The Bastard (Darling #2) [complete]

Chapter Twenty-Three

T H E Y  L O S T the baby.

And in return, Thatcher had never felt more lost, himself. He didn't quite know how he was feeling since his emotions were all over the place, but one thing for certain he knew that he felt was sadness.

He had grown attached to the thought of being a father very soon; coparenting with Louelle - the love of his life - whom of which he also almost lost.

If he would have been forced to go on without both of them, his future queen and his growing baby, he was uncertain of how he would have been able to live. Perhaps he wouldn't have been able to.

He failed Louelle. He promised her that he would always ensure her safety and their child's. When he woke that morning, he should have surmised that something wasn't right. Louelle never left him in bed alone. Because they were unable to be with one another during the day, staying in bed with him for a few moments longer while she should have been preparing herself for court was a sacrifice she was willing to make. He had assumed that Ruby's short and straight to the point responses were due to the lady in waiting's uneasiness towards nudity, but after Thatcher found Louelle lying limp in his brother's arms, beaten and scathed beyond recognition, he was unable to help but feel as if there was something Ruby kept from him.

He just didn't have the time or energy to ask questions. He would get his answers - he would - but before he went around and questioned the castlefolk about who caused her harm, she first needed to wake. Before he was able to determine the sort of punishment her abuser deserved, he needed to be positive that she was well.

Because where she laid in his bed, everything unmoving besides her chest that rose and fell with every strained breath she took, he wasn't able to tell if she was alright.

The doctor in the infirmary stated that it appeared she had undergone serious trauma to her head and it was uncertain when she would wake up. He never said "if," Thatcher concluded, so it must have meant she was going to wake up. They were only unsure of the "when." It could have been hours; days; possibly even weeks - according to the knowledge the doctor informed them of. He'd seen several cases of head trauma, and the results of them varied.

Thatcher was aware that the doctor kept a few of those cases to himself because those were the ones that did not survive. Upon seeing how stressed he was over the situation, the doctor did not wish to distress him any further.

But Thatcher was unable to help but think: would Louelle survive?

She had to.

She just had to.

They did not go through everything they had in the last several months for it to end that way. He was still going to marry her. They were still going to have a future of ruling side-by-side together. They would have little heirs and heiresses running around their feet one day. Louelle just had to wake up in order for their future to come to fruition.