Page 154 of Imogen

“What? How?” I ask, recovering from my shock. “Why?”

He turns to the policemen. “If you get access to her laptop, you will find internet searches for where to stab someone to kill them. He planned to stab himself and pin the blame onto Imogen. You will also find the I.P address he sent the email from matches her laptop. She’s been with me the entire time. She didn’t do this. Zach did. And her security footage will prove it.” He stops, struggling to take a breath. “I tried to stop him from going over the cliff, but I couldn’t. He pulled, taking us both down.”

The policeman finishes writing up his notes and nods, but before he can ask any more, the nurse steps in. “Now it’s time for you to go. He should be resting,” she softly scolds.

“We will leave you to rest. We’ll be back later this afternoon to take an official statement.”

When they leave, I stand. I struggle to keep upright as I reach down, cupping his jaw. “I shouldn’t have left you.”

“Miss Smith, he needs to rest.”

“She’s fine,” he wheezes. “Please, just give us a moment.”

“Five minutes, then she needs to go back to her room.”

“Room?” he questions, then finally takes note of my face. “What happened? Did he do this?”

“I fell down the hill. I couldn’t get help. If it wasn’t for my cousins, you wouldn’t have been found in time. You died, Ben. You died.”

“Love, it’s okay. I’m okay.”

“No,mio figlio, you are not okay. They had to repair your heart. You died, and it’s a sheer miracle you’re alive.”

He turns to me, his eyes watering. “Do not blame yourself for this. It’s what he wanted. I can’t bear the thought of you blaming yourself.”

“All I care about right now is you, and that you’re okay. I love you, Ben. I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” he declares, stealing my breath.

I love you too.

I never thought I’d hear those words from him.

I want to hold him, to kiss him, but I know if I do, I’ll cause him pain. His face is just as busted up as mine.

“Oh, this is beautiful. Just beautiful,” Maria cries. “I’m going to call your brother and sisters.”

When she leaves, I run my fingers through his sandy blonde hair, a sob catching in my throat. “Never ask me to run again. I can’t.I won’t.”

“Never again,” he whispers. “Are you okay?”

“Better than you,” I rasp. “We’re never going hiking again.”

“Deal,” he replies, his voice filled with sleep. “Is Zach here?”

I lower my head. “He didn’t make it. They aren’t sure what killed him yet. It could be the pills he took with the alcohol, the stab wound, or the fall. They don’t know.”

“I’m sorry,” he remarks.

I meet his gaze. “He did it to himself. I’m sad it had to end like this, but I cannot find it in me to mourn who he was. Not after what he’s done to you. What he nearly took from me, from your family.”

“You would have been okay.”

I shake my head, my tears falling onto his hand cupping my cheek. “No, I wouldn’t have. That ten minutes of thinking you were dead were the worst moments of my life. The pain was unbearable. I didn’t want to go on without you.”

He gazes up at me with those green eyes, and I get lost. So lost, I never want to be found. “I love you, Imogen. I’m sorry I didn’t get to say it sooner, but I love you.”

“I love you too,” I rasp, tilting my head into his hand.

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