After Tess promised to trust me, I took the girls to lunch and then for ice cream. It felt like the old days when they smiled freely and joked around when we were hanging out together. Then I dropped them off at their grandparents’ house. I’m not sure how I’m going to work out their living arrangements, but until Alicia stops the insanity, they won’t live with her.

“So much for the love you profess to have for her.” Andrew leans against the wall, watching me as I enter the room.

“Pardon me?” I stop, staring at him.

It feels like the big break is off. I have to deal with our families, fans, reporters and wait for Sadie. My plate is too full and my fuse too short.

“You were gone all day.” He taps his watch.

“I was out for a few hours visiting my daughters,” I offer a short explanation to be polite, but he doesn’t deserve to know anything.

“Why don’t you leave now, before things get hard with Sadie?”

“What did Brynn say about the medication?” I ignore him.

“The doctors won’t discuss her health with you.” He clamps his mouth shut, crossing his arms.

“But I’ll tell you that if there’s no brain activity when they do the next CT scan, I’m taking her off life support.”

The hair on the nape of my neck raises, my heart thunders against my chest, and my head pounds.

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am.” He steps forward, puffing out his chest. “It’s not fair to have her body hooked up to machines when her brain isn’t working. My daughter isn’t going to be wasting space for the next hundred years. This isn’t a fairy tale where you kiss her, and she wakes up.”

“It’s not fair to Kieran …” or me.

“I am the only person who can make decisions for her. There’s nothing you can do.”

“My son deserves a mother, and for that simple reason I’ll make sure she has enough time to come back to us.”

“Try, Hades. I’m more than ready to show you how powerful I am. If Sadie doesn’t wake up in a few days, she’s gone. And then, I’ll fight you for custody of the baby.”

“And what do you plan to do with a baby when you were incapable of caring for your own daughter more than thirty years ago?”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about. Sadie had a roof, food, and clothing.”

“That’s not enough,” I argued. “She needed much more than the basics. Are you aware that Catherine severely abused and neglected Sadie?”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” he protests, raising his voice.

I take a few steps closer to him and keep my voice level. “Of course I do. We shared everything, including our worst childhood memories.”

His jaw sets into a scowl. I don’t stop.

“She was missing the love a father who was there on her birthday or when her mother was too drunk to remember Sadie’s name.”

“Catherine wasn’t drunk when Sadie was young.”

I growl, angry at him. “Were you always this clueless, or just don’t give a fuck to realize what’s happening around you?”

“You’re wrong,” he insists, but his attention is on Sadie.

“You never loved her unconditionally. She had to do everything the way you wanted, or you’d ignore her. And nothing has changed. You’re giving her a few days to wake up, or she’s dead. What kind of father are you?”

I hated leaving Sadie, but I walk out of the room.

The process has been slow, but after three days, Sadie’s entirely off the sedatives. Yet, she’s still sleeping. There’s no timeline, but they are hopeful since brain activity registered during the CT scan.

“Wake up, Hummingbird. We’re waiting.”

There’s no answer, but the machines keep beeping.

“It’s time for you to come back to me. This isn’t a dress rehearsal,” I continue. “We’re ready for you to come back. Kieran is excited to see you.

“Hey, Kade,” Brynn greets me as she enters the room. “Do you ever put that baby down?”

“Occasionally.” I grin at her.

“I’m sure it’s great for him, but he’s going to have a hard time being in his crib once he goes home.”

“You sound like your nurses,” I chuckle. “He’ll be fine, and if I need to, I’ll just carry him around until he walks. I’m sure he won’t want to do anything with me after that starts.”

“That’s insane, Hades.” She laughs. “We’re taking Sadie to run a few more tests.”

“What for?”

“Mr. Bell’s legal team wants us to prove that Sadie isn’t brain dead. The CT scan isn’t enough.”

“Have you heard from my lawyer?” I exhale the words harshly.

