Chapter Sixty Seven

CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN

ARIA

I slowly opened my eyes, wincing at the bright overhead lights that threatened to blind me. I blinked for a few seconds, trying to recall how I got here. As my vision adjusted, I took in the sterile hospital room around me. The smell of antiseptic filled the air, sharp and almost choking. The steady beep of a heart monitor pulsed rhythmically nearby. It was my heartbeat—a heartbeat I didn’t want.

And that was when it came back to me. I’d wanted to end it all. I didn’t want to be here, to be stuck with the man who hurt me badly for the rest of my life. But someone saved me, and I had a feeling it was him. There was no one else.

Trying to sit up, my eyes spun. I felt groggy, as if I were covered by a heavy fog. The throbbing pain in my head only made me give up and settle back into the hospital bed.

I turned my head to look around the room, and that was when I caught sight of Maximo slumped in a chair beside my bed. His head was bent, making his black hair fall