Substitute Wife for the Mafia King R18-Chapter 413: Facing Him

"I’m sorry..." I mumbled.

"Don’t worry. I’m not going to die that easily," Bradon said with a streak of stubbornness. He smiled at me, but I could not find any joy in the lightness of his words.

"But you were shot, and you got hurt," I pointed out as a feeling of guilt came over me. Somehow, I felt like it was my fault, and it might as well have been me that had shot him.

"I’m fine. The bullet just grazed my shoulder, and everyone made a big deal out of it. Although I’m certain that many are disappointed that I’m not dead," Bradon said before he grinned at me.

"I honestly thought that I had lost you, and I didn’t know what to do with myself," I admitted in a soft whisper.

"You won’t lose me that easily. I’m determined to stay by your side and keep you with me," Bradon said before he placed a soft kiss on my forehead. I felt tears slowly rolling down my cheeks when I closed my eyes and accepted his kiss.

...

Surprisingly, when I asked Bradon to see Anthony, he did not have any objections. He even surprised me further by offering to escort me. I thought it was a brilliant idea because I wasn’t sure how I would react after seeing Anthony in a coma. I was very used to seeing Anthony looking so lively and healthy that I couldn’t even imagine what he would look like lying in a hospital bed, let alone being trapped in a coma for so long.

I braced myself for how much it would break my heart to see him in that condition, but it seemed that nothing, and no kind of preparation, could have prepared me for the pain that I would have to endure when I saw him.

I found myself dragging my feet every step of the way as Bradon led me to Anthony’s hospital room the following morning. Neither of us spoke as we approached the door to Anthony’s hospital room. When Bradon finally pushed the door open, my entire body froze, and for a moment I couldn’t take a step into the room. Bradon’s gentle push against the small of my back gave me the encouragement that I needed to take a step forward.

Anthony lay there on the hospital bed looking quite pale. His usual cheerful face was expressionless as he lay in slumber, his body looking small beneath the crisp white sheets. He definitely looked nothing like the man that I remembered so fondly in my memories. His cheerful smile and all of his strength were gone. The machines that he was hooked up to buzzed as a few light switches blinked. I thought that I was prepared to see him, but I just couldn’t hold the tears back.

Before I knew it, my tears began to flow, and I could do nothing to stop them as my vision blurred. I took another step closer to the bed to get a better view of Anthony. I reached for his hand slowly and held it gently in mine as if I was afraid that he would break, just like fragile glass.

"It looks like he’s just sleeping," I whispered, as if I feared that I would wake him from his peaceful slumber.

"That’s pretty much all he’s been doing ever since the car accident," Bradon said.

"Can you tell me what happened? I want to know everything," I said as I turned my attention to Bradon. I could see his jaw tense for a moment, and I knew that it was something that was hard for him to talk about. By that time, I had already found out just how much Bradon loves his brother. I could understand the love that they shared because I was certain that it was very similar to the love that I shared with Diana.

"I wish I could tell you everything in detail, but to be honest, I don’t know much about what happened on that day. For some reason, Anthony wasn’t acting like himself, and he was speeding as if there was somewhere he needed to be urgently," Bradon said before he paused.

"You’re right. I guess it’s not like him," I replied softly.

"Another car turned the corner unexpectedly, and because Anthony was speeding very fast, he lost control of his car and the accident happened. When I found out about it, he was already at the hospital and already in a coma," Bradon continued with his story without meeting my eyes.

"That’s enough. I’m sorry for asking," I whispered before I turned my attention back to Anthony.

I gave his hand a gentle squeeze as I prayed silently to myself for his safe and swift recovery. The most important thing was not to lose hope and believe that Anthony would regain consciousness. Although I knew that with every passing second, the odds of him waking up from his coma diminishes,, I told myself that I would not give up hope.

...

**A Week Later**

Discovering Anthony’s condition changed everything in the course of my life in that period. It felt like everything else could wait as I focused my attention on spending time at Anthony’s bedside, as if my presence would somehow help to make him snap out of his coma. Bradon accompanied me on most days at the beginning before work called him back to duty. On some days, Diana was there by my side as if she was my shadow.

"I know that I should be taking care of him and all that, but as you know, this isn’t exactly my kind of thing..." Diana mumbled before grinning my way.

"I know, so thanks for being here. I guess he would be thrilled to see you the moment that he wakes up," I replied before letting out a sigh.

My heart felt heavy, but for a very different reason than it may have been had this situation occurred before. I stared at Anthony’s attractive face, and Bradon immediately entered my mind, and I couldn’t help but wonder what he was up to at that moment.