“The legal department deals with all that, but know that I am rooting for you. If there’s brain activity, Mr. Bell can’t do anything.” She begins to disconnect and reconnect cables as a nurse steps in with a stretcher. “Addressing the baby on the lawsuit was a great idea.”

The longest hour passes, as I pace around the room with Kieran in my arms. He’s awake and alert. I’m not sure how much he understands, but I’m sure he’s aware that something is wrong. Once Brynn rolls the stretcher back, and the nurses put Sadie back in her bed, I breathe with relief.

“What’s going on?”

“We confirmed that there’s brain activity. The swelling is completely gone. They’re going to have a hard time disconnecting her. I’m guessing that she might be able to breathe on her own.”

“It wouldn’t matter if they disconnect her then?”

“I can’t guarantee that, but we might have that little ace up our sleeve.”

“Thank you for updating me. I know it could get you fired.”

“Only if you open your mouth.” She glares at me. “I trust you not to say anything to that petulant asshole.”

Andrew Bell steps into the room. His hair is still wet, his dark suit perfectly ironed, and his jaw clenched.

“What do you want, Hades?”

I rise from my seat, kiss Sadie on the forehead and walk toward him to keep my voice as low as I can.

“What kind of question is that?”

“I spoke to my lawyer. He said that there’s no way you can win the lawsuit, but you can make things difficult.”

“I plan on giving you hell,” I agree. “I won’t stop fighting you until she wakes up.”

“What if she doesn’t wake up?” He’s using a condescending voice that angers me, but I brush it away—for the sake of Sadie and Kieran.

“She will. But if she doesn’t, at least I’d know that I gave her time. She does everything on her own time.”

“You’ll forget about her in a couple of months. She’ll end up in a hospice, lifeless, waiting for someone to visit her. She’d hate that.”

“If that’s the case, I’ll bring her home with me where I could care for her and maybe when we’re both old, we’ll go away—together.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Simple, because I love her. No matter how long it takes, I’m going to wait for her. You can try, but you can’t just take her away from me.”

“I never understood the two of you.”

“There’s nothing to understand about us. We just exist as one soul, one heart, and two bodies.”

“You are too different.”

“We complement each other,” I respond, remembering how perfectly we fit together. “She challenges me, makes me better, and helps me dream. She’s my light. I have no idea what I give her, but I know that I made her happy. She loves me.”

“I never knew what to do with her. She’s a girl. Boys are easy, but girls … She wanted to play dolls or talk, and I didn’t have the time. Even now, I can barely make time for her. I wanted her to be perfect, but she chose the wrong career and then opened a business that didn’t make any sense.”

“Flowers are her passion. She learned that from your mother.” It’s unbelievable. He hasn’t grasped that yet.

“Mom loved her. Out of all her grandchildren, she loved her the most.”

He watches Sadie from where he stands for several minutes, his hands in his pockets.

“I love her, you know. She’s my kid, and it hurts to see her laying there with little hope. I can’t fix her. Nothing I do will bring her back.”

“You have to be patient, wait for her to come back on her own time. To heal. Instead of watching her, you should talk to her.”

“Singing to her like you do,” he adds.

“Huh?” I angle my head, giving him a puzzled look.

How does he know?

“I watched you last night. I … you told her that you’ve found a house that looked a lot like mine and a construction guy was ready to start her greenhouse. You talked about Kieran and how you were teaching him to say ‘mama.’ I didn’t interrupt because the moment felt so intimate. Like talking to your partner before bedtime.”

“That’s what we usually did at night.” I turn toward her, staring at her sleeping body.

God, she’d hate to know that she’s playing Sleeping Beauty. But even if it takes a hundred years for her to wake her up, I’d wait for her.

“Don’t take her away from us,” I beg him. “I’ll give you whatever you want.”

“But what if she doesn’t wake up and you find someone else?” His tone is reserved.

“There’s no one else in the world like her. She owns me.”

“If she doesn’t make it …” he stutters and stares at Kieran. “Would you let me see him?”

