Lucas wouldn’t fuck that up.
Regardless of what his son, or anyone else thought, he adored Alex. When she refused to take that virginity test, it had annoyed him a little. He was always suspicious, especially of women, as they had tried to fuck him over in the past. Alex wasn’t manipulative. He had asked for a private word, and she had said to him that she didn’t feel comfortable having strange men or women between her thighs.
He believed her.
Roman wasn’t a good man. Lucas hadn’t been able to raise a good man. He had to raise his eldest son to take over, to be in charge, to be feared. It was going to take one hell of a woman to deal with him, and he knew Alex and Roman would have a rocky start, but they would find each other, eventually.
Who was trying to fuck up his plans?
****
Roman hadn’t left Alex’s side. Liam rarely left. When his cell phone went off and he needed privacy, he stepped out of the room. Lucas visited often as well.
Alex’s private room had a small bathroom, and that was where he went. The nurses and his friends brought him food, but otherwise, he kept his ass in the chair, only getting up for bathroom breaks.
The first twenty-four hours came and went, but Alex didn’t wake up. The doctor didn’t seem overly concerned.
Roman didn’t like this. He wasn’t a doctor, but people shouldn’t just stay asleep. They should fucking wake up.
Reaching for her hand, he pressed a kiss to her knuckles. At least she felt warm to him. “Alex, babe, you need to wake up.”
He didn’t like where this was going. With every hour that passed, his suspicions about his father grew. “I know you didn’t want to be married to me, and that is okay. It is fine. I don’t care. You can hate me. That’s fine as well. I can deal with everything, but you’ve got to give me a chance. Not waking up, you’re not giving me a chance to show you that I can be different. You’ve got to wake up,” he said. “Even if it is to just prove that I’m not a good enough husband. Alex, please, wake the fuck up.”
She didn’t flutter.
No sign.
No movement.
“She’ll wake up when she’s ready,” Millie said, startling him.
He turned to see the older woman, the cook, stepping into the room. “Millie,” he said.
“You care for her.” Millie frowned. “I didn’t see that one coming.”
“I … I … she…”
Millie stepped toward him. He didn’t let go of Alex, but he stood up.
She placed a hand on his arm. “It’s good to care for people.”
“She doesn’t deserve to die.” That was all he kept thinking and feeling.
She offered him a smile. “I agree. Alex is a tough one.” Millie stepped away from him and moved toward the opposite end of the bed. “She has always had this fire about her. Don’t get me wrong, she is a wonderful child. Always was.” Millie touched her other hand. “She never made waves. Even when Liam annoyed her or wouldn’t let her stay up. Alex doesn’t like to be afraid, and she would try to watch these horror movies. She’d do it to try to prove that she’s not afraid. Of course, she was, and she’d spend so many nights wide awake and afraid. Liam had to ban her.” Millie chuckled. “I remember Alex saying that she stopped watching them because he told her to but not because she was afraid. Always so strong. I hate seeing her like this.”
Roman didn’t know what to say. “I don’t love her.”
“But you care for her.”
“I don’t want to see her get hurt.”
“You don’t know Alex,” Millie said. “And I’m guessing you don’t even know what love is. Maybe what you should do is give yourself time to see what the two are like. To learn to love?”
“I’m … not capable of it,” he said.
“Everyone is capable of love, Roman. Even you. Even Liam. Everyone is capable of love.”
Roman went to say otherwise, but he felt Alex’s hand twitch within his grasp. “Alex?” He stared at her eyes, and then looked down at her hand.