CHAPTER 1
I woke to throbbing pain throughout my body, a pounding headache, and the screaming of my name. It was faint, but growing in intensity as it moved toward me.
My eyes opened and I looked around, seeing the door of what I recognized as a hospital room.
“Lila! Lila!” Nathan’s voice cried out. It was a frantic, panicked tone I had never heard before.
“Lila!”
“Mr. Thorne! You need to return to your room!” what I assumed was a nurse screeched at him.
“Lila!”
“Don’t pull that out,” another voice scolded.
“Lila!” he wailed, and it sounded like he was on the verge of tears.
It was clear he was ignoring the nurses as his search for me continued; they were threatening to call security.
“Lila!” he called out again, desperation flooding his tone. He was louder, only one room away.
My chest tightened, and my heart began beating at a furious pace.
Seconds later, his hands appeared on the doorway, bracing himself while his eyes searched for me.
I gasped when I took in his appearance; he was wearing nothing but a hospital gown. One tube hung from his wrist, hanging down on the ground.
His expression was what had me in shock and my heart wrenching. Tears streamed down his pink cheeks; his eyes were wide and frantic, a look of despair overpowering all other emotions.
As soon as his eyes met mine, his body relaxed, and his face morphed into one of relief and joy.
“Lila!” he cried out once more, stumbling toward me.
He reached out and grasped onto the sides of my face, his forehead leaning onto my bandaged one.
“Oh, thank God. Thank God, you’re alive.”
Warm tears landed on my cheeks as he continued mumbling. I stared at him in stunned silence. This was not the Nathan I knew. The mask was gone, and for the first time I was seeing the true Nathan without any inhibitions. He was raw and lay bare before me.
I didn’t move, I didn’t speak, I just laid there stunned. He was crying.
Nathan was crying.