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I can't breathe. My body shudders, but I can't move a muscle. I only want to stay in Lionel's arms and revel in the beautiful world we shared. He holds me close; his right hand still cups one of my breasts. I still hear and feel his heart beating against my back.
“Can we stay like this for a long, long time?” It’s a prayer and not a question to him.
But as if he answers, Lionel showers my shoulder with kisses and whispers, “I love you, Kayley Darwin. I’ll stay with you always.”
I turn around and cling tighter to him. He pushes my body closer to his to keep me from falling from the couch. I twirl the curls near his ears and kiss him. It must be the pressure of having a time limit that all I can think of is to drown in his touch, his kisses, and the made-up romance Esther created for us.
Panic engulfs me when the door suddenly opens. Before I can rise and reach for my clothes, Mom stands at the door, looking at Lionel and me. I grab Lionel's clothes and hand them to him. Mom forces a smile and heads to the kitchen.
"I forgot. I asked Mom to babysit today," I tell Lionel. "Just hit the shower. I'll talk to her."
“Everything will be fine. Amalia won’t mind,” Lionel assures me.
Mom loves the Icenhower brothers like her own. She helped raise them, but she has some resentment toward Lionel because of me. I told her that it was my fault he knocked me up. I'm the one who made the mistake of having a one-night stand with him. But mothers will always hate those they think hurt their babies, don't they?
“Mom...”
“If you wanted to be his wife, you could have accepted his proposal before,” Mom points out. “Maybe you wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“He thinks I’m his wife. And I...” I can’t fool my mother. She can see through me.
"Kayley, when I agreed to help Esther and to ride this circus the two of you created with Lionel, I did it for Kollie. It's time she knows who her father is," Mom stops and takes a few deep breaths to release her frustration over me. "It was not for you to be a fool for him again. Have you forgotten how a one-night stand almost ruined your future?"
I look at my mother. I want to tell her I don't regret the mistake I made. That if I ever have to do it again, I will do it again. No. I have, in fact, done it again. Mom is about to continue with her lecture when my phone rings.
"I have to go," I tell Mom after taking the phone call. "There's been an incident. Osler needs all the doctors they can get."
“Fine. But promise me, Kayley. You’ll sort this out today before you get hurt.”
I can't promise her. Mom has a point, but I'm greedy. Right now, I'm still in a euphoric state of being with Lionel – of being part of a pseudo-romance that we have. I'm still afraid of the consequences after he regains his memories, but all these new memories with him are worth it.
“I have to go,” I turn around and find Lionel rushing down the stairs. “Where are you going?”
"To the hospital. Surgeons may be needed there," Lionel tells me.
“But...”
"Just get in the car, Kayley!" I freeze when his tone becomes different. Wrong. His look returned to normal – to being Frost. But why? How?
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