They were just there for me, and I tried to remember if I had ever just been there for them.
Not when Olivia was taken, or Charlotte was hurt.
I wasn’t even there for Luc when Amelia had left him, and it nearly destroyed him.
At the time, I hadn’t understood his pain.
So a girl he barely knew had rejected him—I had told him to move on and find a prettier wife. He’d looked at me like I was a monster.
What he had gone through, why Reid wouldn’t leave Charlotte’s room willingly, and why Harrison was willing to burn the world to the ground to get his wife back—it had taken me falling for a tenacious girl to understand that. To be reminded of an all-consuming love that I had never thought I’d ever feel again.
The doctors and nurses took a moment to hook up all the monitors and lines to Stella to monitor her vitals, and set up the room just as I’d demanded. She had a corner suite with windows, a private room with plenty of natural light, and a direct line of sight to the nurse’s station.
As soon as they were done, I took a seat next to her, lacing my fingers with hers, just needing to hold her hand.
Her vitals beeped along steadily, but she still didn’t have any color in her cheeks despite the transfusions.
I sat in that chair for a few hours, taking the time to look up the careers of every doctor and surgeon attending to her case. I made sure each of them was up for the task. As soon as she was awake, I would be transferring her to a room that would be set up in our home to accommodate her better and keep her safe.
Reid was in the process of putting together a team of Marines to hunt down Ronan and the others responsible for this.
Luc was handling the business, dealing with getting the party pushed back, all the news about the distillery, and making sure Manwarring Enterprises wouldn’t be too affected by this.
He refused to let me help, and although I would never tell him, I was grateful for the freedom to not think about the company.
For the first time in a very long time, I didn’t give a damn about business.
My attention was consumed by Stella.
She looked so frail, lying in her hospital bed with her pink hair, a mess of tangles, and dirt still smeared under her cheeks. She had several bright bruises forming on her jaw and her shoulders. But thankfully, she’d only broken her arm and a few ribs.
One rib had punctured a lung, but that was easily repaired.
What worried the doctors was how hard she was hit in the head. Her brain was swelling with the trauma, and until it went down, they had no way to know the extent of the damage.
“Sir, visiting hours are over,” a wide-set nurse said as she came in to record Stella’s vitals.
“What’s your point?” I asked, not letting go of her hand.
“My point, sir, is that this patient is not your family. You can see her tomorrow.”
“She is my fiancée. I’m not going anywhere.” I didn’t even look up at her as I spoke.
“Sir, I have to insist.” The nurse sounded more annoyed.
“Insist all you like, I am not moving.”
“Do I need to call security?” she asked like that would do a damn thing.
“Do you know who I am?”
“You are a guest that has overstayed his welcome in my unit. Leave, or I will have you escorted out.”
“I am Lucian Manwarring,” I said, getting to my feet, still refusing to let go of Stella’s hand.
“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” she asked in a bored tone.
“Go to the lobby and see the name printed on the plaque in front of this hospital. I paid for this entire wing. Every brick, every single piece of equipment was paid for by a generous donation by me.”