- 8 3 -

"He's never going to love you, Thea. Not like me." Igor whispers in my ear and I shake my head furiously.

"You're lying. He loves me, I know it." I say firmly.

"Does he?" He says and open my mouth to say something but then stop.

Does he?

"Heather." I look up at Igor's familiar face, letting him cup my cheek tenderly, but it's not... Roman.

"I love you." He whispers, his eyes shining but I remove his hand from my face gently.

"I want Roman." I say childishly and see his frown.

"But you need me." He says too softly and I move away from him. No.

"No. I need Roman. I can't live without him." I say when he grabs my face harshly, making me wince.

"You will stay with me. We belong together." He sounds determined and I don't like the look in his eyes one bit when I push him away and attempt to make a run for it, finding myself lost somewhere completely dark.

"He'll never love you. You lied to him!" Igor's voice echoes and I fall to the floor, holding my head in my hands.

"I never lied to him! You're lying!" I scream on the top of my lungs.

"You don't love him honestly, you have always loved me, Heather!" He yells and I cry out.

"You were never his!"

"He'll never love you back!"

"You're supposed to be mine!"

"He loathes you!"

"No! He loves me!" I shout, hoping, praying, Roman would come to my rescue.

"I need you, Roman, please, I need you with me!" I cry, rocking back and forth.

"I'm scared, please don't leave me, please..." I whisper as warm arms engulf me and embrace me to their chest.

"I'm here." His voice is so soothing, so calming. It feels like home.

"Please don't leave me." I whimper, holding on to him as if my life depends on it but I'm snatched away, dragged back into the darkness.

"No!" I sit up with a jolt, my heart hammering out of my chest and tears streaming down my face.

My hair is matted against my sweaty forehead, my throat dry and my eyes wide, hands shaking as I search around the dark room.

"Roman..." I rasp, clutching at my throat as I feel a panic attack approaching. I can't breathe as I attempt to stand up on shaky legs.

Grabbing onto whatever support I can find, I clutch my chest, trying to breathe.

Phone. My phone, where did I put it? I need to call Alex. Yes, Alex, he'll help me.

I open the door with shaky hands, stumbling out into the hallway and finally the living room. It's dark and I can barely see anything, except for the moonlight streaming in from the balcony doors and a figure sitting on the couch.

I know him, he's the love of my life. Roman, my Roman.

I try to call out to him, but my voice doesn't come out, and he doesn't notice me.

Is he still mad? Well I'm mad too.

I gasp, trying to breathe, tears streaming down my face as a hoarse cry leaves my lips. I can't breathe. I hear heavy footsteps.

Igor? Is that him?

Please don't be him, I pray silently.

He scares me. I want Roman, my Roman. No, I don't want him. I don't need anyone.

"Heather." I hear hurried footsteps, my back against the wall and I'm sitting with my knees to my chest on the cold marble floor.

"Heather, talk to me. What's wrong with you?" His voice is urgent and so familiar. Green eyes. Do I know him?

Roman?

"Angel..." His voice is fading fast, my heart thundering in my ears.

I love it when he calls me that. Angel.

"Angel, breathe with me, look at me." He presses me to his broad chest and I can hear his fast heartbeat.

"Breathe, come on, in and out." He keeps repeating that, my vision keeps getting blurry but I try to follow him.

In and out, in and out, in and out.

I gasp, eyes wide and coughing, making me hunch over.

"That's it baby, breathe with me, in and out, just like that, si?" He coos gently. I wonder if he still wants me.

He pushes my hair back from my forehead and sits with his back to the wall and me in his lap.

I want to spend the rest of my life with this man. But he left me. Will he leave me like everyone else?

"You're okay, angel, you're okay. You're breathing." He's kissing my forehead and cheeks repeatedly.

"I hate you." I whisper with a sneer when our eyes connect and then everything goes dark.

"She's gaining consciousness. Yes, look at that." I hear deep voices, so many of them and a steady, beeping sound.

Someone touches my forehead and then my cheek gently.

"For heaven's sake, Anton, give her some space!" I hear a female voice, it sounds warm and sweet. Ana?

"This is all your fault." I hear another voice hiss lowly to someone.

"All of you men except Roman, out! Now!" I hear Ana command and a few moments later, everything is quiet and I hear a door close.

"She's going to be fine?" I hear him say.

"Yes, don't worry, she's coming back to us. Just... be careful with her. She's in a sensitive state." She says and I hear him hum when my eyelids flutter open and I squint at the light.

"Turn down the lights." He says in a rushed voice and instantly the lights dim, and my eyes adjust easily before I look around.

So much beige and white and... green. He's here.

I try to sit up and he immediately helps me, putting pillows behind me to support my back.

I look around the spacious room and colourful flowers when a cup is pushed to my lips.

I part them immediately, feeling cool and soothing water trickle into my mouth, some dripping down my chin and he immediately cleans it with his hand.

"Easy there, angel." He says. Angel. He called me his angel.

But I'm no angel.

"Roman." I rasp when he puts the cup aside and he immediately takes a hold of my hand and guides me to him, my body moulding into his.

I breathe in his familiar scent, closing my eyes for a split moment.

"You're okay." He breathes when I look ahead and see Ana smiling at us. I smile back weakly, my eyes feeling tired and my body exhausted when she comes over.

"How are you feeling now?" She asks, checking my vitals.

"My head hurts." I whisper and she nods.

"I'll give you some medicines to take, but your head will hurt for a bit and you might feel a bit dizzy." She says and looks at Roman.

"I'll have them send the medicines and some food, make sure she eats it all, she's too weak." She says and Roman nods wordlessly.

"Take care, okay? I'll be right out if you need me." She says to me, squeezing my hand once and I smile gratefully, watching as she takes her bag and goes out, closing the door softly behind her.

