chapter six

Renzo's POV

I drove like a mad man to the hospital, ignoring every speed limit and traffic light along the way. All I could think about was Valentina.

Please, let me not be too late.

The thought of losing her crossed my mind, almost ruining my state of sanity. I barely parked before jumping out of the car and running inside. I found Don Valetti in the hallway, his face was pale and drawn.

I ran to him.

“Don, I came as soon as I heard,” I told him, trying to catch my breath. “How is she? Is she fine? What's the doctor's review?”

He inhaled deeply. “Renzo,” he choked. “Valetina…she—”

He swallowed hard.

“She tried to kill herself,” he revealed.

For a second, I couldn’t breathe.

“What?”

Don looked away.

My entire body went numb. I heard the words, but my mind refused to accept them.

He continued.

“A maid went to call her for dinner, but  she didn’t answer. I thought she was still upset with me, so I ignored it.”  He rubbed his trembling hand over his face.

“But something didn’t feel right. I went back and broke down the door.”

His voice cracked.

“She was lying lifeless on the bed.”

My breath hitched. Different flashes crossed my mind.

I had run after her, desperate to explain, but she locked herself in her room. I thought giving her space was the mature thing to do.

I left for the warehouse, planning to talk to her when I get back. Only to get called by the Don half–way through the journey. Now I couldn’t stop thinking about what might have happened if I had stayed.

My chest tightened, thinking about how everything was my fault. Don sighed, his breath shaky.

“I…I just don't know why she'd do this,” his voice cracked. “Does she hate it here so much? Does she hate me so much? That it's enough to take her own life?”

I wanted to tell him the truth, that this wasn’t his fault. But I couldn’t.

The sound of the door clicking grabbed our attention. We rushed forward. “Doctor, how is she?” we asked at the same time.

“She's stable now,” he said, his voice calm but that did nothing to relieve me.

 “We managed to flush the drugs from her system. She’ll need to be monitored for a day or two, but she should be fine. Then, she can be discharged.”

My shoulders finally loosened. She was alive, that was all that mattered.

The doctor said she was unconscious but we could check on her one at a time. Don went in first. I waited outside, pacing around the hallway. 

Every few seconds, I looked at the door, I kept replaying everything in my head. 

When Don finally came out his eyes were red and his face looked older somehow. He just nodded at me and said, “Go. She’s still out. Talk to her even if she can’t hear you.”

His voice was low and broken. I nodded and pushed the door open.

The room was quiet except for the soft beeping of machines. Valentina  looked so small on the white sheets. Her face was pale, her hair scattered across the pillow. Seeing her like that hurt more than I expected.

 I walked slowly towards her, my legs feeling heavy. I pulled a chair close to the bed and sat down. I reached for her hand. It was cold and soft.

My eyes burned. A tear slipped down my cheek.

“Valentina… I’m so sorry,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “This is all my fault. I should have explained better. I should have made you listen.”

 I tightened my grip on her hand and lowered my head beside her arm. At that point, I didn’t care who saw me cry.I stayed  beside her, talking, even though she couldn’t answer. I told her how scared I was when I heard what had happened to her. I apologized again and again, hoping somehow she could hear me.

Eventually exhaustion took over, and I fell asleep still holding her hand.

I don’t know how long I slept. Suddenly I felt a movement. Her fingers moved against mine. My eyes snapped open.

I lifted my head fast.

Valentina was awake, and she was staring at me with pure hatred,

“Valentina…” I said softly, sitting up straight. “Hey… you’re awake. Thank God. Listen, I need to explain what really happened with that maid—”

“Don’t,” she cut me off, her voice hoarse and sharp.

 “Don’t you dare talk to me.”

“Please just hear me out,” I begged, still holding her hand.

“I said don’t!”

“Nothing happened. She was just... I never—”

“Get away from me!” she screamed, yanking her hand away from me so hard the IV line pulled.

 “I hate you! I hate everything about you!”

“Valentina, calm down, you’re still weak—”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” she yelled louder, her face twisting with anger.

“You ruined everything!” she creamed.

“You’re a liar! I trusted you!”

“I wish I had never met you!”

Her voice broke.

“I never want to see you again!”

“I hate you so much I can’t even look at you!”

I flinched. I would have preferred a slap to hearing those hurtful words.

Her voice got higher and louder. The monitors started beeping faster. I tried talking over her, trying to explain what she had seen again, how it was all a misunderstanding, how I only cared about her, but she didn’t listen at all. She just kept screaming and thrashing on the bed.

“Get out! Get out of this room! I hate you Renzo! I hate you!”

The monitors suddenly screamed and the door opened. Two nurses and a doctor rushed inside.

“Sir, you need to step away,” one of the nurses said firmly, pushing me back gently but strongly.

“She’s just upset, please let me—”

“Now,” the doctor ordered, already checking the machines and trying to hold her down carefully.

“She’s agitated and we need to subdue her before she hurts herself.”

I backed up against the wall, watching them as they tried to calm her down. But she kept fighting them, her eyes still locked on me.

I couldn’t move. The way she looked at me stayed with me. Pure hatred, as if I was the worst thing that had happened to her.

My eyes burned, but I didn’t look away.

“I hate you, Renzo!”

Her voice followed me even after the nurses shut the door. And for the first time, I wondered if I had already lost her.