Scorched(107)

“I do have a wheelchair in here,” Ari said with a laugh.

“Ah, woman, don’t you know that I look for any excuse I can find to hold you tight?” he replied, their voices fading as they moved down the hallway.

Silence had fallen again as Adriane neared Rachel’s bed. Sitting on the edge, he took her hand and brought it to his lips, tenderly kissing her palm.

“I’ve been such a fool, Rachel — such a stubborn fool,” he said, his voice so quiet, she almost couldn’t hear him.

“You saved my life,” she said, unsure what else to say.

“Actually, your sister saved you. She is one very tough woman,” he said with a chuckle. “I was the one who put you in jeopardy.”

“Please don’t think that, Adriane. You can’t be held accountable for the actions of your brother. He was a very sick man, and I know he was guilty of evil in his lifetime, but I’m sorry you lost him today.”

Adriane stared at her in shock as she squeezed his hand. But all Rachel knew was that no matter what Rafe or Lia ever did, she would love them, and to lose one of them, no matter the circumstances, would rip a piece of her soul away. Adriane had to be hurting for his loss.

“It’s strange, because there’s a part of me mourning him. I had hoped one day to reunite with him, one day to have the brother back whom I used to love so much.”

“It’s OK for you to mourn him, Adriane. He’s your family, no matter what he did,” she reassured him.

“I’m just glad you are safe now, so very glad.”

“Our babies are healthy, too,” she said, and his shoulders visibly slumped as if he’d been afraid to ask.

“I’m so grateful to hear that.” His free hand stretched down and rubbed along the top of her stomach.

She was silent as she worried about what to say. Did she tell him how much she loved him — how she was ready to take him on whatever conditions he imposed? Nearly losing her life had made her realize she didn’t want to be away from him, even if she didn’t have his heart.

Wasn’t it better for their family to be together?

“Please forgive me, Rachel, forgive me for everything I’ve put you through. Forgive me for trying to force you into a marriage for the sake of our children. That was so wrong of me,” he whispered, and her heart thundered.

Was he taking it all back right when she was ready to accept?

“I don’t want to keep your children from you, Adriane. I know how much you already love them,” she said, trying to build up the courage to proclaim her love for him.

“Yes, I love them, but I love you too, Rachel. Even before I knew you were missing, I realized what a fool I’d been in my treatment of you. I was afraid of something because I’d never experienced it before, but love isn’t a thing to be afraid of. I don’t know why I acted in such a ludicrous fashion, but I do know that if I have to live my life without you, I will only be a shell of a man.”

“Is this real?”

Suddenly she was afraid to even hope. What if she really were still back in that shed, frozen and dying, and all this was nothing more than a dream?

“I love you, Rachel, truly, wholeheartedly, with everything that I have. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, not for the sake of our children, but because I can’t live without you. I want to have these babies, and I want ten more, not because I need heirs for Corythia, but because I want to see you in each of their faces. I don’t ever want to come so close to losing you again. These have been the worst few days of my life.”

The warmth in his eyes filled her soul. He meant what he was saying. She had no doubt.

With her vulnerability at an all-time high, she wanted nothing more than to be in his arms where she felt safe, where she could be loved. She didn’t know how it was all going to work, but none of that mattered. They would figure it out along the way.

“I do love you, Adriane, so much that it hurts to imagine my life without you. I don’t want us to be apart for even one more day,” she said, choking up as he gently brushed her lips with his.

“Will you marry me, Rachel, do me the honor of becoming my bride?”

She looked at him with wide eyes. “Did I hear correctly? Was that a question, not a demand?” A small smile broke over her lips to take the sting from her words.

“Yes! I am pleading with you on bended knee to accept,” he said. “See?” Still clinging to her hand, he knelt down on the cold hospital floor.

“In that case, yes, it would be my honor to accept.”

He rose back up and crawled into the bed next to her, pulling her into his arms and taking her lips in a kiss of pure love. Rachel became lost in his embrace, forgetting time or reason. And she reveled in knowing nothing could hurt her now.