Page 47 of The Criminal’s Cure

Few things are as deflating as seeing the man who hurt the woman you love outside her hospital room.

The timing really could not be worse.

“Roman. Hi.” He trips over the words, just as startled to see me as I am to see him.

“Hello.” I clench my jaw. For Maddie’s sake, I try to keep it civil. A scene will only stress her out more, and she needs to relax in peace and quiet.

At the moment, I’m not sure which thing I hate him for most—working with Bauer to fabricate a position for Maddie, showing up three days late to see his ailing daughter, or just the all around shitty way he treats her.

“Uh, I came by to see—”

“Mr. Molanari?” The nurse from earlier comes toward us. “Someone will be down to take your fiancé in about thirty minutes. Dr. Talbert wants to do a scan just to be sure everything looks okay.”

Fuck.

“Oh...Okay. I’ll let her know.” I nod, noticing how Mark perks up at the word fiancé .

The nurse smiles, turning on her heels and heading back towards the nurses’ station.

“Fiancé?” He raises his eyebrow at me. “You and Maddie are engaged?”

Now what the hell am I supposed to do? I told the nurses, so they’d give me information, and at this point, I just have to go with it.

“Yeah. We are.”

“Wow.” He lets out a labored breath, sliding down into one of the chairs in the hallway. “I didn’t even...she didn’t tell me.”

I let out a sharp laugh. “I don’t blame her. It’s not like you’re the most supportive person in her life.”

Jesus, Roman. I grit my teeth before I can dig myself into an even deeper hole.

“You’re right,” he says as I sit down. “I haven’t been a good father to Maddie for a long time. Maybe not ever.”

“Why did it take you three days to get here?”

He swallows, gripping the arm of the chair. “It took me a while to find out where they took her after the explosion, but I got here yesterday. I’ve been trying to work up the nerve to come speak to her after the way I’ve been acting.”

I remain silent. If he’s fishing for sympathy, he won’t find it with me. He acts how he does and then doesn’t even have the balls to face her? If it was up to me, I’d send the bastard back to St. Louis right this second.

“Is she...”

“She’s awake,” I say. “But she’s in rough shape. Fractured ribs, collapsed lung, broken leg…She just barely regained consciousness this evening.”

“Jesus.” He runs his fingers through his hair, lip quivering. “Roman, you and I have a lot to talk about, but I’d like to go see my daughter if that’s okay.”

“It’s not okay with me, but fortunately for you, it’s up to Maddie. And just to be clear, if she doesn’t want you here, you’re gone. No questions asked.”

“Thank you. I won’t be long.”

We stand, and I gently knock on the door. “Maddie?”

“You’re back with ice cream already? You’re my hero!” She smiles, looking over towards the door.

“Uh, actually. I ran into someone in the hallway. You have a visitor.” I move to the side, revealing her father standing behind me.

Maddie’s eyes widen and she glances between the two of us.

“Dad.” Her voice breaks.

“Hi sweetheart.” Mark smiles sheepishly. Good. He should feel fucking ashamed. It isn’t enough to be an asshole, but he has to be a coward, too.

I put my hand on her shoulder protectively. “He wants to talk to you for a few minutes. Are you okay with that?” I ask, hoping she’ll tell me to kick him out. That’s something I’ll gladly take pleasure in.

“Sure.”

“You’re sure?” I ask.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine, Roman. I promise.”

“Okay.” I bend to kiss her. “I’ll be right outside if you need me.”

“Thank you.”

Maddie could handle herself, but I’m reluctant to leave her alone when she isn’t at full strength. To distract myself, I use the time to check in with Emmett and Ty and see how things are going. Hopefully, it will take my mind off of the asshole at her bedside.

When Roman walks out, I halfway consider calling him back into the room.

I’m not in the frame of mind to fight with my father right now, and despite the concern on his face, I have my suspicions about him being here at all.

I want to think he’s here because he’s concerned, and deep down in my heart, I’m actually glad to see him.

It’s amazing what a near death experience can do to a person.

We haven’t spoken since the gala, and as angry as I am, something inside of me still wants his approval. Or maybe it’s more love than approval. Maybe that’s all I ever really wanted. To know my dad cares about me, that I’m important to him, and that’s something I battled with my entire life.

“How are you feeling, sweetheart?” he asks, approaching me cautiously. He sits on the edge of the chair next to me, looking as uncomfortable as I am.

“Better than ever.”

He starts chuckling. “You’re right, that’s a stupid question. I spent the entire time on the airplane trying to decide what I wanted to say.”

“And that’s the best that you came up with? Asking me how I’m feeling days after I was nearly blown up?”

“Believe it or not, that was the best out of all the opening lines I was considering...But I agree, it sucks. So why don’t I just say this?”

He pauses, composing himself.

“Maddie, I am so sorry,” he blurts out, tears pooling in his eyes.

“Before you say anything, you need to know that. I am so sorry for the way I have treated you lately. I only ever wanted what was best for you and now I’ve caused us to spend the last several years at each other’s throats instead of connecting.

And it was entirely my fault. I’m sorry, and I will never be able to tell you just how much. ”

I open my mouth to speak, but I’m too shell-shocked to form words. I didn’t expect much from my dad, let alone an apology. Maybe my nearly dying had an effect on him as well.

