love with you, and now that’s a choice we have to make together!”

His eyes fill with tears as he reaches up and squeezes my hand. “You think I don’t love you too, Hazel? You think it doesn’t kill me to know that I told myself not to fall in love with you and want things that I can’t have? Things that you deserve and I can’t fucking give you?”

“Then talk to me,” I beg, sitting on the bed and cradling his face in my hands as we both cry. “Talk to me so we can figure this out.”

He shakes his head again. “There’s nothing to figure out. You don’t need this in your life.”

A sob wracks through my body. “Yes, I do, Gage.”

He pushes my hand from his face. “You need to leave.”

“But I’m your wife.”