Page 67 of All the Gossip from Paris
What if Papa doesn’t recover from the surgery? Or if he does but he’s not able to keep working. That would be the end for him.
Fears of what lay ahead kept rolling around in her head. The only reason she didn’t completely lose her mind was because Liam never let go of her hand.
“So is Mount Blanc the highest mountain in the Swiss Alps?” he asked.
“No. Mount Blanc isn’t even in Switzerland,” she replied squeezing Liam’s hand tighter. “It’s on the border of France and Italy. People do make that mistake.”
She wasn’t a fool. Liam’s question had little to do with him having never been to Switzerland, and everything to do with keeping her from freaking out.
When the helicopter finally landed at Lausanne Airport, a car was waiting for them. Sophie kept hold of Liam’s hand for the fifteen minute trip to Lausanne University hospital. The moment they were able to talk alone, she would apologize for having tortured his poor fingers for the better part of two hours.
Once inside the hospital they took the elevator to the fifth floor. As they entered the waiting room, her younger brother Éliott rose from a chair. Camille promptly burst into tears. She dashed to him, and flung her arms around their brother.
“Hey, good to see you were able to get here so quick. I’d just stepped off the plane at Charles de Gaulle when I got the call,” he explained.
“Where’s Mama?” asked Sophie.
“In with the surgeon. They want to operate as soon as possible. Papa was adamant he spoke to you before they put him under the knife. Something about ensuring the succession of his creative name. Or whatever. But I think it might just be the pain killers talking.”
Éliott had never shown the slightest bit of interest in any part of the Royal family business—rather he was content to spend his father’s money and travel the world following the Formula One motor racing calendar. In between seasons, he lived the life of a billionaire bachelor. If one member of the entire international Royal family had a charmed existence, it was him.
He pointed toward a nearby hallway. “Mama said to tell you to come through as soon as you arrived. Third door on the right.”
Camille went to step in that direction, but Éliott held her back. “Papa wants to talk to Sophie before he goes into surgery. Only Sophie.”
“Just how badly hurt is he?” demanded Camille. The pain of their father’s rejection was clear in her strained voice.
Éliott sighed. “I only saw him for a minute or two myself. He took one look at me, and said he couldn’t deal with any of my shit today. I am, as always, a deep disappointment to him.”
Sophie dropped her travel bag onto a chair, then shrugged out of her coat. She took off her scarf, and lay it on top. The sooner she spoke to François the quicker he would be going under the surgeon’s knife. And then hopefully her father would be on the long road to recovery.
“I’ll be back soon.” She turned to Camille. “I will let Papa know you are here. And that we will all be waiting for him when he wakes.”
Liam stepped into her path. “Whatever you need, Sophie, don’t hesitate to ask. I’m here for you.”
He was the spark of hope in the middle of the worst day of her life. Liam was here for her. It meant more than she could put into words.
His presence in the waiting room scattered any lingering doubts she might have still had about him. She had fallen hard for this man. Sophie rose up on her toes, and kissed Liam. “Thank you.”
When the time was right, she would tell him how she felt. If Liam ending up leaving, chasing his dreams. At least he would know that she loved him.
But first things first. Papa.
A sense of dread settled tightly in her chest. Sophie headed down the hallway to where her father waited. Reaching the third door on the right, she tapped gently on it. Then pushed it open.
The sight which greeted her shattered Sophie’s composure into a million pieces. Her hand went to her mouth. In the hospital bed, with a startling amount of tubes and wires hanging all around him, lay her father. His eyes were closed. For a moment she feared he was dead.
Oh fuck. I don’t know if I can do this.
“Sophie darling, I’m so glad you’re here.”
It was only then that she noticed her mother was in the room. Marina Royal rose from the chair on the other side of the bed, and rushed to embrace Sophie. In her mother’s arms she finally let the tears win.
“I know. I know, sweetheart. It’s a bit of a shock when you first see him. But your father is a stubborn man. He will get through this,” comforted Marina.
“Sophie?” croaked François. He sounded terrible. So tired. So broken.
She rallied, and turned to him. “Yes, Papa I’m here. Camille and Éliott are in the waiting room. Camille sends her love.”