“Dad, I—”

“No.” He holds up his hand, shaking his head.

“Please don’t say anything. All of this is my fault.

If I hadn’t sent you to work with Dr. Bauer…

Maddie, you should know that the only reason I called and asked my friend to give you the spot in LA was because I wanted to get you away from Bauer.

He called me, and he was frantic about getting you out of Las Vegas.

He wouldn’t tell me why, but he told me it was for your safety.

None of it made sense but, I wanted to get you away from him as fast as I could, so I called about the position.

It had nothing to do with playing games with you, and I should have come right out and told you that.

But when you were home, and you said those things to me… ”

I press my lips together, the memory of the fight still fresh in my mind.

“I got defensive because it was true. I’ve never been a good father to you or your brothers.

I pushed you too hard, and I set a terrible example of putting notoriety above all else.

I wish I could go back and change things, but I can’t.

I wish I had something more to say to you besides I’m sorry, but that’s all that seems to matter to me right now.

I’m sorry about everything. For not believing in you, or supporting your dreams, and for putting you in this position, and for not being the parent you deserved all these years.

If you give me another chance, I swear, I will do whatever it takes to make things right with you. All I want is to fix our relationship.”

I’ve never seen my dad cry before, but a few errant tears drip down his cheeks, and I can see how genuine he is about all of this.

It’s such a welcome change that I nearly burst into tears myself.

It doesn’t change the past between us, but it’s a start and it gives me hope for our future relationship.

“I appreciate that, Dad, but it’s going to take some time. Maybe we could start with dinner? I’d like to come see everyone when I get out of here.”

He smiles widely. “I would love that. And you know, if you’d like to come back home to recover for a few weeks, your mom and I would love to have you.”

“I know you would. But I think I’m going to go back to Las Vegas with Roman as soon as they release me. I promise I’ll visit as soon as I’m feeling up to it, though.”

“Ah yes. Despite our rocky start, your fiancé seems like a wonderful guy. I’m looking forward to getting to know him. Why don’t you bring him with you when you come to visit?”

Fiancé? What? Did Roman tell him we’re engaged? Or did I seriously hit my head so hard that I don’t remember him proposing? Either way, I don’t correct my dad.

“Yes, he is. I think you guys will love him once you get to know him.”

My dad stands and kisses my cheek. “I won’t keep you much longer. Your mom and brothers will be here tomorrow. I asked them to wait until you and I had time to talk. We’ll be by tomorrow if that’s okay?”

“Sure, that would be great.”

“Good. We’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Bye Dad.”

After a few minutes, a nurse comes in and checks my vitals, making all kinds of notes in my file before rushing out. She lets me know that they’ll be in to take me for more testing in a few minutes. I start to get restless and am about to stand upright as Roman comes back into the room.

“Hey!” he scolds, rushing towards my side. “You’re not supposed to get up without someone to support you.”

“I just wanted to stand up,” I pout, hoping my frown would make him cave.

“No way. Your leg is broken. You’re not going anywhere until the doctor says it’s okay.”

“Does it matter that I’m a doctor and I say it’s okay?” I raise an eyebrow at him.

He rolls his eyes. “How about a doctor that isn’t concussed? Now, climb back into bed like a good little girl and I’ll give you your ice cream.”

“I’m fine, Roman. It will probably do my body some good to get up and move around. I’m sure we can find some crutches.” I prop myself up, not willing to accept staying put just yet.

Roman shakes his head. “The doctor said to stay put. You better keep your cute little ass in this bed until I say otherwise, or there will be serious consequences.”

I settle back into the bed, sulking.

“I can already tell you’re going to be a terrible patient.” He sits on the bed next to me. “Seriously Maddie, I know you’re feeling better, but you’re not out of the woods. You’re always preaching to me that I need to take care of myself, and now it’s your turn.”

“Thank goodness I have a fiancé to take care of me.”

Roman freezes. “I panicked. I told the nurses I was your fiancé so that they would give me information on you, and then one of them called me that in front of your dad,” he rambles, anxious. “Don’t be mad at me. I was just worried about you and I...”

I lean forward and brush a kiss across his lips. “Would you relax? It’s okay. I kind of like being called your fiancé.”

Roman breaks out into a smile. “You do?”

I nod. “Someday, anyway. I think we’ve had plenty of excitement over the last few days.”

He climbs in next to me and wraps his arm over my shoulder and the two of us lay there enjoying our ice cream in perfect silence.

“For the record, I like the sound of it, too,” Roman says. “And I fully intend on making an honest woman out of you very, very soon.”

His words send a giddy rush through me. The last few weeks have been such an emotional rollercoaster and now here we are.

There is nothing in the world that would make me happier than the idea of spending the rest of my life with Ty and Roman, my own perfect little family.

I hate to think about everything we had to go through to get to this point, but at the end of the day, our love was the only thing that matters.

I can’t wait to get home to Ty, but right now, all I want to do is enjoy my time with Roman, and relish in this moment. We may be cooped up in a stuffy hospital room, but right now, I am on top of the world.