<b>Chapter </b><b>69 </b>
Alejandro pushed open the hospital doors with the kind of urgency that made nurses dep aside without question
The sterile scent of antiseptic hit him immediately, but he barely registered it.
His mind was fixed on one thing–Zabelle. Or more specifically, the news that the had been that
His shoes clicked against the cold, polished tiles of the hospital corridor with a rhythm that matched the pounding in his chest.
He didn’t ask for directions–he didn’t need to. His aunt had already given him the room number, and his mind had it etched like a brand
Every step he took felt like walking deeper into a tunnel of dread, as no one had called to update him on anything
Whether Zabette was okay? Whether Antonia was hurt? He didn’t know, and it was suffocating
Nivera walked beside him but didn’t speak. She didn’t have to. She sensed the shift in his mood the moment he got off the phone, and she didn’t speak again after he told her what happened
When they reached the ICU wing, Alejandro <b>paused </b>in front of a set of double doors.
“I’ll wait out here.“Nivera murmured, nodding toward the row of cold steel chairs lining the corridor.
Alejandro turned to look at her. Her arms were folded tightly over her chest, and her eyes were tired but alert.
There was a gu
<b>was </b>a guard that had followed them, so he was rest assured she was <b>going </b>to be fine.
The fact that she decided toe up instead of allowing the driver to take her home warmed his heart much more than she could ever imagine.
He gave a curt nod, then turned toward the room Alicia had told him about.
He didn’t knock. He never knocked.
The door opened quietly, and he stepped in.
The quiet hum of machines greeted him first. Then came the soft, mechanical beeping of a heart monitor.
Zabelley still on the hospital bed, pale and unmoving, the only son of life the steady rise and fall of her chest.
Tubes ran across her body like invasive vines<b>, </b>and her hair was matted around her face. It didn’t look like her.
Seated <b>beside </b>her was Antonio. But the man sitting there was barely recognizable.
Alejandro took one look at his brother and felt the punch of what had happened. Antonio looked like hell. The dark bags under his eyes said he hadn’t slept in <b>days</b>.
Antonio’s eyes were fixed on Zabelle, his posture slumped with exhaustion and a weight Alejandro had never seen on his brother before
His clothes were wrinkled and still stained with blood, one he assumed to be Zabelle’s
He wondered if Antonio had even heard hime in, as he didn’t look up. He just <b>continued </b>to stare at Zabelle, still and silent.
Alejandro moved closer, his steps <b>silent</b>.
“Antonio, why didn’t you call me?” He asked<b>, </b>lowering himself into the seat beside his brother.
He had found out about what happened to Zabelle from Alicia, and it baffled him.
This wasn’t something you heard secondhand. Not when they ween brothers, hot when it involved someone who mattered.
Antonio didn’t look at him. It was as if he was afraid if he took his eyes off his wife, something bad would happen to her.
“I didn’t want to disturb you, seeing as you already have a lot on your te with her.”
Alejandro didn’t need to ask who “her” was. They both knew. It was Nivern.
“Oh Alejandro muttered.
There was a long silence, filled only by the rhythmic beeping of machines and the muffled bustle <b>of </b>hospital staff in the hallway
“Aunt said the bullet was meant for you and that she took it,” Alejandro added as he looked at the woman on the bed
“Yes, that’s true.”
Alejandro s
studied Zabelle’s face, Pale, lips chapped, a binise blooming across her shoulder from where the doctors had cleaned the wound.
She didn’t look like the firecracker he remembered from weeks ago. And yet, the vulnerability only emphasized the strength that had always been buried
beneath.
He owed Zabelle his life for taking that bullet <b>for </b>Antonio, as it would have killed him if Antonio lost his life, but the result was that she was now the one fighting for her fe
“Would you take a bullet for someone who you see as an enemy?” Antonio asked out of the blue.
Alejandro didn’t answer right away. His throat tightened, but when the words came, they were honest.
“No, I wouldn’t”
He had asked himself the same question since hearing what Zabelle did, and immediately came to a conclusion
If it was any other woman, they would have never taken a bullet for <b>a </b>man who forced her to get married to him, not even out of love, but because he wanted to make her lide a living hell
There was silence for a moment, a <b>heavy</b>, suffocating <b>silence</b>.
“She isn’t as bad as we thought.” Alejandro finally broke the silence, his eyes still on her. Then his lips curved faintly. “She’s badder.”
