Ex-Husband's Regret

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Chapter 0528

All my strength leaves me, and I stumble at his words, unable to fully comprehend what he was saying or the meaning behind his words.

Shocked gasps fill the room as everyone stares at the doctor as if he's an alien from outer space.

"Is she awake? Can we see her?" this comes from Ava.

*She's not awake. She's in the ICU, and only immediate family members are allowed to see her." He answers. "I'll arrange for that in a few... If you excuse me, I need to check on her."

We are left staring at his back as he walks away. It's a devastating blow to hear that Emma may not ever walk again.

I take my seat, unable to stand up longer given that my damn knees were weak.

I don't understand. She was on her way to recovery. She was doing well. She was mending fences and putting her life back together. Why the hell did this happen to her?

"When will she wake up?" Gunner asks the doctor, who was busy checking Emma's charts.

She was no longer in the ICU. They had moved her about two days ago when she was out of danger.

Her head is bandaged, and both her legs are in a cast. Even then, she still looked like an angel as she slept on the white hospital bed, and her hair spread across the pillow. Her chest rose and fell, but that was the only indication that she was alive. Well, that and the steady beeping of the heart monitor. Her lashes fanned her cheeks, which, just like the rest of her face, was a bit pale.

"I'm not sure, little guy. At this point, it all depends on her. She should have woken up, but maybe she doesn't want to." He answers him, as gently as he can. "We call it the will of the patient. Some have the willpower to come back and fight to get back to the land of the living, and others, due to maybe some terrible things that happened, don't have the will and don't want to come back."

I could strangle him, I swear, if I was sure that I wouldn't end up in jail for assaulting a doctor... But then again, he did warn us that he doesn't like mincing and sugarcoating words. I guess that applies even to kids.

Gunner looks heartbroken at his words. His eyes keep shifting from the idiot doctor to his mother. He has refused to let go of her hand since we got here. For the last two days, this is where we have spent our time. Only going home to shower and change.

"But you can talk to her. I hear that they listen even if they can't respond. Maybe you can give her a reason to want to come back." with those parting words, he walks out.

"I want her to come back," Gunner whispers, his lips trembling as he fights back his tears. "I want to plant more flowers with her."

Fuck. It breaks my heart to see him like this. It's killing me to watch his heart shatter. It destroys me to see him losing hope every day that goes by without Emma waking up.

"Please, mom, wake up," he cries. "I promise I'll forgive you if you open your eyes."

His sobs undo something inside me. I hug him tightly, wishing I could take his pain away. Wishing I could give him what he desires. I can't do any of that, but I can be there for him, and that's what I plan to do, no matter what happens.

*Please just wake up," Gunner pleads brokenly. "Please."

"Noah was here today," Gunner tells his mom while combing her hair with a brush that Kate had gotten him. She told him it was Emma's favorite brush because it was given to her by her dad when she was sixteen. Apparently,

it was specially made for her. There isn't one like it in the entire world.

It was day four, and still nothing. We take tums with the rest of her family, always making sure that she isn't alone and that there is someone to talk to her.

The doctors assured us that everything was fine. The swelling had subsided, there was brain activity, and she was healing well, yet we didn't understand why she wasn't waking up.