Chapter 624:

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It took hours. Amelia refused to budge, her gaze fixed on the incubator, deaf to the doctor’s reasoning about her own need to recover. The fear of leaving her daughter, even for a moment, was a physical barrier.

“Amelia, please,” Garrett murmured, his voice low and patient. “Just to the lounge. You can see her through the glass, I promise. We can come back the instant you want to. You need to rest, to be strong for her.”

The plea to be strong for her baby was the only thing that reached her. With a final, lingering look and a shuddering breath, she gave a stiff nod. She agreed at last to leave the NICU.

But she would go no farther than the family lounge a few steps away, where a large glass wall still offered a view of the nursery.

𝘙𝖾сom𝗺𝖾𝗇𝘥 𝗴𝘢lո𝗈𝘷е𝘭𝘀.cоm 𝗍𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝗎𝗿 𝖿𝗋іеոd𝘴

A nurse brought a wheelchair, but Amelia refused it. She leaned on Garrett’s arm and took one slow, deliberate step after another, as if the physical act of walking were the only way to confirm she was still alive.

He settled her onto a soft sofa and wrapped a thick blanket around her shivering body. Then he knelt in front of her, took her bare, ice-cold feet into his hands, and began to massage them gently.

Amelia’s gaze stayed fixed on the distant NICU, her expression vacant. She was like a beautiful, soulless doll.

Garrett’s heart ached. He held her foot, his voice a low murmur. “Amelia, look at me.”

Her eyes drifted slowly back from the nursery and finally focused on his face. He was haggard, dark stubble shadowing his jaw, his eyes a web of red veins.

She reached out a trembling hand and lightly touched his cheek. “You’re hurt.” She wasn’t talking about his leg.

Garrett caught her hand and pressed it to his lips for a soft kiss. “I’m fine. As long as you and the baby are fine.”

Fresh tears welled in Amelia’s eyes. She shook her head, her voice a broken whisper. “It’s my fault… it’s all my fault… I shouldn’t have left…”

She was drowning in self-blame, convinced that her decision to run had caused this catastrophe.

“No.” Garrett’s voice was firm. He cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Listen to me, Amelia. This is not your fault. You are a victim.”

The weight of her trauma and exhaustion finally overwhelmed her. Her eyes fluttered shut and she slumped against him, falling into a deep sleep.

Garrett held her, not daring to move. Only after a doctor confirmed she was merely sleeping did he carefully lift her into his arms and carry her back to her room.

Later that night, a scream tore through the quiet of the hospital room.

Amelia was thrashing in her bed, her arms flailing as if fighting off an invisible enemy. “Don’t touch my baby! Get away!”

Garrett, keeping vigil in a chair beside her bed, was at her side in an instant. He gathered her into his arms and held her tight, his voice a constant, soothing whisper in her ear. “It’s okay, baby, it’s okay… I’m here. The baby is safe.”

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