Chapter 179

We arrived at the hospital safely and hurried inside. Taking the elevator to the fourth floor, I held Victor’s hand again as he rushed into Lana’s room.

She was still alive, but she was still unconscious, and her vital signs were dropping.

“They think she is bleeding somewhere inside her abdomen,” Harry said. “They want to operate to stop it.”

Harry collapsed into Victor’s arms. “I don’t know what to do, Victor. Help me decide what is best for my darling Lana.”

“I want to speak to the doctor,” Victor said as he held his father in his arms.

“I’ll get him,” I said and hurried into the hallway and to the nurse's station.

“Lana Klein’s son wishes to speak to her doctor right away,” I told a young nurse.

“I’ll page him immediately and send him to her room,” she offered.

The doctor responded quickly and entered Lana’s room shortly after I returned.

Victor spoke to him as he sat beside his father and Lana’s bed. “Doctor, I’m Victor Klein. What’s happening with my mother?”

“She is bleeding internally, and if we don’t stop it soon, she isn’t going to make it,” he explained.

“What are her chances?” Victor asked. He was being so brave that my heart ached for him.

“With surgery, I’d say she has a fifty percent chance of survival due to her head injury and shock from blood loss.”

Victor’s eyes were moist, but his voice was firm. “And without surgery?”

“She will die tonight,” the doctor stated. “Her blood pressure and heart rate are dropping even with the blood transfusions she is being given.”

The doctor must see people make these decisions regularly. He was used to delivering bad news. But the nurse told me he was one of the best surgeons at the hospital.

“Then there is no choice but to operate,” Victor decided.

I saw the pain in his eyes, but he stayed calm and put a hand on Harry’s. “If we don’t let him operate, Mom will die. The operation will give her a chance to live.”

“Very well.” Harry wiped his eyes. “I will sign the consent forms.”

The doctor left the room to get everything ready for Lana’s operation.

Within minutes, Harry and Victor were saying their goodbyes to their wife and mother before she was taken away to an operating room on another floor.

I accompanied Victor and his father to a waiting room on the sixth floor, down the hall from the operating rooms.

Neither of the Alpha men could sit still. They paced the room while an old movie played on a television mounted on the wall.

The hard plastic chair under my butt made me squirm, but I would endure whatever I had to for Victor.

The minutes dragged by as we waited for news about Lana.

After two hours had passed, Lana’s doctor entered the room dressed in scrubs.

“We found a tear in her spleen,” he said. “We removed it, and Mrs. Klein has stabilized. She has a chance now. We must wait to see if she regains consciousness.”

“Is she going to be okay, doctor?” Harry asked. He seemed dazed.

“Her chances are better now,” the doctor said. “But we don’t know right now. Let’s hope she wakes up soon.”

“I want to stay with her,” Harry insisted. “I must be with her when she wakes up.”

“I’ll have someone put a cot in her room for you. But she’ll be in recovery for an hour or two,” he told Harry. He looked at Victor and me. “And there is a comfortable couch for the two of you in the fourth-floor lounge.”

We waited with Harry until they brought Lana back to her hospital room in the ICU. Then we went to the lounge just a few doors down the hall.

I held Victor’s hand as we sat together, trying to pretend to be watching a movie on another television.

“There’s a blanket on the chair,” Victor said. “We should get comfortable. It’s going to be a long night.”

We lay down together on the couch, and he pulled the blanket over us. I enjoyed the feel of his hard body against mine as I lay my head on his chest.

“Thank you for being there for me today, Daisy,” Victor whispered and then kissed the top of my head.

“You're welcome,” I murmured. It had been an emotional day for everyone. But Victor’s gratitude and affection was nice.

I fell asleep listening to his heartbeat.

The next thing I heard was Harry’s voice. “Are you two going to sleep all day?” he asked.

Victor and I sat up.

“Is Mom okay?” Victor asked.

“She woke up an hour ago,” Harry replied with a smile. “She’s asking for you.”

Victor sprang from the couch. There was a massive grin on his face. He put out a hand to me, and together, we went to see Lana.

She still had tubes and wires everywhere, but her eyes were open.

“Mom, it’s good to see you awake,” Victor said.

“I’m fine,” she insisted. “I was getting some beauty sleep.”

“You were already gorgeous, my love,” Harry told her.

“Remember how much you love me when I get out of here and want to replace my car,” she said. It was good to see her spirit wasn’t broken.

“You can have any car you wish,” Harry vowed. “You’re worth it.”

“I adore you, Harry,” Lana said.

Victor watched more evidence of his parent’s love with a strange look on his face.

“Why did I never notice that you two are in love?” Victor looked ashamed as soon as the words left his lips.

But Lana and Harry laughed.

“You never did pay attention to anything other than making money and chasing pretty girls,” Harry replied.

“Now, Harry,” Lana gently scolded. “Victor, we always tried to show you how much we love you, but parts of our relationship are just for us.”

“But you aren’t Fated Mates, and you always said you married to join your families and fortunes,” Victor said. “Now I’m finding out you’re in love.”

“Yes, we married someone both of our families thought was a good match,” Harry admitted. “And I wanted land that your mother inherited. But things changed between us over time.”

“Victor, love grows between two people who choose to be mates,” Lana explained. “Our feelings for each other evolved over the years. Yes, I love your father very much.”

“I love you too, my darling,” Harry said. “And when something happens like this accident, you feel that love even more.”

Victor wrapped his arms around them both. “I’m glad you are happier than I thought.”

“Thank you for your blessing, son,” Harry teased.

“I think you should take Daisy home.” Lana gingerly held out her arms to me. “She’s probably tired and hungry.”

“I did my best to hug her without causing her pain.

Victor embraced her, too, before we left the hospital.

It was a relief to walk out of the hospital in the brilliant morning sunshine. The fear and uncertainty of last night was over, and relief flooded our hearts.

Victor drove me to the mansion, where I told Alex and Benson that Lana had surgery and was much better this morning.

Then I showered and changed before Victor drove me to school.

“I owe you a good dinner,” Victor said. “Maybe we could go to see a show afterward.”

My cell vibrated. It was a text from William. I told him Lana would be okay and that I was on my way to school.

He texted back, “Dinner tonight and mini-golf?”

“Sure,” I replied to his message. I wanted to try kissing William again to see if his kiss could make me feel as good as Victor’s.

Now that Lana was on the mend, Victor would soon be taking over Alex’s leadership role, and he would announce the end of our engagement.

It made me sad, but I was determined to move forward with my life. I knew Victor would.

What beautiful woman would he be dating first? The thought made me feel strange in the pit of my stomach.

I sent a text to William. “I’m almost to the school. We can talk then.”

“Daisy, would you like to go somewhere special for dinner tonight?” Victor asked as he pulled the Lamborghini in front of the school’s gate.

“I can’t tonight,” I said. “William already asked me out.”

“Okay,” he said as William ran up to the car.

William opened the car door and helped me out. Then he slid an arm around my waist.

“I’m glad to hear your mother is going to be okay,” William told Victor.

“Thanks,” he said. But he looked incredibly sad. Was he still worried about Lana?

I turned to ask, “Are you okay, Victor?”

But he had already driven away.