Chasing Paradise (Chasing 3) - Page 44/52

I was going to die right now, the thought flashed in my mind as the red lights got bigger before my very eyes.

I wanted to move, but my feet were rooted on the spot, heavy. It was like everything zoned in and all I could see and hear was the car while my heart batted against my chest in slow motion. My breaths shallow as I watched the car about to hit me.

“Move, Sienna!!!” Gareth yelled, launching himself to push me to the curb, hitting my head with it before blacking out.

Twenty-eight

Blake

The moment I saw Edward striding towards the boardroom, interrupting the meeting, with a hard look in his eyes, I shot out of my seat. “Where is she?” I yelled at him, hushing the rest of the room.

“There’s been an accident. She has a concussion and is in the hospital. Heavily medicated, but is well, sir,” Edward rushed out, giving me the important details.

I loosened my tie, trying to breathe before I faced my grandfather, who was always present in these meetings. “I have to go.”

My grandfather nodded, standing up before he gave me a strong hug. “Don’t leave her side until she’s well. I need my great grandchildren soon. Don’t slack off with your duties. Go!” He gave me the hand gesture and shooed me out of the room.

Now in the car, Edward updated me with the events. Shock didn’t cover what I felt right now. “Ivanna?” I spat. “It was her all along?”

“She’s in jail and being held without bail until the judge reviews the case.” Edward shook his head in disgust.

How the hell did that nice woman turn into a murderer? I was wracked with guilt. This was all my fault. I wanted to go see her, confront her, bring down all the bloody punishments to the damn woman who wanted Sienna dead, just because I ended the small fling we had last year, but Edward advised that I visit Sienna first, snapping me back to the main priority.

It was rather surreal, coming into the same hospital that I went to when Chad was admitted last year. I should’ve been running to get to her room, but my steps were slowed as I tried to breathe. Everything seemed acute. Sienna was here, unconscious. The words kept repeating in my head.

Chad was in New York with Luke. Toby was in Marbella and Lucy was in school. I was never one who needed friends to feel better, but right now, I’d give anything to have one of them talking to me, help me get some sense of the situation.

No matter what Edward said, I felt like this was my fault. Ivanna was the result of my raging rebellion against Sienna, trying implicitly to exorcise her from my mind and my heart, but I failed miserably. The second I touched Sienna; I went back to the besotted fool that I was and dropped everyone else. I might have been crass when it came to me ending ties with my past lovers, but they were done with good intentions, explaining the to and fro.

This was unexpected.

“We’re here, sir. I’ll just wait out here.” Edward gestured towards the door next to him. The acrid smell of the hospital inflamed my senses, reminding me that Sienna was hurting behind this door.

I stifled a sob when I saw her, pale and ashen, with a cut on her forehead. For some reason, I stayed at the foot of the bed, afraid to move any closer or dare to even touch her because I was afraid that something wrong would happen.

A quick knock on the door made me look up. Edward appeared and slowly walked inside the room. “I was just informed that Gareth just got out of surgery. He’s in recovery. I will let you know if there are any more updates.” Edward gave me a curt nod before walking back out into the hallway.

When we were on our way here, I vaguely recalled him mentioning Gareth needing surgery, but I was too out of it to even pay attention.

Dragging my legs to function, I pulled a chair and placed it right next to Sienna. The room was eerily quiet, except for the monitors beeping, reminding me that I failed twice.

The nurses and doctors came and went, explaining procedures and the healing process with good news, but I was pretty much zoning in and out as they spoke to me. Guilt was eating me alive while I watched Sienna recover, fighting to get better.

When it went past midnight, I reached out and stroked her hand, hoping she’d wake up. “Hey, it’s me.”

Maybe hearing my voice, even though she was asleep, would subconsciously let her know that I was there, waiting for her.

“I love you. Come back to me soon, cara.” I kissed her hand, needing to see her smiles. “You said you’d wait for me. Don’t keep me hanging for long.” I paused, needing to gather myself and not breakdown. “I’m sorry for not protecting you as I had promised before. I’m terrible at it, aren’t I? I wouldn’t really blame you if you don’t want to wake up and see me because I’ve let you down again.”

I brushed against her fingers, bombarded with memories of her. Sienna throwing popcorn at my face, or how she’d make faces, sitting on the countertop while I shaved. The way she put her heart into singing, but was so terrible at it; however, it hadn’t mattered because she was having the time of her life.

One of my favorite memories of her was when she and I fought, she was in the wrong and she knew it, too, but she didn’t want to apologize. I left for work aggravated and then was surprised to find her in my office, carrying a pizza box with her and wearing the sexiest dress.

“Hi, I brought you lunch.” She was nervous, eyeing me cautiously because I was still rooted to the spot, right next to my door.

I nodded, moving slowly towards her before I took the outstretched box in her hands and placed it on the coffee table. “Thanks. How thoughtful of you to come by and bring me lunch.” Inside, I was overjoyed, but I had to mask that because I wanted her to apologize. A simple ‘I’m sorry’ would’ve done the trick, but she was too stubborn.

Sienna came closer, looking like she wanted to sit, but opted to stand instead. “You must be hungry, you should take a bite. I got you your favorite.”

This should be interesting. “What might that be?” Referring to my favorite since I was almost sure we never ate pizza together. I sat back on the sofa, lounging as I watched her squirm.

“Cheese?”

She was too adorable, but still, I was adamant to hear her apology. I loved and worshipped the ground she walked on, but when she was in the wrong, I needed her to know that she was mistaken so we didn’t have to keep having the same problem time and time again. “Margherita is one. Anchovies, second.”

She reddened. “Oh,” she murmured, clutching her purse. “Are you breaking up with me? I know we fight a lot and most of the time it’s my fault. I’m childish; I tend to overreact on things, but I do love you, Blake.”