We sit in complete silence for a few minutes before he finally speaks up.

"How are you feeling now?" He asks and I shrug, playing with a loose thread on the blanket over me, avoiding his gaze.

"I've been better." I say and he hums, pecking my forehead and running his hands through my hair but I slightly move back, making him tense and freeze over.

His hand holds mine gently, caressing it, and his fingers drift to my ring finger very now and then, circling the vacant area before retreating then coming back again.

"I'm sorry." He says after a while and I frown, looking up at him. His eyes hold so many emotions and I drown in them again and again.

"I'm sorry for treating you that way, I— I'm ashamed of my behaviour. You didn't deserve any of that shit." He says softly but I don't answer him.

"I was furious at the fact that you would hide something like that from me and it hurt me that you couldn't trust me enough to tell me all that. Maybe I did something wrong or didn't love you enough for you to feel that way." He spoke and I looked at him baffled.

He felt that way?

"I do trust you, Roman, and your love was always more than enough for me. I just felt like this was my problem to deal with. I didn't want to drag you with me in all that mess. I thought I cold handle it myself." I said.

"Never say that baby. Your problems are mine. Your happiness, sadness, everything is mine. I choose you, and that means that I want all of you, the good and the bad. I want you to give me everything you've got." He stokes my cheek tenderly and I swallow thickly, looking away.

"I love you, angel, never doubt that." He touched his forehead to mine and I released a shaky breath.

"And I hate the fact that you... You said you hated me, right before you blacked out, and its killing me." He rasps and I purse my lips, not meeting his gaze.

"Answer me, angel. Please. Say something." He pleads and I sigh, crossing my arms over my chest which upsets him the moment my hand slips out of his hold.

"You left me when I needed you most. It's not like I knew I was being stalked for the past two or so years." I said and heard his sharp intake of breath.

"And then you fucked me." I finally looked into his eyes, which showed nothing but guilt.

"To take your revenge on me. And that really hurt, Roman. You used my body and then you left for two fucking days." I say, my face heating up with shame and my voice cracking.

"I felt like shit. You made me feel that way, and I don't like that. A lot of people have left me when I needed them most. If you're going to be one of them." I paused, looking him dead n the eyes.

"Then you can leave now. I can't take it anymore. If anyone leaves like that again, I'll break. And I want to live, goddammit." I cried, putting my hands on my face as the tears fell.

"No. Don't you dare tell me to leave." He grabbed my hands, pulling them away from my face and wiping my tears away.

"I will never leave you. I can't live without you, angel. I won't survive. I want to live, but with you." He spoke gently, keeping my hands in his firm grip as we looked at each other. Really looked at each other.

"I love you, infinitely. And I will say it for as long as I live, and I will prove it till life takes me to my grave, and maybe even after. No one, and I mean no fucking one can or will ever come between us. They'll be dead by my hands before they ever do." He said in a firm tone and I nodded after a moment.

"Now tell me truthfully." He cupped my cheek, tipping my head up.

"Do you really hate me?" He asked and I took a deep breath in, shaking my head.

"I don't." I said and he grunted in satisfaction.

"Good fucking girl. Now tell me you love me." He said in a deeper tone and I gulped, looking between his eyes.

"I love you, Roman." I whispered and he closed his eyes for a brief moment, basking in it before opening them, he waited for a split second before placing his lips on mine.

He kissed me like a man starved, pouring all of his love and emotions and regrets through it, telling me how much he regretted leaving and how much he loved me.

I kissed him back slowly, getting dizzy only after a few seconds and pushed at his chest.

He pulled back stubbornly, his hand around my neck and my own grabbing at his hair.

No one could come between us, ever.

The door opened a few moments later as we breathed heavily and a nurse walked in with a big smile and an even bigger tray of food.

"Oh, you're finally awake!" She said with excitement, her dark hair lined with some grey streaks as she put the tray on the table and came over to me, checking my vitals and fixing some stuff.

"Such a pretty young woman, what a shame to see you here! You should take better care of your wife!" She chastised Roman and my eyes widened when I looked at him.

But he seemed unbothered and didn't even correct it as he wrapped his arm possessively and protectively around me.

"I will, don't worry. I love her too much to loose her." He said and looked down at me, both mine and the woman's eyes shining with tears when she awed.

"It's so good to see that such true love still lives." She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and shook her head.

"Anyhow, you should take these medicines as soon as you finish eating and call me or the doctor if you need anything, alright?" She asked and I nod.

"Thank you." I said politely and she beamed at us before leaving. Roman carried the tray of food over to me, sitting on the bed in front of me and put the tray in my lap, beginning to unwrap the sandwich and holding it out to me.

"I can eat it myself." I tell him but he shook his head.

"Let me do it for you, baby, I want to." He urged and I let him feed me the sandwich, and the fruit, and the chocolate mousse as well.

He licked the cream off my lips with a seductive and flirty smile, winking at me and thus making me blush furiously while he chuckles at my red face.

"Adorable. Look at my pretty fiancé." He cupped my cheek and placed a tender kiss on my nose and then both my hands, finally pecking my lips numerous times while I sat there stunned.

Fiancé?

Shit, I completely forgot about that.

"Fiancé?" I squeaked out, my voice higher than usual when he smirked, pushing my hair back from my face.

"Hm, soon to be wife." He growled, pushing me down onto the bed and climbing on top of me, he started to kiss my neck while I lay there shocked at the new name.

Wife.

"And I guess that would make you my soon to be husband?" I looked at him coyly and he grunted, biting my neck.

"Fuck, I like the sound of that." He said, his voice muffled in my neck.

I laughed as he placed kisses everywhere while I giggled, trying to swat his hands away.

I like the sound of that too.