“HERE are the personal belongings of Mr. Villarama.”
My hand was shaking when I accepted the zip-lock bag the nurse handed me. Tears blurred my eyes as I stared at his things covered with his own blood.
“Charity." I felt Austin's hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry. Xander can surely make it. My cousin is a fighter."
"A-austin." I looked at the man beside me just as another batch of tears fell from my eyes.
Xander was currently in the operating room. The cab he was riding went into an accident due to the snow storm. I didn't know how I stopped myself from breaking down when I saw his bloodied face in the emergency room.
Austin gave me a small smile. "He'll survive this, Charity." He handed me a handkerchief. "My cousin's a fighter."
I stared at the white handkerchief in front of me. I suddenly remembered the handkerchief Xander gave me when he saw me with a ketchup on my lips.
"T-thank you." My voice broke as I wiped the tears off my eyes.
"Come on." He took Xander's things from me as he guided me to the waiting area.
After almost three hours of waiting, the operating room opened. Both Austin and I stood up from the bench and approached the doctor.
"Doc, how's Xander?" It was Austin who asked the doctor. I was too nervous to talk.
"The operation was successful. The patient was already out of danger."
I felt like my breath was brought back to me when I heard those words from the man in front of us.
"Unfortunately, his eyes got damaged from the accident…"
I absentmindedly tugged on Austin's shirt as my knees started to wobble. I felt like something pierced my heart. "H-he's gone blind?"
The doctor turned to me and gave me a small smile. "No. That's not the case with Mr. Villarama. He's just temporarily suffering from partial blindness. When he wakes up, he can only see white light. Everything that the eyes could see will be blurry to him. But his eyesight will slowly get better and go back to normal. Probably in a week."
"Oh…" I let out a sigh of relief. I thought Xander totally lost his sight.
“My cousin's already safe, Charity. You should rest and get some sleep now,” Austin told me as he sat next to me. Xander got transferred to the private room. Austin left me earlier to talk to the investigators.
“I'm fine. It's you who should take a rest." Austin was the one who took care of everything. "I'll stay here with Xander."
My eyes drifted to Xander who was still unconscious on the hospital bed. His handsome face was filled with cuts and bruises. There was a bandage surrounding his head. I felt like my heart was cripping as I stared at him.
"Alright. I'll leave you here for a while. I'll just go back to the hotel and change clothes."
My eyes went back to him, and I noticed the stain of blood on his shirt. I remembered how he entered the emergency room earlier.
"Can I bring you something?" he asked me. "Clothes? Food? I'm sure you're already hungry." I glanced at my watch. I hadn't realized it was already midnight.
"Thank you." I gave Austin a small smile. Pamela was right, his boss was really kind.
I sat on the stool beside Xander's bed after Austin left. My heart broke as I got a closer look of his bruised face.
Five hours ago, Xander was still perfectly fine. We just got married this afternoon. I could still remember his face when he said goodbye to me earlier this night.
Now, his head was covered in bandages, his face full of bruises. From his face, my eyes traveled to his arms, to his hand… then to our wedding ring on his finger.
I slowly lifted my hand and touched his hand. "Thank you for fighting… I thought we're gonna lose you," I whispered to him as another tear fell from my eyes. "I thought I'm gonna lose you." I sniffed. "But Austin, you're a fighter. Thank you for not leaving us. Thank you for fighting, Xander."
I touched our wedding ring on his finger. "I have a secret to tell you, Xander," I whispered as I looked at his unconscious face. "I'm in love with you. I've been in love with you since I was eighteen. You're the man of my dreams."
I gently raised his hand and brought it to my lips. "I love you, Xander. I thought I wouldn't be able to say those words to you. Please… don't make me worried again."
I didn't know how long I stayed by Xander's side. I just realized I had fallen asleep when Austin tapped me on the back.
"Hey…"
I cleared my throat as I tried to fix myself. Austin was standing beside me, his clothes already different from earlier.
"I didn't realize I fell asleep."
"I brought you breakfast." He said, handing me a take out bag from a diner.
"But it's better if you go back to the hotel and take a proper rest, Charity."
"Thank you, Austin." I gave him a small smile as I stood up from my seat. I didn't want to go back to the hotel to take a rest, but then I also didn't want Austin to suspect anything. He witnessed how I almost broke down last night. And I knew that's not how a secretary should've acted after learning her boss got into an accident.
"I'll be back later—" I stopped when I heard a soft moan. My eyes flew to Xander's bed and they widened when I saw his hand move. Then slowly… he opened his eyes.
"Xander…" Austin said as he rushed to him.
Shit. I felt the corner of my eyes tearing up. He's finally awake. My heart was filled with unexplainable joy now that he had already regained consciousness.
His voice…. I thought I'd never hear them again. Damn. I wanted to touch him. I wanted to hug him. But then I remained standing a few meters away.
"Finally, you're awake. You scared the hell out of us, man."
"Austin?"
I saw confusion in Xander's face as he turned his head towards Austin's direction. "Is that you?" He tried to lift his hand to reach him.
I continued watching them as Austin gently held Xander in the arm. "Of course. It's me, Austin. Who else would I be?"
"W-why can't I see you, Austin?" Xander asked. His voice getting louder in confusion. "Why is everything so blurred?" My heart clenched when I saw how he tried to open and close his eyes.
"Why can't I properly see your face?"
Austin stopped Xander from moving. "Xander… you were in an accident. The doctor said you suffered from a traumatic brain injury that temporarily affected your vision."
"Accident?" Xander's frown deepened with more confusion. I saw him put his free hand on his head. "What kind of accident? Where are we?" He looked around the room.
"We're in the hospital, Xander. You were in a car accident due to a snowstorm. Do you remember now?"
Xander's eyebrows furrowed deeply. "Snowstorm? Why was there a snowstorm?"
"It's winter here in New York."
"New York…" He mumbled. "What are we doing here in New York?"
My lips parted as I witnessed Xander's confusion. What the hell happened? Did the accident also affect his memory? But he remembered and recognized Austin.
"Xander…" I whispered as I finally decided to go near him. His eyes drifted to my direction. His forehead furrowed as if his blank eyes stared back at me. That pair of eyes that I temporarily couldn't see anything. "Austin? That woman who just spoke to me. Who is she?"
What? Why didn't Xander recognize my voice?
"I…" I swallowed. "I'm Charity…"
"Charity…" Xander mumbled in a small voice. "I'm sorry. I don't remember you. I don't know anyone who's named Charity."
I felt like my whole world stopped on me.
"Xander…" Austin glanced at me, his lips parted in shock. Then he turned to Xander. "Xander… this woman beside me… he's your wife. Charity is your wife, Xander."