"Re..... Regan!"
His name came out from her mouth into broken pieces but it was enough for him to mend the broken pieces of his heart that was aching for her. His lips were still lingering on her forehead. He looked at her dotingly with a warm smile which only she was capable to bring out on his face.
"You never fail to amaze me Anastasia... even in this condition. What would I do with you? May be your heart and mind still yearns for Ashton but somewhere your soul has developed a connection with mine. Unconsciously, you have again provided me the assurance and comfort that being with you is not wrong. It was neither in the past nor it will be in the future." He felt as if his hand was squeezed lightly and he couldn't help but found himself grinning on her positive response towards him with glossy eyes.
"I was wrong to think that I can't cry. Can you see what you do to me? Moments before I had tears due to pain that surged in my heart seeing you like this and now I have happy tears in them..... that too because of you. What would I do with you? Open your eyes and come back soon heart."
He caressed her face with his thumb taking in her every feature. He heard a gasp that drew his attention towards it. He saw Emily's shocked figure standing at the door with Jack beside her. He stood up and went to them.
"I would leave you both to have your time with her. Excuse me."
He had just taken a step to leave when he heard Emily speaking.
"Do you love her?"
He turned around to look into her eyes and replied sincerely without any hesitation.
"Yes!"
"Regan..... Anna..... She loves Ashton and she would never..... It's not that easy. Do you know about her past?" She shook her head and frowned still not believing what she saw a few moments back.
"I know about her past...a past that is not a part of her life anymore. I would have left her for her happiness if your brother had been here for her, like I did before not knowing about him earlier. But now that I know the truth, I can't hold myself back anymore suppressing my feelings for her, especially when I know that she is not happy. I'll do everything to bring back the missing pieces of her life." He shifted his gaze towards Anna. "I know how stubborn she is. I know it's not going to be easy for me to pursue or court her. But I have never liked easy things either. I am ready to fight for both of us this time. Leaving her once was the biggest mistake of my life and I am never going to repeat that. I may not be the best person for her like your brother but I can assure you that I'll be the best man for her." He lightly smiled and went outside without waiting for their response leaving them as shocked as they were before.
Emily turned towards Jack who seemed to be as surprised as her. "Is he really the conceited and ruthless Regan Knight about whom I have always heard? Can we trust him Jack? Can we trust him with Anna?"
He kissed her forehead and smiled. "Isn't it what you always wanted for her? Someone like Ashton who could love and cherish our baby girl as much as he did."
"I did. But I don't know. You know how much she loves him. Would she ever.....?"
Jack placed a finger on her lips to stop her. "Shhh..... baby. It's not the time to worry about these things. Let's leave this up to the time which itself will decide their fate. All I want is for Anna to be happy as before and I can't think of anyone better than Regan."
"Me too. I wish Ashton would have been here so that we didn't need to go through all this, especially Anna." She said and hugged him feeling teary again. She had always wished for someone in Anna's life to bring back the lost colours in her life but now when she saw it happening with Regan, she couldn't help but felt as if she was not ready to give away her brother's precious to anyone. She knew it was selfish of her to think that way but she couldn't stop herself from thinking like that.
After, Emily and Jack left, Regan came back again to her. He sat beside her for the whole night, unmovingly, with her hand in his, as if scared to lose her again. Later that night, he was informed by the doctor that she was responding positively towards the treatment and could awake by the morning.
The next morning, Anna's eyes slowly fluttered when the brightness of the day spread throughout the room. She slowly opened her eyes to find herself in an unknown surrounding. Her body ached awfully and her throat was hurting as it was parched due to dehydration. She moved her gaze to her side when she felt a gentle weight on her hand and gasped. The person sitting beside her had held her hand and was slept on the chair with his head lowered on her bed. Although she couldn't see his face, she easily guessed it to be Regan.
The bitter events of the previous day flashed in her mind. His ignorance, accusations, the fight and later her encounter with Mr. Benc. Realization hit her hard and she shuddered at the memory. Her eyes welled up. She roamed her eyes throughout the room in a panic as if she was scared of being in that unwanted place again. To her relief, she found herself on a hospital bed with white walls which assured her heart that she was secured. It was then when she noticed that the whole room was blooming by the sweet fragrance of the fresh flowers that adorned the whole room and made it alive. The whole room was decorated with her favorite flowers, pink lilies. She didn't know if she should feel happy or sorrowful about it. She felt hollow and numb. Once again, her eyes landed on the sleeping figure beside her. She was still hurt with his actions but she was not naive to understand the reason of her being safe on the hospital bed with him beside her. However, she didn't think much about the flowers that decorated the plain white walls with their vibrant color and freshness.
"Isn't he furious with me? Why is he here? If he hadn't been so inconsiderate earlier, I may not have to suffer from that horrible encounter in the first place. I don't want to blame him, but if the situation had been different, I would have surely talked to him before going to that place alone." She couldn't help but think that way when a whimper escaped her lips thinking about the previous night.
The faint sound and movement awakened Regan and he instantly sat straight to find Anna looking at him in a daze. He couldn't stop but smiled on finding her awake.
"Jesus Anna! You are awake. Thank God." Saying that he cupped her face and kissed her forehead tenderly that startled her. She was still blankly looking at him as he dashed out of the room. After a few moments, the door burst open with few people which she assumed to be the doctors that treated her with Regan beside them. She was made to sit comfortably on the bed and was offered some water that instantly soothed her dry throat.
One of the senior doctor checked her vitals and gently smiled. "Miss Prescott... how are you feeling now? I must say you are one strong girl. Your reports are fine for now but you need to rest well and no stress. Okay? Please take care of yourself." He nodded at Regan and left the room.
Before Regan could say anything to her, Emily and Jack acknowledged their presence. She was instantly engulfed in a hug by Emily who was bawling and apologizing for not taking caring of her.
"Baby girl I was so frightened. Thank God you are good now. We were so worried and... You are alright, that's what matters the most. Please say something Anna. Don't be like this."
Anna sat there quietly still disturbed with everything. Her mind was numb and heart still hurt. She could only come out with few words in her raspy voice that started all of them.
"I don't want to be here. Please take me back to New York Em."