Chapter 92: Chapter 92

Charlie had the distinct impression of two things: one was that, judging by her sore head, she had slept too long. And, secondly, the reason she woke up was an insistent and very annoying beep that kept ringing, close to her ear, but it didn't seem to be her alarm clock.

For several minutes, she tried to force her extremely slow, almost groggy mind to try to formulate a decent thought. However, as the sensations in her body began to flood back, she bitterly regretted having woken up. Her entire body felt like it had been run through a meat grinder, but there was a very dull ache in the middle of her back that stood out. And it was because of her that, with surprise, Charlie realized that she was lying a little on her side, with something pressed against her hips to keep her in place.

Extremely uncomfortable, she started to move, trying to change positions, but ended up shuddering when she felt something pull, literally, inside her arm, as if there was a tube there or something?

“Charlie? “ a voice that she knew very well called her, anxious “ Honey, are you awake? Can you open your eyes?

Wanting to talk to Morgan and ask him what the hell was going on, Charlie struggled to lift her heavy lids, taking longer than she liked to focus her blurred vision on anything, including her own husband. Finally, she was finally able to see the real him, being surprised to notice that his hair was disheveled, his face showed exhaustion and there were dark spots under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept in days. That sight confused her so much that she barely realized that, behind him, there was a white wall and a small window that she couldn't recognize.

“Oh, Charlie…” he started crying a moment later, moving his face closer to hers “You finally woke up… I was so worried.

" Where are we? “ she finally managed to speak, coughing when she felt her throat dry and heard her voice almost stony, it was so hoarse “ Damn, I need water...

“Here, darling…” At lightning speed, he pulled out a full bottle of water with a straw at the end and placed it in front of his lips, “Drink as much as you want, but slowly, okay? The nurse said everything you ingest has to go through the doctor first, from now on…” he explained, wiping away the tears with his other hand.

" Doctor? “ she questioned him, confused “ Are we in a hospital...?

However, before she could finish that question, her own mind answered her, burying her with a lot of disturbing memories of what had happened in Morgan's office: Samantha's confessions, the fear of death, a gun pointed in the direction of Morgan... And a shot that had hit her squarely.

“Shit…” she found herself laughing nervously, not just from the whole awful situation, but also from the relief of realizing that Morgan, although clearly distraught, wasn't hurt “I think that was the height of my impulsive actions, right?

“God… I thought I'd never hear that laugh again…” he sobbed, his expression miserable as he ran a finger gently down his cheek, with the lightest of touches “I felt so scared… .

“Did I look that bad? she moaned, knowing from the sharp pains in her body that it was very likely so.

“I called the ambulance as fast as I could, but you still lost a lot of blood...“ he said, desolate, while new tears ran down her cheeks; Charlie wished she could lift her hand and wipe them, but the damn tube in her wouldn't allow it.” The doctors took you into emergency surgery as soon as we arrived at the hospital. The bullet hadn't hit any vital organs, thankfully, but it still needed to be pulled out and you needed a blood transfusion. The doctors told me that your condition was critical, but that there was hope... But still... " he swallowed hard, with green eyes filled with tears " I was so afraid of losing you...

“Oh, Morgan... It's okay...“ she felt tears sting his eyes too and wanted, more than ever, to touch his face “Are you okay? Did you get hurt?

“And who cares? “He seemed to read her thoughts and gently intertwined his fingers in her hand“ The important thing is that you woke up, after two days.

" I care! “ she snorted weakly “Now tell me you're okay, before I get up in this bed and check for myself!

“If you only knew how happy I am to see you being stubborn again…” he sniffled, with a tearful smile, but also pure delight. “But, no, darling. Thanks to you, I didn't get even a scratch.

“ Great…” she sighed, completely relieved “Is Hiroshi okay too? That madwoman didn't hurt him, did she? What happened to Samantha anyway...?

“ Hiroshi is good. And, as for Samantha…” he snarled, pure hatred flashing in his eyes, “She's on remand right now, for attempted murder on both of us. And she will also be investigated for fraud, attempted poisoning of an animal and, above all, the murder of her father. And I guarantee you, Charlie..." he narrowed his eyes, his tone taking on a dangerous edge, "Once she's received all the convictions, I'll make sure I make sure she's sent to jail. from where it will never leave, as long as it lives.

“Well, she did it to herself. “Charlie relaxed his head against the pillow. “But at least now she's going to get paid for everything she's done. I mean... " she swallowed, fearful " There is no possibility of her threatening us again... Is there?

" No. “ he replied immediately, as if there was no other possible answer to that question “ I will never allow her to hurt you again, my love, I promise.

“I think we're going to have to start working on her overprotection again, starting today? she teased, wanting to wipe that grim expression from his face that made him so different from the Morgan she knew and loved.

"She is kidding? I don't think I'll ever be the same again after seeing you unconscious, almost dead and covered in blood, in my arms..." he swallowed a sob before continuing, resting his chin on the edge of her pillow " After that, I don't think I'll ever be able to hesitate or have insecurities again when it comes to being with you. I spent the last few days praying they wouldn't take you away from me. That they would take me instead of you. Or let us live happily and have a real marriage, because it wasn't fair that, after three years of silence and misunderstandings, the two of us parted ways like that, after discovering that we felt the same way about each other...

"No, it wouldn't have been fair if Samantha had taken that from us…" Charlie grumbled, feeling the rage in her chest churn her insides out, just thinking that bullet could have been in Morgan.

" And finally, I realized what you always told me..." he continued, after a moment of silence in which the two seemed to be processing their fury over what had happened " About the time we were wasting that my fear of the unknown and how our age difference means nothing. What does it all matter when I could have lost you 48 hours ago? What would all my insecurities and my sense of right and wrong have helped me if I could never hear your voice, see your smile or make love to you again? “ he wiped away a tear that had trickled down her cheek “You are my light, Charlotte Foster Sullivan. It's my sunshine, my reason for existing and the love of my life...

“Oh, Morgan…” she whimpered, but wasn't able to say much more than that, because a twinge in her chest stopped her.

“ I want to spend the rest of my life with you! “ he continued, with a radiant smile as he kept his gaze on hers, with an expression full of that ardent feeling that, now, she knew how to name: love “ I want to make your dreams come true and be by your side when I make mine too! I want to cook for you every day, adopt a thousand animals with you and be the father of your children! “ he chuckled through tears “ And I don't even know if we're going to do all of that or if you really want any of those things too, but I just can't not talk about it anymore! Starting today, you'll always know how much I love you, no matter how intense or hard to explain it may be. And it matters much less if someone is going to judge us!