Page 112 of The Accidental Wife

“Then let me bleed out, Cole.” I exhale tiredly, and he looks at me with a scowl on his handsome face. Cole takes a step toward me, cups my face in his hands, and lifts my gaze to his again.

“Hey, look at me, don’t you talk like that.” He scolds me, looking into my eyes. “You think I’ll live if anything ever happens to you. I won’t, you hear me?” He tells me earnestly, and I blink back the tears that gather in my eyes again. “I’m taking you to the hospital.” I didn’t have the energy to argue with him, so I nod. I think I lost quite a bit of blood because I was feeling legless. My knees shook, and before I could hold onto something, I collapse into Cole's arms. “Shayla?” The last thing I hear was Cole shouting my name and the feeling of being lifted off the ground before everything fades to black.

* * *

I don’t knowhow long I was out for, but it felt so good. There was no pain; there was no sound; there was stillness; there was peace and… Cole. I was with Cole in Dubai. I didn’t want to wake up. Why couldn’t they leave me here? I wanted to stay where I was forever. “Miss Hart?”

My eyes felt so heavy. My entire body felt weighty, like I was buried under bags and bags of sand. I peel my eyes open and wince at the sheer brightness of the room. I peer up at a man standing over me, smiling in scrubs— a doctor. “There she is. How are you feeling, Shayla?”

I blink up at him and shake my head. “Tired.” I breathe, and he nods, smiling. “What happened? Where am I?” I ask disoriented, and see Cole sitting beside me, looking all kinds of worried.

“You’re at the hospital. You severed a vein when you cut your hand and lost quite a bit of blood, which caused you to go into hypovolemic shock. Luckily, Tristan brought you in just in time so we could stitch you up before you lost much more.” I look over at Cole, who takes my hand into his and kisses my knuckles. “You’re also very malnourished, Shayla, which tells me you’ve not been taking very good care of yourself. Your iron levels are remarkably low, which is why you’ve been feeling fatigued. We’ve got you on a drip to replenish your vitamin B and iron levels. We’re also giving you some blood, so you should be feeling better real soon.” He explains, checking the drips hanging over my bed. “We’ll keep you in tonight for observation, and we’ll see how you’re feeling tomorrow. Okay?” I nod, and he smiles. “I’ll be over later to check on you.” He says and walks out of the room, leaving Cole and me alone.

“Are you okay?” Cole asks worried, and I nod, looking at him. “You scared the life out of me when you collapsed like that.” He sighs, pressing my wrist to his lips, his eyes closing. “I thought something happened to you.”

“I’m fine. I’m sorry for scaring you,” I whisper, and Cole opens his eyes, looking at me.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Shayla. I’m the one that’s sorry. This is all my fault. All of it.” He states desolately, looking down at my hand, playing with my fingers, “Look at what I’ve done to you, and like the selfish prick that I am, I’m still trying to hold on.” I close my eyes and shake my head. “Aimee’s right. I’m no good for you.”

“Cole, we’re both to blame for all of this. Yes, you keep hurting me, but I keep letting you by constantly coming back into your life. I should have stayed away and never agreed to come back. I should never have put myself in this position and told you how I felt— but I can’t seem to get my heart to listen to reason when it comes to you.” I explain, and Cole nods sadly, his thumb gently brushing over my pulse point while he looks at me brokenly, which hurts me more than I can ever put into words. “It’s just not meant to be.”

“How much ever it may hurt me, I don’t and will never regret falling in love with you. I want you to know that I’m going to bury my love for you deep in my heart and love you forever, Shayla.” He admits leaning over and stroking my hair.

I whimper and nod, “Me too. I’m going to love you forever too, Cole.” I sniffle with a sad smile. “You’re going to be an incredible Dad.”

He closes his eyes and shakes his head. “No, I’m not. I’m going to fuck it up like I have everything else. I’m so fucking terrified, Shay.”

I lift my hand and stroke his jaw, “It’s okay to be scared, but you’ve got this.” I assure him, and he presses his lips to my forehead.

“How do you still have so much faith in me after everything I’ve done?” He questions, pulling back and looking into my eyes with such devotion it stole my breath.

“Because I love you, you stupid boy,” I whisper, and he smiles a little, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.

“And I love you, you silly girl.” He whispers back and leans in, kissing me softly on the lips. I sigh when he pulls back, and his eyes search mine for a moment.

“You should go,” I tell him, and he shakes his head quickly.

“No, I’m not leaving. I’m staying with you.” He declares, retaking his seat, and I try to sit up ready to argue with him, but I forget about the cut on my hand and cry out when I press down on it hard, and a jolt of pain shoots up my arm. Cole jumps up and takes my bandaged hand into his and looks at me worriedly, then down at my hand when he sees blood seeping through the bandage.

“Shit. Hey! Someone get a doctor in here!” He shouts, and a nurse comes running into the room. “She’s bleeding,” Cole tells her, and she takes my hand starts to cut open the bandage to get a better look. The moment the bandage opens blood streams down my arm and all over the bed.

“You’ve torn your stitches.” She says and pushes a red button wrapping my hand in a clean cloth and pressing down hard to stop the bleeding. I whimper and bury my face into Cole's neck, hissing.

“Hey, take it easy. You’re hurting her!” He scolds her angrily as the doctor comes rushing in.

“What happened?” He asks, taking my hand into his and unwrapping the cloth to take a better look at it.

“She’s torn her stitches.” The nurse informs him, and he nods.

“All right, get me the cart. We’ll have to restitch it again.” The doctor tells the nurse, and she nods and walks out. “Am I going to have to tie you down to keep you still, young lady?” I shake my head with a muffled ‘no’ from where my face is buried in Cole's chest. He brushes his fingers through my hair soothingly as the doctor prepares to restitch my hand. “Shayla, this is going to hurt a little, but I’ll be as quick as I can. You’re bleeding too much for me to numb it. You’re going to have to bear with the pain for a little bit, sweetheart.” The doctor says, and I nod. “Might help if your boyfriend distracts you.” He adds, and I look at Cole as the doctor wipes my hand with that foul anti-bacterial liquid that burnt so much it brought tears.

“Ow, ow, it hurts.” I whimper, trying to pull my hand back, but the doctor gives me a firm look, and I sink back into Cole’s arms. I close my eyes as the needle inches closer to my skin.

“Shayla, your hand is shaking. I can’t stitch you up properly if you’re moving, sweetheart.” The doctor tells me, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose and giving Cole a pointed look, who nods and turns my head so he could look into my eyes. His thumb stroking along my jaw before he brushes his lips over mine, slowly parting my lips so he could deepen the kiss. I moan when I feel his velvet tongue caressing my own. I suck his tongue, eliciting a throaty moan from Cole, who curls his fingers at the nape of my neck, drawing my mouth closer to his so he could deepen the kiss more.

Everything dissolves around us while we kiss. “All right, we’re all done.” The doctor announces and looks at us kissing, wholly lost in one another. “I said we’re done.” He tries again and chuckles, shaking his head when neither of us acknowledges him, and we continue to kiss. The nurse sighs, watching us, and the doctor gestures with his head to leave the room.

“I wish someone would kiss me like that.” She mumbles, glancing back one more time before she closes the door behind her. Cole and I were too engrossed in one another to notice they were gone. It wasn’t until our lungs ran out of oxygen that we pull apart, panting. I moan when Cole sucks my bottom lip and nibbles on it gently. We open our eyes and look at one another. “Wow.” I utter, and he licks his lips, those stunning green eyes studying my face. “I forgot how good you kiss,” I whisper, and Cole stares at me for a drawn-out minute before he drops a kiss on my jaw.

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