Chapter 113: Chapter 113

THE NEXT DAY

The next day came by so fast that, for a moment, Madison feared the worst.

Every second, she tried to blink, wanting to check if everything happening was real, and it was.

Damien had woken up from his coma. The doctors had checked up on him and deemed him okay miraculously.

When the doctors had marveled over his condition, wondering how he seemed to have fought over the gunshot wound, Madison tried to seamlessly stop herself from shedding tears every second, but all her efforts were useless.

She’d tried so much, but she couldn’t stop the tears and giving up after she’d cried her heart out.

She couldn’t even talk to Damien again because she was scared.

What if all this was a dream, one she was currently having?

This was a nightmare, probably, and she would be awake soon, but it wasn’t.

She’d pinched herself so much that the fleshy skin of her wrists was filled with welts and marks, but still, she didn’t stop.

She kept digging her sharp fingernails into her skin, trying to feel any pain that would wake her up from this slumber, but nothing was happening.

She was supposed to be happy. Hell, with the way everywhere was buzzing and everyone was happy and smiling, she was supposed to feel some excitement too.

But instead, she felt nothing, not even sadness. All she felt was numbness. She felt as though there wasn’t anything inside her anymore because she kept telling herself over and over that this was a trick.

Nothing good ever happened to her, and now that this miracle had happened, Madison was inclined to think the worst of it.

She sniffed slightly, her hands dabbing at her cheeks as she watched him interact with visitors at his bedside.

He looked so calm and carefree too. Like he was not in some pain or the like. Like he’d just not gotten shot and put his life on the line to protect her.

Damn!

“Penny, for your thoughts, sweetie?”

The warm voice of Mrs Daniel, Damien’s mother, cut through her foggy thinking, and blinking twice, plastering a smile, she looked up at the pretty older woman.

“Hi, ma.”

“Hello, daughter. How are you doing?” The woman asked, plopping her ass on the bench beside Madison, and she replied heartily.

They spent some minutes exchanging pleasantries, and just when Madison thought the woman was over as silence befell them, she spoke up again.

“I’ve been watching you since yesterday, and you just look….” She paused, contemplating what to say, “I don’t even know what to call it. You don’t look sad or happy; you seem direct. Like you’re numb or something. Sorry to bother you, but have you even talked to Damien since he woke up.”

For a while, after the woman spoke, Madison said nothing.

The older woman seemed to have been watching her very closely, and she'd perfectly described Madison's true feelings, but there was no way she'd bring it up.

Instead, she replied to the last query, “Umm….” She began clearing her throat, “Not really. As you can see, everyone wants to talk to him, and they barely give him any breathing space...”

She trailed off as she glanced back at Damien on his bed again.

He was still bandaged up, with his oxygen mask beneath his jaw. Still, even with his pitiful state, he’d managed to greet every single person that had come today to offer their condolences and wish him a speedy recovery.

From her parents to his work colleagues and some close associates that’d travelled from all over the world to see him, Madison knew that it would be a long, long time before she even got to talk to him.

“I… I don’t want to go stress him further because….”

“Because you have so many things to say, right?”

A tear rolled down her cheeks as she began to nod shakily, her lips and hands trembling as she released a pained gasp.

"Oh, dear..."

"I'm afraid that if I talk to him or go there to sit with him, I'll wake up from my sleep and realize that none of this is real." I can't bear the thought of Damien still..."

"Shhhh, lady." Mrs Daniel cooed, but Madison continued to speak.

"...I'm just so scared, and..." She abruptly stopped speaking, and as another tear streamed down her cheeks, Damien locked gazes with her from the bed on which he was laying.

It was as if she’d called to him, or he must have felt her agony because his brows instantly creased, and he even forgot about the visitor he was talking to.

His gaze left hers and went to that of his mother questioningly, but just before he could open his mouth to speak to them, suddenly, some nurses and a doctor rushed into the room.

They were each holding some items, and Madison’s eyes lifted when she saw that it was time for Damien’s checkup already.

This brief commotion afforded her time to look away from him, and getting up from her feet; she said to Mrs Daniel, “I think we should leave now so the doctor can attend to Damien.”

“Yes, we should.” She quickly agreed at the same time, and Madison heard the doctor announce, “Everyone leave. We need some alone time with the patient.”

Quickly, every single person began to file out of the room as she watched, and following closely behind Mrs Daniel’s back, Madison made to leave the room when suddenly she heard Damien’s voice.

“Doctor, I would love it if you could allow Miss Madison to stay here with me.”

“But…” The doctor started to say, just as Madison swiveled around to face Damien, her eyes widening in bewilderment.

“I think if she’s here, I would be able to keep myself well for these tests. Besides, don’t you think it would be good if I had a loved one by my side at this crucial time?”

The way he finished the last sentence had Madison’s defense rising.

He was using his sickness as an advantage to get what he wanted, and with the look on the doctor’s face as he turned to look at her, his plan was working.