The words tasted strange. Admiring Surprised. Deep down, Alejandro had always thought there <b>was </b>something different about her. But this? Taking a
bullet?
She had proven herself <b>in </b>a way that made even him ufortable.
“Have you found out who is responsible for what happened to her! Alejandro then asked
“No, Martin is already on it, though, Antonio responded<b>, </b>and Alejandro nodded, his jaw tightening just as the former continued.
“What are the odds that it’s her family or Jeremy responsible <b>for </b>what happened? After all, I <b>was </b>the target and not her.”
Alejandro considered it. He didn’t need long
-The odds are very high”
The words dropped like lead in the quiet rooms
Zabelle’s family hated her <b>and </b>hated the fact that she got married to a powerful man like Antonio, <b>and</b>, well, her ex boyfriend Jeremy had his ego bruised that she didn’te back begging after he dumped her for her sister,
Antonio’s expression didn’t shift much, but Alejandro <b>saw </b>it. The slight twitch in his jaw, the crack formed in the mask of calm
This wasn’t the version of his brother he was used to. Antonio had always beenposed. Cold, even Calcted.
But the man sitting beside him now looked like he was harely hanging on.
He hadn’t moved his eyes from Zabelle for a second. Not once.
He didn’t me him. If this had been Nivera-
The thought seized him.
If it had been Nivera on that hospital bed, unconscious, pole, and unmoving–would he be able to sit still? Breathe?
Would he care who was watching? Who judged him?
He’d kill the entire world to keep her safe. He knew that
t now
And that terrified him <b>because </b>she wasn’t his wife, but it didn’t matter.
She was his
And the thought of someone hurting her of her bleeding out, unconscious, like Zabelle was now–was enough to drive him into madness
He tried to shake the image, but it clung to him, Her blood. Her motionless body. And him, helpless.
Achill went through him, quiet and vicious.
No. He couldn’t handle that.
He looked at Antonio again. Watched the way he never took his eyes off Zabelle. There was nothing about this man that looked like a crimelord.
Nothing that screamed danger. He was just a <b>man</b>, broken in <b>a </b>way Alejandro didn’t think was possible.
And now? Now Alejandro understood why.
“When did the doctor say she would regain consciousness?” Alejandro probed.
“A few <b>days </b>if her body allows her.”
“We’ll just have to wait then. She’s strong sho’ll recover, Alejandro said quietly
Then he added, with a slight edge in his tone, “And when she does, I hope you treat her better”
Antonio said nothing, but Alejandro didn’t expect a response. That wasn’t the point
He stood slowly, letting the silence stretch a moment longer. His eyes fell on Zabelle <b>again</b>, then flicked to Antonio.
He didn’t say goodbye, as there <b>was </b>no point in doing so. He just walked out, the door clicking softly behind him.
The hallway was dimmer now, as it was way past midnight. Nurses walked past quietly, and the ticking of a nearby clock seamed louder than necessary
Nivera was seated near the end of the corridor. Her arms were tucked close, <b>and </b>she was rubbing the fabric of her dress like <b>she </b>was trying to soothe herself, or was she cold?
Her lips were slightly parted, her brows <b>drawn </b>tight. But she looked up the moment she sensed his approach.
Alejandro stopped a foot from her, and without a word, he took off his jacket and held it out to her.
“You’re cold,” he stated <b>as </b>he came to a conclusion.
She blinked at him with those distrusting eyes of hers, hesitating to take the jacket.
“Take it,” he repeated, and this time, she did.
As she slid into it, his scent enveloped her, rich and warm. He was right, she had been <b>cold</b>. The fact that he noticed that tiny detail was surprising,
“It’s time to go home,” he added as he stretched his hands towards her.
Nivera rose <b>slowly</b>, the jacket now hanging from her shoulders as she <b>took </b>his hand.
A shudder escaped from her when he sped it tightly<b>, </b>as though he was afraid she’d run away.
Weren’t they past their <b>stage</b>? He knew very well she wasn’t going to run away, so it had to be another thing
Neither of them said anything else as they walked out of the hospital.
But inside Alejandro, something dangerous was stirring. Because now he knew. He knew exactly how Antonio fell
And if anyone everid a finger on Nivers, they wouldn’t just take a bullet
He’d make sure they’d burn!