Page 49 of The Billionaire's Second Chance
“Please do,” he said, his voice softening as he reached out to touch my arm. “I’ll be waiting. Take care of yourself.”
“I will,” I promised, though I wasn’t sure if I was saying it for his sake or mine.
As Avery walked away, Lexie came up to me, her face pale with fear. “Licia, I’m scared. What if something happens to him? What if he doesn’t survive?”
I hugged her tightly, trying to offer comfort even as my own heart pounded with fear. “Hey, listen to me. Kevin is strong. He’ll get through this. He needs us to believe that.”
“But he’s in so much pain. Mom and Dad are on edge. The doctor mentioned something about deep vein thrombosis reaching his heart. What does that even mean?” Lexie’s voice was trembling, her fear palpable.
“Lexie, calm down,” I said, trying to soothe her. “Kevin needs us to be strong for him. Where’s Melony? Have you seen her?”
“Not since Kevin relieved her of her duties,” Lexie said, her voice tinged with confusion and worry.
“Kevin did what? Why?” I asked, shocked that I was just now hearing about this.
Lexie explained, “He’s been insisting he doesn’t need a nurse anymore. You know how stubborn he can be. He’s been working nonstop with little rest. I guess it all contributed to this.”
A flood of questions filled my mind. How long had he been refusing care? Why didn’t Melony tell me? I felt a wave of guilt crash over me. Maybe if I had stayed on as his nurse, this could have been avoided.
“Where is he now?” I asked, my voice barely holding back the rising panic.
“In the VIP ward, near the conference room,” Lexie replied, her voice trembling.
“Okay, I’ll go see him. Just hang in there, okay? Kevin will be fine. I promise,” I said, though the words felt hollow in my mouth.
I didn’t know why I felt compelled to make that promise, but I wanted to reassure Lexie. I hoped with all my heart that Kevin would indeed be okay.
But when I entered Kevin’s ward and saw him lying there, pale and motionless, hooked up to machines that beeped and whirred, the reality of the situation hit me like a ton of bricks. My breath caught in my throat, and the tears I had been holding back finally spilled over.
Seeing Kevin in such a vulnerable state broke something inside me. I had always seen him as strong, invincible even, but now, lying there, he looked fragile, almost… defeated.
The man who had once been my rock, my protector, was now fighting for his life, and there was nothing I could do to help him.
The guilt, the fear, the overwhelming sense of helplessness—it all came crashing down on me, and for a moment, I didn’t know how to breathe. All I could do was stand there, my heart aching for the man I had once loved, praying with every fiber of my being that he would pull through this.
But the doubts were there, gnawing at the edges of my mind, whispering that this time, it might be too late.
Chapter Sixteen
Kevin
Dr. Shepherd entered my room with two other doctors in tow, their expressions grim. The sight of them together set off alarm bells in my mind.
I’d already sensed that my situation wasn’t straightforward, but the gravity on their faces made it clear that the road ahead was going to be even rougher than I imagined. Although the blood thinners had eased some of the pain, I could tell that we were far from out of the woods.
“Mr. Brown, this is Dr. Chopra,” Dr. Shepherd began, gesturing to the composed woman beside him. Her eyes were sharp, and there was a quiet authority in the way she carried herself.
“She’s the head of our cardiothoracic unit. And this is Dr. Lukeman, our top orthopedic surgeon. They’ll be managing your surgeries.”
I blinked, the plural form of the word catching me off guard. “Surgeries?” The question slipped out before I could stop it.One surgery had been daunting enough; the idea of two was overwhelming.
I glanced at Lexie, who stood nearby. She looked pale, her hand hovering near her mouth as if she was trying to hold back a gasp. For a moment, I thought she might faint, even though I was the one facing the operating table.
“Yes, Kevin,” Dr. Shepherd said with a nod, his voice gentle but firm.
“There are two surgeries. Dr. Chopra will perform a thrombectomy to remove the blood clot in your heart.”
“Meanwhile, Dr. Lukeman will perform a fasciotomy to relieve the pressure in your leg.”