“Of course. You can visit him whenever you want. I want him to know his family. Just because I don’t like you, doesn’t mean I would want to put a wall between Kieran and you.”

He nods a couple of times, his eyes on his daughter. Then, he walks close to me and caresses Kieran’s forehead.

“I’ll talk to the doctors. We’ll wait.”

“Thank you,” I say, kissing my son’s head.

We won.

Andrew stops in the middle of the doorway and turns around.

“I’ll move into the pool house. Tomorrow I’ll have my lawyer change the deed to Sadie’s name.”

I crook a brow, confused by what he just said. “What do you mean?”

“The house where I live belonged to my parents. My mother left it to me so I would give it to Sadie when she decided to marry and start a family.”

“You didn’t tell her?” I gape, astonished at this controlling asshole.

“I didn’t think it mattered, and when you two were engaged, I … I didn’t want to give you the house.”

Fucker. She was marrying a guy he hated. Therefore she didn’t deserve her inheritance. Though, before I say something I might regret, I remind myself that I just won the war. Sadie has time, the rest doesn’t matter.

“If you want, I can buy it from you,” I offer. “That house would make her happy. I can wire you the money tomorrow.”

“You have no idea how much it costs.”

“You have no idea what I’m worth, Andrew,” I counteract. “I’m a high school dropout, but I work hard and save as much as I can. You don’t have to like me or to love me, but I’d appreciate if you stopped calling me a lowlife in front of my son or Sadie.”

“I can do that, but you might want to save your insults too.”

“We both can be civil,” I agree with him.

“I’ll let you know when the house is empty so you can start moving in or redecorating it.”

“Thank you,” I hand him my card. “So, it’s easier to get in touch with me.”

Days pass, and there’s no news. It’s been two weeks since they took her out of the induced coma, and Sadie still hasn’t woken up yet. She’s breathing on her own and only has the IV connected to her. I remain calm, but I wish I could speed up the process. Her condition remains the same. She’s stable. I wish she could speed up the process because Kieran continues gaining weight and growing. They haven’t discharged him yet, but Dr. Hawkins implied today that he’s ready to go home.

If only everything in my life was like him; easy, compliant, and fun. At least I can’t complain about the way things are working out with my three kids. Tess and Hannah visit us every day. Hannah loves Kieran while Tess continues shying away from him. I don’t push her. There’s a lot of baggage that’s waiting for us when we head out of the hospital. Alicia continues her travels through Europe. Does she even care about her children?

Though I prefer it that she’s away. The girls come to the hospital freely without having to give any explanation. Andrew has visited a few times. All four times he told Sadie to wake up for him, that he loved her and missed her. I have no idea if he had ever said those words to Sadie, but I’m glad that he’s changing.

True to his word, he switched the deed of the house to her name. He didn’t accept any money from me. A couple of days afterward, he moved into the pool house and helped me hire a contractor to do some modifications to the house.

“Tess and Hannah are coming in a couple of hours, Sadie,” I whisper into her ear. “Wouldn’t you want to wake up to visit with them?”

Her fingers move, squeezing me lightly. My eyes stare at her, as I push the button calling the nurses. Her eyes open. She blinks a few times adjusting.

“Hey, beautiful,” I whisper, caressing her cheek. “I knew you’d come back to me.”

Her eyes scan the room, the machines. She frowns and then looks ahead.

Her breathing becomes erratic, she moves her hand toward her belly.

“My baby,” she croaks. The machines begin to beep faster; her breathing is shallow.

“Stay with me, baby. Stay with me,” I beg her.

The nurses who are stationed next door arrive with a cart. One of them signals me to go to the door.

“Sir, you have to leave,” she orders.

“We’re losing her!”

“No, please,” I beg as they push me outside the room. “We need to stay.”

“Sir, let us work.”

“I love you. Fight for us. Stay with me, Hummingbird. Kieran needs you. Don’t leave us.”