Chapter 142

We dressed and rushed to the hospital as quickly as possible. As soon as the staff saw Andrew, a nurse escorted us to Lisa’s room.

“What happened?” Andrew asked the nurse.

“I don’t know for certain,” the nurse replied. “You’ll have to ask your daughter or her attending physician, Dr. Jones.”

“Do you know if she’s going to be okay?”

The nurse paused.

“She’s going to live, Your Highness. That much I can assure you.”

I could tell that it took all of Andrew’s self-restraint to not charge to that room ahead of the nurse. No matter what had happened between them, Lisa was still his little girl, and she was in trouble.

I grabbed Andrew’s hand and squeezed it gently. He turned his head to me and smiled, but I could see the corners of his lips wavering.

“Don’t worry,” I said to him. “She’ll be fine.”

Andrew nodded but did not respond.

We finally reached Lisa’s room, and the nurse opened the door for us.

“You can both see her now, but try and keep the visit short,” he said. “She’s still resting. Her body has been through a lot, and the silver is slowing down her healing process.”

My head snapped to Andrew.

“Did he just say silver?” I asked.

Andrew nodded, his grip on my hand tightening.

“Thank you,” Andrew said to the nurse. “We’ll call if we need anything.”

“Of course, Your Highness,” the nurse said before leaving to do his rounds.

Andrew took a deep breath and then walked into the room, trying to keep his composure. With his hand still clasped around mine, I had no choice but to follow.

Upon seeing Lisa’s hospital bed, Andrew paled. Every inch of exposed skin, except for her lips, was wrapped in bandages, some of them blood-stained. An IV hung from her arm, and a heart monitor beeped menacingly nearby.

“Oh, Lisa, sweetheart,” Andrew bemoaned. He released my hand and hurried to Lisa’s side. “How did this happen?”

Lisa tried to talk, but she coughed and cringed in pain. I noticed the water on her bedside table and reached for it. Instinctively, I helped Lisa to drink some through the straw.

“Thank you,” Lisa croaked grudgingly as I put the water back down. She turned her attention back to her father. “I don’t know what happened.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“I went to start my car, and there was this explosion…”

“An explosion?” Andrew exclaimed. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Bob can explain more. He should be back soon.”

I flinched at the mention of Bob’s name and wrapped my arms around myself. My eyes met Andrew’s, and he seemed to be silently asking me if I would be fine. Knowing that Andrew needed to find out what had happened, I nodded reassuringly.

“Sorry I was gone so long,” I heard Bob’s voice at the door. “The kitchen staff here are idiots—oh, I see that you have visitors.”

“Hello, Bob,” Andrew said, his tone cold.

“What are you two doing here?” Bob asked as he sauntered up to the other side of Lisa’s bed.

“Lisa’s my daughter,” Andrew replied, his dark eyes locked onto Bob’s. “I came as soon as the hospital called me.”

“And I’m here to support Andrew,” I said, placing my hand on Andrew’s shoulder.

“Well, how sweet,” Bob said, his eyes never leaving Andrew’s, “considering that you kicked her out of your house.”

Andrew’s hands clenched into fists. He cracked his neck in an attempt to redirect his angry energy.

“I did not kick her out,” he said through gritted teeth. “I kicked you out.”

Bob shrugged.

“You knew what she would do if you did that.”

Andrew started to stand up, but Lisa’s hand reached out and landed on top of his. His eyes drifted down to Lisa, and his expression softened. He sat back down and gingerly placed his hand on hers, retracting it when she winced in pain.

“Please, Bob, just tell us what happened,” I said. “Her father deserves to know.”

Bob glared at me, causing me to stiffen. With his warning shot fired, he turned back to Andrew.

“As far as we can tell, there was a silver bomb planted in her car that went off as soon as she started it,” Bob said, his tone emotionless and factual. “It caused third-degree burns all over her body, and silver shrapnel dug under skin. She’s lucky to be alive and that the surgeons were able to remove all the silver.”

Andrew’s neck tensed, but he kept his voice even as he spoke.

“And where did the bomb come from?” he asked.

“Police think it was human terrorists.”

Andrew leapt to his feet and began to pace the room. He held his fists behind his back, and I could see him taking several deep breaths to calm himself down.

“Have they caught the responsible party yet?” he asked after a couple minutes of silence.

Bob shook his head.

“They haven’t found any clues yet.”

Another couple minutes passed before Andrew responded.

“How long will it take her to heal?”

“The doctor says that it could take her a couple weeks with the lingering effects of the silver.”

“And how much of that time will she be in the hospital?”

“At least a week.”

Andrew stopped and stared at Lisa’s supine body. He rubbed his chin in thought, then sat by her side once more. His hand hovered over hers as he reached out to hold her, then remembered her pain.

“Lisa, I am so sorry,” he said. “Please, when you are healed, I want you and Bob to come back to the mansion. You’ll be safest there.”

“Now, Andrew, that’s a generous offer,” Bob began, “but I’m afraid—”

“Thank you, Father,” Lisa cut him off. “We would love to be with you again. I accept.”

Her eyes darted to Bob, and Andrew’s eyes followed. Bob forced a smile on his face and nodded.

“We accept,” he said.

“Thank you for giving me another chance,” Andrew said, his remark clearly directed at Lisa. “I promise that from now on, there will always be a guard on you to keep this from happening again. I won’t let any harm come to the women I love.”

I bit my tongue, trying hard to not speak my mind. Deep in my gut, I had a bad feeling about Andrew inviting Lisa and Bob back to the mansion. I couldn’t help imagining all the ways in which Bob could try and get rid of me if he returned.

Watching Andrew by Lisa’s side, though, I knew that I couldn’t come between them again. They seemed to finally be mending their relationship, and I didn’t want to become the woman who ripped Andrew away from his daughter.

I sighed, walked behind Andrew, and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. He looked up at me and smiled.

“Is this all right with you, love?” he whispered.

I leaned down and kissed him tenderly on the lips. Then I nuzzled my head into the crook of his neck and tightened my grip on his shoulders.

“Of course,” I whispered back. “Lisa is always welcomed with us.”

“And Bob?”

I hesitated.

“One day at a time, love. One day at a time.”