Chapter 59

ELEANOR

It was hard to breathe, even in sleep. My mind replayed the last thing I remembered before I lost consciousness. His filthy hands were on my skin, trying to do something unspeakable.

I jolted awake with a gasp, heart pounding and drenched in sweat. It had only been a dream, but the fear still clung to me like a second skin.

My eyes opened as wide as saucers, and I looked around the pristine, clean room. I felt something on my face, so I removed it to see that it was an oxygen mask. A beeping started from the machine when I took the mask off.

~Click.~

The room door opened, and the pack doctor, a nurse, and Mrs. Costa rushed inside.

“I’m so sorry, dear. I just went out to get something to eat,” Mrs. Costa began to apologize.

“Eleanor, are you feeling lightheaded?” the doctor asked me while the nurse began checking my vitals.

“No, I just panicked,” I said as I rubbed my temple, and that was when I remembered something.

My hands were on my abdomen while I looked at the doctor in alarm.

“Is my baby okay?” I asked her.

“Your baby is doing just fine, Miss Amato. But I think you might have to take it slow for a couple of weeks because you have a high chance of having a miscarriage,” the doctor advised, and I nodded my head. “I need you on complete bed rest. Don’t lift anything heavy and try not to get stressed. Okay?” she asked me, and I nodded my head. “Okay, I think you can go home, but please make sure you take all the medicine that I give you.”

“Okay, Doctor,” I said, and she wrote something on her chart.

“A nurse will be here shortly with your medication. I’ll meet you next month for your first scan, all right?” she asked me, and I nodded my head.

After the doctor left the room, Mrs. Costa walked toward me and took a seat on the chair that was next to the bed.

“Do you need anything to eat or drink, dear?” she asked me, but I shook my head while my eyes searched for the one person that I desperately wanted to see right now.

“Where’s Xavier, Mrs. Costa?”

“He said that he had some important work. But I just mind-linked him that you were up, and he’s on his way,” she said, and I nodded my head.

Mrs. Costa placed her hand on mine. “I’m so happy that you’re going to give me a grandchild, Eleanor.”

“I’m happy as well, Mrs. Costa. I never expected to get pregnant. But I have already fallen in love with this little jelly bean growing in my womb,” I told her as I lightly caressed my abdomen.

“Eleanor.”

“Hmm.”

“You’re sure you’ll be happy with Xavier, right?” she asked, and I turned to face her. “I mean, the two of you didn’t exactly have the best start. And I don’t want you to stay with him just because of the baby. I don’t want you trapped in a loveless relationship, dear.”

I understood her concern.

“We may have started off on the wrong foot, Mrs. Costa, but Xavier has shown me he’s changed. And I can feel his love through the mate bond,” I said gently.

She gave a soft nod. “As long as you both are happy, that’s all I need.”

Just then, the door opened, and Xavier stepped into the room.

“I’ll let you talk. Also, I want you two to come for dinner at my place. Okay?” she asked me, and I nodded my head.

Once the door closed behind her, I turned to face Xavier again.

“I thought you wouldn’t find me.” That was the first thing that came out of my mouth, and Xavier was next to me in an instant.

He gently wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a hug. I hugged him back while tears started rolling down my cheeks.

“I would have split the earth to find you, sweetheart,” he mumbled while he kept stroking my back. “You have made me realize what love is again, and I know that I don’t want anyone in this life except you. I love you, Eleanor.” My heart nearly came to a stop when I heard his words, and my back stiffened.

As he pulled back, I saw a nervous look on his face. “You don’t have to say the words right now. I know it will take time for…” Before he could finish his sentence, I pulled him toward me and placed my lips on his, igniting the sparks between us.

The kiss was filled with raw emotions, passion, and want, and when we finally pulled apart, we were both out of breath.

“If that kiss didn’t convey to you how much I love you, then I don’t know what would,” I said.

He smiled.

“You are seriously the best gift that I’ve ever been given,” he said.

“Is Rebecca all right?” I asked Xavier after a while, and he nodded his head.

“She just woke up. But the doctor advised that she might have to stay in the hospital for at least a week.”

“Can we go and see her now?” I asked him, and he nodded his head.

Xavier helped me off the bed, and with his support, he led me toward Rebecca’s room. We knocked on the door a few times, and it was soon opened by Mrs. Tanner.

“Ellie, how are you feeling now, dear?”

“Much better, Mrs. Tanner.”

“Please come in,” she said and opened the door wider. Rebecca was sitting when we walked in, and she had a big smile on her face when she saw me.

“I’m so happy nothing happened to you, Ellie,” she exclaimed. But the smile on her face slowly faded. “I am so sorry I couldn’t save you back there,” she mumbled, but I shook my head and took her hand in mine.

“You almost lost your life trying to save me, Becca. And I will always be grateful for that,” I said.

She abruptly pulled me into a hug.