Page 60 of Prince of Her Heart
And then everything broke loose.
“Damn it, don’t you dare die on me!”she hissed, lowering herself into the chair beside the bed.“You’re not allowed to do this.Not after everything.Not afterlast night.”
His hand was warm, but motionless.She pressed it to her cheek.
“You missed the cake,” she murmured, wiping at her face with the back of her hand.“I’m not even sure what flavor it was.Stacy loves lemon, but she’s an ice cream person, really.John’s a chocolate guy.He probably gave in because he’d do anything for her.”
She kept talking.Rambling, really.About cake.About the way the fireflies would be coming out soon.About how Stacy’s uncle had gotten tipsy and tried to sing Bon Jovi.
She didn’t know if her words meant anything.But she couldn’t stop.
The steady beep-beep-beep of the monitor filled the silences between her breaths, each one a cruel reassurance thathe was still alive… but not with her.
A nurse came in, checked his vitals.A doctor followed a few minutes later.Tabitha asked every question she could think of, but the woman only shook her head.
“I’m sorry,” she said.“We can’t discuss his condition unless you're family.His next of kin is on the way.”
And then she left, just like that.
Tabitha sat beside him, fury and fear knotting inside her.
“Damn it, won’t you please just wake up and tell me what’s going on?”she demanded, her voice cracking as she leaned closer.“You’re the only one who will be honest with me, and I’m getting desperate.”
Still, nothing.
But then—
His lashes fluttered.
Her heart stopped.
“Nurse!”she screamed, lunging for the call button.
The moment Ramzi stirred, his bodyguards surged into the room, their tense expressions revealing just how much they’d been holding back.Seconds later, a nurse rushed in behind them.
“I think he’s waking up!”Tabitha called, barely able to believe the words even as she said them.
The nurse moved quickly to his side, adjusting monitors and checking vitals, only to immediately step aside when the doctor entered.The tension in the room felt like it could snap a steel beam in half.
The doctor flicked a penlight across Ramzi’s eyes.
He flinched.
A collective exhale echoed around the room.Someone muttered, “Thank God.”
Tabitha couldn’t move.She was afraid that if she blinked, she’d miss something important.
“Tabby…” Ramzi’s voice was hoarse, low, but it was unmistakably his.Her heart swelled as he turned his head slightly, wincing at the movement.
“I’m here,” she whispered, her fingers wrapping around his hand as she pressed it to her chest.“I’m right here, Ramzi.”
His eyelids fluttered halfway open, his gaze dazed.“Don’t leave me,” he murmured.
Then he was asleep again.
Not unconscious—just sleeping.
Recovering.
