217: ENOUGH! LUKE’S POV As the lights flickered back on and the elevator stopped shaking, I breathed a sigh of relief. I looked down at Ariel, who was now unconscious in my arms. I had kissed her, and she had fainted. I thought the kids were going to stop that from happening, but too bad, it didn’t. I could just wait for us to get out of this situation. I held her tightly, scared of losing her again. I couldn’t handle the thought of losing her twice. I waited for what felt like an eternity for the elevator to start moving again. Finally, the doors opened, and a group of people came rushing in, looking worried. “We heard someone screaming for help. Is everything okay?” one of them asked. I explained the situation to them, and they quickly called for medical help. Ariel was still unconscious, and I didn’t want to let go of her. I carried her out of the elevator, and the medical team quickly took her to the hospital. ARIEL’S POV I woke up to the sound of beeping machines and the sterile smell of a hospital room. My head was throbbing, and my body felt like it had been hit by a truck. As I tried to sit up, a sharp pain shot through my side, and I winced. Wait, I couldn’t all this pain be here, all because of a shake? It wasn’t like I was beaten or something. I just blacked out. Oh well, life goes on. “Easy there,” a familiar voice said, and I turned to see Luke standing by my bedside. “You’ve finally regained consciousness.” “What happened?” I asked, my voice weak and scratchy. “You fainted in the elevator. Thankfully, everything got back to normal that moment, and I got help, and here you are at the hospital.” I groaned and closed my eyes, trying to piece together what happened. It was really a fucked–up feeling. I couldn’t believe I was that scared of dying. Like, I was still terrified of leaving this earth? Seriously? “I’m just glad you’re okay,” Luke said, placing a hand on my arm. I shrugged his hand off and glared at him. “I don’t need you to care about me, Luke. Just go.” He sighed and shook his head. “I can’t do that, Ariel. I still care about you, no matter how much you push me away.” I rolled my eyes. “You don’t get it, do you? I don’t want you in my life anymore. You’ve caused me enough pain.” “Enough pain, yes; big mistakes, yes. But I’ve apologized, and I don’t get why your heart is still filled with darkness. I want to protect you, no matter what.” 217; ENOUGH! 273 I scoffed. “I don’t need your protection, Luke. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” He sat down next to me, and his face was serious. “I know you are, but that doesn’t mean you have to do it alone. I made a vow to protect you when I married you, and I intend to keep it.” “The vow you made to your grandfather? Oh, please, Luke. Don’t make me laugh.” “I did make that vow because of my grandfather. But things have changed. I now love you, and I want to protect you. I want to keep you safe from all sorts of danger.” I looked away, not wanting to see the sincerity in his eyes. “I don’t want to be married to you anymore, Luke. We both know our marriage was a mistake. I shouldn’t even have married you for the second time.” Luke’s expression softened. “I won’t deny that we’ve had our problems, but I still love you, Ariel. And I won’t give up on us.” “Please don’t keep on saying that. I can’t even picture myself being with you.” “But I can, Ariel. I can picture you kissing me, and I can picture the two of us cuddling. It’s all in my head.” “Stop! Don’t tell me such nonsense. Better get those thoughts off your head. Get it out, Luke. You’ll only be deceiving yourself.” “Sorry, Ariel. But these feelings are true. And I’m not going to stop until we’re finally back together.” “You’re going to die trying.” “Then I’d rather die trying to get you back than sit down and do nothing. “You are mine, and I am yours.” I closed my eyes, trying to block out his words. But then I remembered something. “Why did you kiss me before I passed out in the elevator?” Luke’s cheeks turned pink, and he looked away. “I don’t know… I guess I just wanted to make sure you knew I still cared.” “Well, don’t do it again. It’s irritating, and it doesn’t change anything.” Luke’s you, ze met mine. “I can’t promise that, Ariel. You’re still my wife, and I still have feelings for “Keep your feelings to yourself,” I spat. “I can’t do that, Ariel. You’ve already stolen a part of my heart.” “Then come and take it. I don’t want anything to do with you.” “I didn’t kill your son.” “Please don’t say that,” I uttered inaudibly. 217 ENOUGH 1/1 “Why wouldn’t 171 can’t keep on letting you go on with these accusations.” I glared at him. “I feel like getting up from this bed and ripping your brain out of your head.” “Who even made you believe that?” “Believe what?” “That 1 killed Luke. Apparently, you weren’t there when he was shot. “So what?” I snapped. “I’m trying to tell you that I didn’t do anything. Someone told you sh*t, and you just believed? Like, that doesn’t even make any sense.” “You killed my son to get back at me. It makes sense enough.” “That’s false, Ariel. I didn’t do that. Believe me, please.” “I can’t believe you, Luke. You expect me to believe that you had nothing to do with my son’s death? “I swear, Ariel. I had no involvement in Luke’s death.” “Stop lying to me, Luke. You have always been a monster!” “I would never hurt you like that. I may have made mistakes, but I would never harm an innocent child.” “I can’t listen to this anymore. Get out of my sight!” I shouted, pointing towards the door. Luke’s face fell, and he nodded in defeat. “I’ll leave, but remember this, Ariel. I still love you.!! 1 ignored his words and turned away, not wanting to see the pain in his eyes. Luke walked out of the hospital room, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I couldn’t believe that he was still trying to defend himself. After everything that had happened, I couldn’t let myself be vulnerable to him again. Hell no. I came back for vengeance, but I was too stupid to let love get a hold of me. But a part of me couldn’t help but wonder, What if he was telling the truth? What if he really didn’t have anything to do with Luke’s death? I shook my head, trying to push those thoughts away. It didn’t matter anymore; Lukel was gone, and nothing could bring him back. A few hours later, the doctor came in and checked on me. He informed me that I had fainted due to stress and exhaustion and that I needed to rest. I nodded, not really paying attention to his words. All I could think about was Luke and our shattered relationship.
