Chapter 10
1079 Words
Kai turned.
He stared at her for a moment before answering.
"You called my old number," he said.
Elysia frowned.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
When his phone had rung that night and her name had flashed across the screen, he'd genuinely thought he was imagining it.
At first, he'd wondered if she'd called him by mistake. If she'd been trying to reach someone else.
Or if, after all these years, she had actually intended to call him.
He'd kept the number. His old number.
Truthfully, he didn't even know why.
Maybe because changing it had never seemed necessary.
Or maybe because a small part of him had never wanted to let go of anything connected to her.
Whatever the reason, he had been genuinely surprised when he saw her name appear on the screen.
Even more surprised that she still had the number.
Elysia looked away.
It was the first time since she'd woken up that she did that—looked away first.
"I'm sorry," she muttered.
Kai frowned slightly.
Sorry?
He wasn't sure what she was apologizing for.
Was she apologizing for calling him?
For dragging him into the mess?
Or had she realized she hadn't meant to call him at all?
The last possibility left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Because if he was being honest with himself, a part of him had spent the entire drive to the hospital wondering why she had called him in the first place.
"I'm sorry that I didn't call. That I haven't called in the last six years," Elysia said quietly.
Kai stared at her.
For a moment, he genuinely didn't know what to say.
There were a lot of things he could have said. A lot of things he had wanted to say over the years.
But before he could find any of them—
Hurried footsteps echoed from outside the room.
A second later, a familiar voice followed.
"Elysia... amour."
The door swung open.
Elysia's mother rushed into the room.
Relief and panic battled across her face as her eyes landed on her daughter.
Jade was right behind her.
She looked like she'd run an entire invisible marathon to get there.
Her hair was slightly disheveled, her breathing uneven and her eyes wide with worry.
"Oh my God."
Jade pressed a hand against her chest.
"Do you have any idea how much you scared us?”
Dr. Nicole St. Laurent practically threw her arms around her daughter the moment she reached the bed.
"Mon amour..."
Her voice broke.
Elysia felt her mother's arms tighten around her and for a moment neither of them said anything.
Nicole simply held her.
As though she needed to reassure herself that Elysia was really there.
Really alive.
She only let go when Elysia winced slightly.
"Sorry, sorry." Nicole immediately pulled back, her eyes already suspiciously bright. "I'm sorry."
Elysia couldn't help smiling.
Before she could say anything, Jade practically pushed her mother aside.
"My turn."
Then she wrapped her arms around Elysia.
Unlike Nicole's careful embrace, Jade's was enthusiastic enough to nearly squeeze the life out of her.
"Jade..." Elysia wheezed.
"Do you have any idea how worried I was?" Jade demanded, refusing to let go immediately.
"I almost had a heart attack."
"You're twenty-six."
"Exactly. Far too young for a heart attack."
Despite everything, Elysia laughed.
It hurt her throat but it was worth it.
A few feet away, Kai watched the scene quietly.
He didn't interrupt. Didn't step forward.
He simply stood there with his hands tucked into his pockets, letting Elysia have the reunion she'd almost never gotten to have.
“Tu vas bien, ma chérie ?” Dr. Nicole said, her hands still trembling slightly as she held Elysia’s face. “Tu m’as tellement inquiétée.”
Are you okay, my darling? I was so worried about you.
She pressed a kiss to the side of Elysia’s head twice, holding her like she was afraid she might disappear again.
“Tu as failli nous faire faire une crise cardiaque, ta grand-mère et moi,” she added, pulling back just enough to look at her properly.
You nearly gave your grandmother and me a heart attack.
Jade smiled at the exchange. As an American-Italian, she didn’t understand a word of the French being thrown around, but she understood the emotion behind it well enough.
Sometimes she forgot just how deeply rooted Elysia’s family was in old French aristocracy.
And Nicole’s habit of slipping into French mid-sentence never helped.
Kai, on the other hand, understood every word.
He had spent most of his childhood and teenage years learning French, first just to understand what was being said around him, and later as something he continued studying even into college.
Dr. Nicole gently let go of Elysia and hurried over to Kai.
She pulled him into a tight hug without hesitation.
Kai went still for a brief moment before returning it, his arms wrapping around her in a way that felt almost instinctive now.
She had always been kind to him.
Always warm.
Always a quiet presence in his life after his mother’s passing, stepping into that space without ever forcing it.
When she finally pulled back, she kept her hands on his shoulders for a moment longer.
Then she leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.
“Merci,” she said softly, her voice full of genuine gratitude. “Pour tout.”
Thank you. For everything.
Kai’s expression softened slightly.
“Il n’y a pas de quoi,” he replied quietly. “Je suis content qu’elle aille bien.”
It’s nothing. I’m just glad she’s okay.
Dr. Nicole nodded, her eyes lingering on him for a second before she finally let him go.
She turned to Elysia, her expression hardening instantly.
“You’re divorcing Declan Windsor the moment you’re out of this hospital,” she said, her tone leaving no space for argument.
The words landed heavily in the room.
Elysia stared at her mother.
Normally, she would have argued. She would have defended him. Or found some softer truth to hide behind.
But this time…
She didn’t. She said nothing.
No denial. No reassurance.
Just silence.
Dr. Nicole’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Elysia,” she said more carefully now, as if noticing something in her daughter’s expression for the first time. “What happened?”
Elysia swallowed. Her fingers slowly tightened against the hospital blanket.
And then—
She finally looked away.
- Writer
