The limo was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. He settled her into the backseat and cradled her body in his lap. Only then did he become aware of the thundering of his heart. The painful pounding in his chest wasn’t caused by carrying her through the palace, but by the sight of her utter stillness and pallor. As the car raced through the palace gates, it finally hit home just how bad this situation was.
“Faster,” he growled to the driver as he hooked his finger around a strand of her blond hair and pulled it away from her lips.
The car’s powerful engine roared as they sped through the city, but the fifteen-minute drive had never felt so long.
Gabriel brushed his lips across Olivia’s forehead and silently pleaded with her to hang on and fight. Like you fought for her? Gabriel tried to tune out the mocking inner voice, but guilt sliced at him.
At the hospital’s emergency entrance, five people in scrubs crowded the car as soon as it stopped. Stewart must have called ahead and warned them he was coming. They got Olivia situated on a stretcher and took her away before he had a chance to say a word. He rushed toward the glass doors in their wake, catching bits of medical jargon as they sped the unconscious woman inside.
He’d expected to be allowed into the treatment room with her, but a nurse blocked his way.
“Let the doctors work,” she said, her voice kind but firm.
He might have ten inches and eighty pounds on her, but Gabriel sensed that the nurse could stop him if he tried to go past.
“How soon will I know something?”
“I’ll make sure someone keeps you informed.”
“She’s lost a lot of blood,” he said.
“We know.”
She herded him into a private waiting room and offered coffee. Gabriel stared at her, unable to comprehend why this woman was behaving in such a mundane manner while Olivia was down the hall struggling for her life.
“No,” he snapped, and then moderated his tone. “Thank you. All I need is information.”
She nodded and headed off.
Left alone, Gabriel dropped his head into his hands and surrendered to despair. She couldn’t die. She couldn’t leave him. He wasn’t sure how to step into the future, to become king without her by his side. They would figure a way around her infertility. He recalled his mother’s words. She, too, had struggled to produce the heir her husband so desperately needed. When natural methods had failed, she’d gotten help from specialists. And now, she had four children to show for it.
He and Olivia would find specialists, as well. They would have children together.
“Gabriel?”
A hand touched his shoulder. He lifted his head and stared up into his sister’s face. She touched his cheek and her fingertips came away with a trace of moisture.
“Is she?” Ariana gasped, seeing his expression.
He shook his head, guessing what conclusion she’d leaped to. “They’re working on her now.”
“Any word how she’s doing?”
“No. The nurse said they’d keep me informed, but she hasn’t been back.” He glanced at his watch. “That was thirty minutes ago.”
What had been happening while he’d been lost in thought? Anxiety flared that he’d had no news. How bad had things gone since she’d been taken away from him?
“She’s going to be all right, Gabriel,” Ariana said, moving toward him.
Standing, Gabriel wrapped his arms around his sister. She pushed her body against his to offer comfort.
“Your Majesties. Prince Gabriel. Princess Ariana.” A solemn man of average height in pale green scrubs stood five feet away from the royal pair. “I’m Dr. Warner.”
Gabriel felt Ariana’s tight embrace squeeze his ribs even harder and appreciated her support. “How’s Olivia?”
“I won’t sugarcoat it. Not good. She’s lost a lot of blood.” The doctor looked even grimmer as he delivered the next bit of news. “She’s still hemorrhaging. We’ve sent her up to the OR.”
A primal cry of denial gathered in Gabriel’s chest. “What aren’t you telling us?” he demanded.
“The only way to save her may be a hysterectomy. Naturally we will do everything possible to avoid such a drastic procedure.”
“Do whatever it takes to save her life.” Gabriel pinned the doctor with his gaze, making sure the man understood. “Whatever it takes.”
Ten
The first time Olivia opened her eyes, she was aware of nothing but pain. It stabbed at her like slivers of broken glass. Then, something changed. The hurt eased and she fell backward into darkness.
The next time she surfaced, she kept herself awake longer. But not by much. Voices reached her ears, but the speakers were too far away for her to catch individual words. And the pain was back. All she wanted to do was escape into numbness.
They said the third time’s the charm. Olivia wasn’t sure she agreed when next she regained consciousness. Her body ached. No. Not her body, her abdomen.
Breathless with fear, she stared around the hospital room. It was empty. She was alone.
She felt hollow. Like a balloon filled with air.
The last thing she recalled was fighting with Gabriel. Where was he? Did he know she was in the hospital? Did he even care? Her heart contracted.
“Good to see you awake,” a nurse said as she entered the room. “How’s your pain?”
“Manageable.” Her mouth felt stuffed with cotton. “May I have some water?”
The nurse brought a cup close and placed the straw between Olivia’s lips. She sipped gratefully, then sagged back against the pillow, exhausted by the simple movement.
“I feel so weak.”
“You’ve been through a lot.”
“What happened to me?”
“The doctor will be along in a little while to talk to you.”
Without energy to argue, Olivia closed her eyes and let her mind drift. The silence pressed on her, heightening her tension. She fought to clear her head, sought her last memory. Her period had been heavier than ever before. And the cramping... She’d been afraid, depressed. Gingerly she sent her fingertips questing for the source of her discomfort. Pain shot through her as she pressed on her lower abdomen.
Just then, the door opened again and a handsome older man in scrubs came in. “Good afternoon. I’m Dr. Warner.”
“I wish I could say it’s nice to meet you.”
“I understand. You’ve been through a tough time.”
“What happened to me?” Her mind sharpened as anxiety filled her.
“You were hemorrhaging, and we had a difficult time stopping your blood loss.” He plucked her chart out of a pocket attached to the foot of the bed and scrutinized it. “How’s your pain?”
“About a six.” She waited while he jotted something down on her chart before asking, “How did you stop the hemorrhaging?”
“Surgery.” He met her gaze. “It was an extensive procedure.”
He hadn’t said anything specific, but his expression told her just how extensive the surgery had been.
“I’m never going to have children, am I?”
“I’m sorry. The only way we could stop the bleeding was to remove your uterus.”
Olivia shut her eyes to escape the sympathy in the man’s face. Denial exploded in her head. She clutched the bed rails, desperate for something to ground her as the world tipped sideways. A wail began in her chest. She clenched her teeth to contain it as a lifetime of discipline and order asserted itself. She would grieve later. In private.
“I know that this will be a difficult adjustment. You are very young to have undergone such a drastic change.”
“Who knows?” she whispered.
He looked taken aback. “Your father. The royal family.”
“The media?”
“Of course not.” Dr. Warner looked appalled.
“Is my father here?”
“He’s in the waiting room with Prince Gabriel. I spoke with him an hour ago.”
“Could I see him, please? No one else, just my father.”
“I’ll have the nurse fetch him for you.”
But the man who showed up next wasn’t a sixty-year-old British earl with gray hair and a neat beard, but a tall, hollow-eyed man with a dark shadow blurring his knife-sharp jawline. Olivia’s heartbeat accelerated as Gabriel advanced into the room, his clothes rumpled, his face a mask. He reached out to cover her hand with his, but she moved it away just in time.
“I’m sorry,” she said, unable to lift her gaze higher than the open collar of his white shirt. “I should have told you about my medical issues. I just thought that everything was going to be okay.”
“You gave us a scare.” He pulled a chair beside her bed and lowered himself into it. This put him at eye level with her and made avoiding his fierce golden gaze that much harder. “When I found you on the floor of the bathroom unconscious.” His tone made it hard for Olivia to breathe. “I thought...” He shook his head.