“What the hell are you doing?” She mouthed, but Damien ignored her question, his brows furrowed as he repeated his request.

With the way he was looking at her and with the doctor opening his mouth to something, Madison knew she was doomed already, and there was no way out of this.

Oh shit!

…….

“I would love to spend time with Miss Madison if she would agree.” Damien repeated his request sharply, and the corners of his lips curled into a smirk as he saw Madison’s stunned reaction.

For a while, everywhere was silent, and he could see her lips moving as if she was saying something to herself, but her words were inaudible.

“Doctor…” Damien called out again, his gaze lifting from that of Madison to the doctor, and the young man replied obligingly, “Sure, Mr Damien. She can stay with you if that’s what you want.”

Yes! He jubilated internally, and with his heart beating fast, he waited for Madison to say something in response to the doctor’s statement.

The first thing she could even do at least, was to start walking back into the room, but she just stood still and, as if sensing the tension in the room, every single person that’d also been leaving earlier paused by the door, waiting to see what would happen.

Damien tried closing his eyes and maybe muttering a quiet prayer, but every part of his face hurt, and the frown lines by the side of his eyes ached severely.

“Madi…” He opened his mouth again, trying to call and wave at her with his bandaged hand, but before he could finish his sentence, she cut in, smiling, “Of course, Sir Damien. I’m at your service.” She finished sarcastically.

Everyone in the room suddenly burst out laughing, even the doctor and nurses that had just arrived to check on him.

Damien’s heart warmed all of a sudden the second he heard her voice, and all the pain in his body flew out of the window.

Her voice… was like medicine to not just his body but his soul too, and he’d missed it so much.

Ever since he’d woken up from the coma, and after the doctors had explained what happened to him, he’d tried effortlessly to talk to Madison, but they all proved abortive.

The second his family and close ones had heard of his wake; they’d all rushed down to see him, and bringing flowers and their worded condolences and well wishes, they’d given him little or no time to talk to the most important person in his hospital room.

Every second, he tried to motion at her; either she was looking elsewhere, talking to someone else, or yet another well-wisher would accost him on the bed, and it was becoming rather frustrating.

As the doctor had come to check up on him, Damien had already imagined all that would happen, and he decided to strike when due.

The subtle glances he’d been giving her since yesterday when he’d seen her by the bedside, up till this very moment, weren’t enough for him at all. He needed to talk to her, at least.

A smug smile still on his face, Damien relaxed further the moment Madison walked to stand beside him, and stretching fully, he allowed the doctor do his job.

Seconds passed, minutes passed, even an hour too, before the doctor finally finished the checkup, but all the while, Damien, for once, didn’t take his eyes off Madison.

She held his gaze, too, a warm smile on her face and how he wanted to know whatever was going on in her head.

Closing a file and talking in a hushed tone to the nurses, the doctor glanced at Damien briefly and then began to report his findings.

While he talked, giving out medications, too, Damien kept staring intently at Madison, who was busy listening to the doctor.

The way her brows furrowed easily, the tilt of her neck, and with her arms crossed, she looked so serious and pretty it made his heart ache.

“…so that will be all for now, Mr Damien. You’re fit, and like I said, your recovery is a miracle, but then we praise God. Do you have any questions?” The doctor asked, dragging his face back to the young man, and Damien’s eyes dimmed.

He’d been barely listening to the doctor, so what question did he even want to ask? He wondered briefly to himself.

With a plastered smile, he nodded and said, “No, doctor. No questions at all.”

“Okay then. If you say so.” The doctor chimed in sharply, and turning to face Madison; he added, “Should in case he needs anything, don’t forget to call out for the nurses. We are always here at your service.”

“Thank you, sir.” They both said in unison, looking at each other in surprise and back at the doctor, who was already taking his leave.

Exhaling loudly, Damien watched the medical team leave before he started to sit up, his gaze sharply ambling towards Madison.

She took two steps forward, standing directly in front of him as he straightened further on the bed.

Some seconds passed, and while he stared at Madison, she kept mute, looking back at him as if contemplating him.

No silence had ever been this thick, and as the atmosphere continued to become tenser, Damien knew that he’d had enough.

“My whole body fucking aches.” He muttered inwardly, adding more loudly this time, “How have you been, Maddie? We’ve barely said a thing since I woke up and….”

“I don’t know if what I’m about to do is appropriate, but….” She interjected his speech and stopped talking, plopping her ass on the bed while Damien squeezed his brows as he opened his lips yet again to say something.

“What are…”

“But hell be damned if I don’t do this. I’m so sorry, Damien, so sorry.” She finished, and a tear fell down her face.

Damien’s jaw dropped open, so many questions running through his head as his heart began to pound furiously.

“What are you talking about, Madison and…?” He didn’t finish his question because the next thing he could see was her leaning close to his face, and then, she dropped her lips gently on his.

What the?…