Chapter Five
Darian was either pacing or sitting in a chair with his head in his hands in the waiting room. The fact they wouldn’t let him see her was driving him mad. He’d pulled every string he could, but the hospital wouldn’t budge because it wasn’t in the best interest of the patient.
Fuck, he was the best thing for her. He’d move heaven and earth to make her happy. Damn. He’d done none of that lately. He’d seen how unhappy she was and hadn’t done anything about it because he was afraid she would bring up marriage again after seeing Aleena’s ring.
What did he tell her? He was terrified something would happen to take her away from him. He had no idea why he thought being married to her would be worse than it already was. The fear had started a few months after she moved in with him and had just grown stronger over the years. Logically, losing her either way would be devastating for him. But his heart didn’t seem to understand that at all.
Jesus, he rubbed his hands down his face, wiping the tears away. He might have already lost her. No! He couldn’t think that way. He would die if she didn’t love him anymore.
The door to the waiting room opened, and Brylee came through. Darian shot up out of his chair and rushed to her.
“Did she talk to you?” he asked her. He could tell she’d been crying.
Gage came over and wrapped an arm around her waist. Brylee turned, tucked her head against his chest, and started crying.
“Baby, can you tell him anything? He’s going crazy.”
Brylee turned to look at him, and he cringed at the despair on her face. “They have her on suicide watch.”
Darian cried out and started to collapse. Gage helped him sit in the nearest chair. He covered his face and sobbed as he’d never cried before. He’d hurt that precious woman so much she hadn’t wanted to live.
God. How did they come back from this?
“She doesn’t,” Brylee said.
Gage handed him some tissues to wipe his face.
“She doesn’t what?” Darian asked when he could talk.
“Want to die.”
Darian exhaled. “Thank God for that.”
“But she doesn’t know how to move on. I told her she could stay with us, and I’d help her figure out where she wanted to go.”
Darian’s shocked gaze sprang to her, and he shook his head. “No, she’ll be home with me.”
“I’m sorry to say that it’s no longer her home, and you’re no longer her safe haven.”
Gage pulled her down into his lap. “Baby, I know you’re angry, but isn’t he hurting enough?”
“I don’t know. She was hurting enough that she begged them to let her die. Do you hurt that much?”
Darian pressed his fingers into his eyes before he looked up at her. “I can easily say that if I lose her, I might as well die because I’m a shell without her.”
“Are you married?” Brylee asked.
His head snapped back as if she hit him. “No. Fuck no. I was married for six months when I was twenty. Don’t ask me why. I never loved her. We got it annulled, so technically, I saw it as we were never married. I hadn’t seen her since, and it’s been sixteen years. I can honestly say if I never see her again, it’s too soon.”
“Larkin said you’ve been avoiding her.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Baby, this might not be any of our business,” Gage said.
“It is to me when I see my heart sister lying in a bed looking beyond devastated.”