Page 186 of The One
“No, I don’t. Promise me, Mateo, you won’t tell him either,” she pleads.
I shake my head. “Tiero and I don’t have secrets. I can’t keep this from him.”
“Mateo, please,” she whispers. “It would upset him too much. He needs all his strength to heal. Please.”
I glance at my brother, then back at her, my jaw clenching. The conflict inside me is unbearable, but in the end, I nod.
“For now.”
Before she can argue, I scoop her up anyway and carry her next door, ignoring her protests.
She can fight me all she wants. But I’m not letting her die. Not on my watch.
Chapter Seventy
Mateo
Today was brutal.
Ella collapsed while she was with Tiero this morning. One moment, they were talking; the next, she was upset, and every monitor alarm was blaring. Her medical team rushed in, scrambling to get to her, while Tiero, despite his injuries, nearly threw himself out of bed to stay by her side. Dr. Romolo and I had to hold him back. He fought us every step of the way until Romolo sedated him.
They managed to stabilize Ella. She’s as well as can be expected, but I was the one who had to break the news to Tiero about how sick she really is.
He’s beside himself with worry and all over me and Uberto to find a donor. Turns out, he and Ella have the same blood type.
What are the chances of that?
But it should make things easier. Once we find someone, we can take care of them both.
As I’d hoped, Ella’s presence has given Tiero a boost. He’s awake longer, more alert, more himself.
The power of love.
But it’s not enough.
He needs new lungs.
It’s late when I walk into Tiero’s room, my eyes glued to the piece of paper Santino just handed me from Uberto. A deep frown settles on my face.
“What is it?” Tiero asks as I let myself fall into the chair beside his bed.
“Uberto found a few matches with your blood type in Rome, but they’re all over fifty with existing health problems. The young, healthy ones all seem—”
“Call him off,” Tiero interrupts, his voice steady but firm. “We don’t need to find a donor anymore.”
“What? Why?”
He looks at me, his expression unreadable, yet I feel a little faint.
Tiero’s eyes lock on mine. There’s a strange, almost unsettling clarity in his gaze.
“It’s time to step out of my shadow and shine, Teo,” he says, his voice calm, but there’s an undercurrent of something deeper. Something I can’t yet grasp.
I stare at him, trying to make sense of his words.
But I don’t understand.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I ask, the confusion obvious in my tone.
