He is the sun, and she is the star of the dawn.
He is a rich bachelor and she is but a maid.
He is Prince Charming and she is Snow White.
He's looking for an angel and she's looking for a god.
He's Jace Harronate and she's Mary Morningstar ...
J...
The first twenty-four critical hours passed agonizingly for Jace. He spent the entire time holding Mary's hand and staring with his eyes at the screens around her bed. He counted her breaths. The beats of her heart. The drops of IV.
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But it wasn't just him. No one was leaving the hospital. George, Alex, Matt, Simon, and Isabella spent all those hours in the waiting room waiting for Jace to update them on developments. They were going to support him, even from afar. Until...
Surgeon: I have the pleasure of informing you that the threat to her life is over. Our girl is responding to treatment exactly as we'd like. Her vitals are stable and the injury to her lungs is healing well, as the CT has shown. Of course, she'll remain in ICU for a few more days to prevent infection. We still have a long way to go, but the hard part is over.
The doctor's words seem to breathe life into Jace.
Jace: Does that mean we're going to wake her up?
Surgeon: Oh, no! Don't go there. It's too early for that. She needs the ventilator and if we wake her up, she'll suffer. We have to wait until the lungs are completely healed. After that, we'll take her off the ventilator and if she's able to breathe properly on her own...
Jace: Not if. When. When she'll be able to breathe on her own. My Mary is capable of anything.
Surgeon: Yeah. You're right. My mistake.
The doctor leaves and Jace gets ready to go back to Mary's room.
Jace: Guys, thank you so much for staying here all these many hours, but you heard the doctor. Mary is no longer in danger. You can go home and get some rest. Come back tomorrow.
Isabella: What about you?
Jace: I'll stay here, of course. I won't leave her.
Alexander: Brother, don't you think you're the one who needs rest?
Jace: I'll only rest when I have her awake and well in my arms.
Matt: Listen, Jace. I know it's hard for you to go home without her, but at least come join us. We'll eat and sleep for a few hours. Then we can all come back here together.
Jace: Thanks, Matt, but I made her a promise. I won't leave the hospital without her, and I'll keep that promise. Please, don't push me.
Matt: Okay, but promise me something too.
Jace: What?
Matt: That you'll take care of yourself. Eat and sleep right. Don't let anything bad happen to you.
Jace: You love me so much, huh?
Matt: Me? No! I'm just worried about my life. Imagine what will happen when Mary wakes up and finds out we let you get sick or something. She's gonna execute us!
