Chapter 196
Chapter 197
VENUS
Hospitals had their own kind of silence.
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Not the soft, peaceful kind. No, this one was heavier, a silence that pressed in from every corner, humming with machines and antiseptic, whispering of lives that dangled on fragile threads.
I hated it.
Every night, after everyone else was gone, I sat in that silence with Aaron. The twins curled against me, their tiny bodies warm, their breathing uneven but steady. One on each arm, their heads nestled close to my heart, like if they listened hard enough they’d hear the missing beat of their father’s echo inside me.
I whispered to him like always.
Told him about the twins, about how Sabine had gotten into a fight with Rosemary over which stuffed animal belonged to who, about how Connor was suddenly obsessed with baby-proofing every corner of the house, about how Colton visited and stood silently for hours, pretending not to care while his eyes betrayed him.
But tonight was different.
Tonight, the words tumbled out broken, raw, sharper than I’d meant them to be.
“I don’t know how to do this without you,” I confessed, my voice low and hoarse. My throat ached, but the dam had cracked and everything came spilling out. “I thought I could. God knows I’ve been trying. I wake up, I feed them, I hold them, I smile when I have to… but it’s all p>
The tears came, sudden and hot, blurring my vision until Aaron’s still face wavered in front of me.
“It’s all empty without you p>
I bent my head, pressing my lips against our son’s hair, tasting salt and baby shampoo all at once. My arms. tightened around them both, as though I could anchor myself by holding on to what was left of him.
“They deserve both of us, Aaron. They deserve your voice, your arms, your impossible stubbornness. They deserve you teaching our son to fight too much like you, and you glaring at our daughter’s first boyfriend. They deserve…. more. More than me, half a person, trying to carry this alone p>
My chest heaved, my shoulders shaking as I whispered it into the silence.
“I can’t lose you. I won’t. So if you hear me-if there’s even the smallest part of you that’s still fighting-don’t stop. Don’t you dare stop, Aaron Sinclair p>
For a moment, it was like every other night: me begging into the void, the machines answering in beeps and steady lines, his body still and unreachable.
Then
20:51 Wed, Jan 14 d.
Chapter 197
His fingers twitched.
I froze.
At first I thought I imagined it. Just a cruel trick of my desperation. But then, again. A slight shift. The faintest curl. My heart shot into my throat, pounding so hard I thought it might burst.
“Aaron?” My voice cracked around his name, trembling, disbelieving. “Aaron, baby, can you hear me p>
The twins stirred in my arms, startled by the sudden tremor in my voice, but I couldn’t soothe them. My eyes were locked on his hand, my soul suspended on the fragile miracle unfolding in front of me.
Then his eyelids fluttered.
A jagged breath left me, half a sob, half a prayer.
And when his lips parted, the faintest rasp escaped-hoarse, broken, but his.
“Don’t…Venus p>
The world shattered.
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The twins squirmed as I choked on a sob, clutching them close with one arm while my free hand shot for the call button, slamming it hard enough that the plastic cracked beneath my palm.
“Doctor! Someone-please, he’s awake! Aaron’s awake p>
Chaos erupted almost instantly. Nurses spilled into the room, their voices sharp with commands, footsteps thundering as they wheeled in equipment.
“Ma’am, you’ll need to step outside p>
“I’m not leaving him!” I snapped, but they were already guiding me gently, firmly toward the door. I clutched the twins against me, resisting until I caught sight of Aaron’s lips twitching again, his face tightening as though even the faintest sound cost him everything p>
“Stay,” he rasped, eyes fluttering toward me.
That one word unraveled me.
But the nurses were insistent, pulling me back, promising it was only for a moment, that they needed space to check him. I stumbled into the hallway, my body trembling so hard the twins whimpered, sensing my distress.
I pressed my forehead against the cool wall, tears streaming unchecked. My babies clung to me, confused but silent, as if they knew this was a moment that needed all the strength we had left.
With shaking hands, I fumbled for my phone and dialed Rosemary.
She answered on the second ring, groggy but alert. “Venus? What is it p>
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Chapter 197
“He’s awake.” The words came out as a gasp, almost a scream, my voice breaking apart around them. “Rosemary, he’s awake. Aaron-he-he spoke p>
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There was silence, and then a sound I would never forget: a sob, raw and unrestrained, torn from the depths of a mother’s soul.
“I’m coming,” she whispered fiercely. “I’ll be there in minutes p>
And she was.
When Rosemary burst into the hospital, she looked both ten years older and impossibly young, stripped of every mask she’d ever worn. Her hair was loose, her face pale, her eyes swollen with tears she hadn’t let fall until now.
She didn’t ask. She didn’t speak. She just found me in the hallway, still shaking with the twins in my arms, and pulled me into a fierce embrace. The babies squawked between us, but she didn’t care, and neither did I.
“He’s strong,” I whispered into her shoulder, my voice trembling but certain. “He’s still fighting p>
When the doctor finally emerged, his expression was grave but not hopeless.
“He’s responsive,” he said. “Weak, disoriented, but responsive. We’ll need to monitor him closely, run tests, make sure there are no complications. But… he’s awake p>
Rosemary crumpled, her hands flying to her mouth as she wept openly. I gripped the twins tighter, my own tears spilling unchecked, this time from something I hadn’t felt in weeks.
Hope.
Pure and undeniable.
The nurse gestured for us to follow, and we did back into the room.
Rosemary took my baby girl.
I didn’t name them yet.
I couldn’t do that without him.
Aaron lay there, paler than I’d ever seen him, his body frail against the mountain of machines, But his eyes— his eyes were open.
Bleary, heavy-lidded, but open.
When they landed on me, something in my chest cracked so violently I thought I might collapse.
“Venus,” he rasped again, so faint I almost missed it.
I was at his side in an instant, lowering myself carefully with my son still in my arms. One of them let out a soft cry, and his gaze shifted weakly toward the sound.
20:52 Wed, Jan 14 p>
Chapter 197
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“Our babies,” I whispered, pressing my forehead against his temple. “They’re here, Aaron. They’re safe. They’ve been waiting for you p>
Rosemary moved to the other side of the bed, her hands hovering over her son’s face like she was afraid he’d vanish if she touched him too soon. Tears streamed freely down her checks.
“My boy,” she whispered, her voice broken but radiant. “My brave boy p>
Aaron’s eyelids fluttered, his gaze unfocused, but when he rasped again, the sound cracked me wide open.
“Don’t cry p>
This time it wasn’t just for me. It was for her too. His mother. His children. His family.
And for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, the silence of the hospital didn’t feel like a grave.
It felt like the first breath of morning.
AD
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Ruby Walker
Ruby Walker is a rising voice in the world of romance and spicy fiction. With a gift for weaving deep emotions, sizzling chemistry, and unexpected twists, her stories are a blend of passion and drama that captivate readers from start to finish. Ruby’s writing style is bold and irresistible—perfect for those who crave intense, addictive love stories.