Drake’s tone was cutting as he said, “Give it up, Leventis. You lost.”
He said seriously, “You’d have to kill me first.”
And then he took a swing at Drake’s face, this time giving it all he had, this time hitting the other man as if he wanted to kill Drake. And maybe he did. For Drake was doing the same thing by taking Mairi away from Damen. Mairi was his life. Without her, his life was worthless.
The fight might have lasted for minutes or just mere seconds. It didn’t matter. Soon, blood covered Damen’s entire field of vision, and he was down on his knees when Drake’s last punch threw him to the ground. The last thing he saw was Mairi turning her back on him.
“Mairi.” It hurt to speak, but he had to call out to her, had to beg for her to come back, to forgive him and let him love her.
But she didn’t stop.
She left.
And he was all alone.
~ Twelve ~
A hazy and chaotic mix of images periodically ran through Damen’s mind. It was like he was watching a movie, but it was a movie of his life, something he was and wasn’t a part of at the same time.
He was being carried away in a stretcher, his body engulfed in flaming pain.
He was being rushed to the E.R., with close to half a dozen specialists surrounding him, their tones urgent but their words precise.
He could recall himself thrashing in the bed as he went in and out of unconsciousness.
And Mairi…
He always saw Mairi.
He was running after her, but somehow he just couldn’t get close enough to even touch her.
Mairi, Mairi, he would shout frantically at her. Come back. Don’t leave.
But she never stopped, never said anything, and never even looked back as she kept running until she disappeared from his sight…and his life.
****
Damen. Damen. Damen!
Why wouldn’t he listen to her? Why wouldn’t he look at her? Why wouldn’t he come back? Didn’t he know she needed him? That she was about to drown and only he could save her?
But he remained where he stood, gazing down at her, standing atop an imposing cliff, a cold unflinching mask on his beautiful face.
Damen, Mairi sobbed. Help me, Damen. Help me.
He opened his mouth.
And suddenly, the ocean that was trying to swallow her disappeared, leaving Mairi falling in the darkness of her guilt as Damen’s accusing words tried to eat her alive.
You were the one who left me.
You were the one who abandoned me.
You were the one who KILLED me.
“Mairi, wake up.”
Aunt Norah’s voice eventually reached Mairi through her nightmares, and she woke up with a gasp, her body bathed in cold sweat. Her voice was panicky and high-pitched as she grabbed her aunt’s hand and told her frantically, “Damen needs me.”
Norah gently unclasped herself from her niece’s clammy hold. “It was just a nightmare,” she soothed. “You’re fine.”
Mairi shook her head. “You don’t understand, Aunt Norah. Damen needs me.”
“You need to calm down. You had a nervous breakdown and you’re still recovering.”
“Listen to me, Aunt Norah. I need to…” she stopped. She looked around, disoriented. This was not her bedroom. Mairi opened her mouth to ask her aunt where she was when a bolt of pain struck her head, making her cry out.
“That’s it,” Norah said grimly. “I’m calling the nurse.”
“No, Aunt Norah, I’m…” She bit her lip hard when another bolt of pain hit her head. Oh God, she was so disoriented, so dizzy. She felt like she was forgetting something important, something she had to do, but the pain was too much.
When the nurse came close, what she was holding made Mairi shake her head, which only worsened the throbbing of her temples. “Don’t need that. Please…” She needed to keep her senses about her.
But it was no use. She was so weak, and the nurse’s hold was strong and firm as she kept Mairi still before injecting her.
Mairi gasped as the needle pierced her skin.
“That will calm her down and help her sleep through the night,” she drowsily heard the nurse telling Norah.
Norah said something in return, but it was too low for Mairi to hear.
Her head tossed and turned on her pillow. There was something she had to remember, something she had to do urgently before it was too late. She tried so hard to recall it, but sleep stole over her in a matter of minutes, and all was peaceful again.
It was the fourth day of her confinement when Mairi became lucid enough to piece the memories of the past few days together.
She had gone into shock after seeing Damen beaten. And when she had gotten over it, she had become hysterical, demanding that she be allowed to see Damen. But Drake’s guards had not allowed it, causing Mairi to have a nervous breakdown that required her to be hospitalized.
But now she was better and her mind was clear. Mairi knew what she had to do.
****
Mairi, come back.
I am back.
Please come back.
I am here.
Please don’t leave me.
I won’t ever leave you again.
But still Damen begged, a part of him knowing it was all a dream and that when he woke up, she would still be gone from his side.
“Damen,” a voice whispered.
It couldn’t be.
He forced his swollen eyes to open.
It was her.
It was Mairi.
She was here.
Damen forced his mind to work even though he knew he was still feeling woozy, one of the expected aftereffects of his medication. He carefully took note of her appearance, and he frowned when he realized that she wore a hospital gown under her trench coat, one that was too large for her.
“You were in the hospital?” he demanded in a scratchy tone. It hurt to speak but he needed to ask, needed to make sure that nothing bad had happened to her while he had been convalescing.
She nodded, her eyes luminous with tears.
“Why?”
Her smile was as wobbly as her voice when she answered, “Nervous breakdown.”
It took him more than a moment to understand. He asked hoarsely, “Because of me?”
She lowered her head, unable to meet his gaze as she whispered, “Because of you.”
And at that moment, Mairi knew there was no point hiding from the truth.
Damen Leventis was like a sickness she couldn’t control, an obsession she didn’t want to be free from. It didn’t matter that he had betrayed her with Alina Kokinos, didn’t matter if the whole world thought she was the greatest fool for coming back to him. She would stay with him for as long as he needed her by his side.