The CEO's Regret: His Lost Wife's Secret Twins novel Chapter 173

Chapter 173

ARIA

It had been two days since that messy scene at the airport. I figured I’d finally get some peace, but then an unexpected call came through.

Elizabeth begged me to help Blake, who was critically ill. She was one of the few people in the Morgan family who’d been kind to me. When she said, “If there’s one person who would sacrifice everything for their child, it’s a mother,” it really hit home.

I asked why me when Blake had plenty of people around him. Elizabeth’s hands trembled as she explained Henderson would exploit Blake’s condition to take over, Victoria was already compromised, and Emma had destroyed him after his wife’s death.

“The doctors have given up,” she whispered. “Ever since you totally rejected him at the airport, he’s been falling apart. He hasn’t slept at all – just two days and he’s completely burned out. His body basically shut down on him. He’s been murmuring your name in his delirium.

You’re my last hope.”

That caught my attention. Morgan Retail had been aggressively poaching clients from my Nouvelle chain. But looking at Elizabeth-this woman who once stood up for me-I felt my resolve weakening.

When she asked what I wanted in return, I told her I played fair in business. She pressed for my price. I sighed, remembering how she’d been there for me, and said I didn’t want payment.

Elizabeth’s eyes welled up, begging me to just try.

I thought of my own children, of what I would do if William or Aurora were dying. I’d beg too.

I agreed softly, warning her not to expect miracles.

The hallway of Redwood Medical Center felt arctic, with antiseptic burning my nostrils. Medical staff huddled outside the room, whispering urgently. Through the door, I heard the erratic beeping of monitors.

My pulse quickened. This was worse than Elizabeth had let on.

I pushed the door open and froze.

Blake lay broken on the hospital bed, unrecognizable from the commanding CEO who had cornered me at the airport. His face was corpse white. Multiple IV lines snaked into his arms. The cardiac monitor showed dangerously irregular patterns.

Something inside me cracked. Despite everything, seeing him this destroyed hurt in ways I wasn’t prepared for.

“Blake,” I whispered, his name escaping before I could catch it.

His eyelids fluttered violently. With visible effort, he forced them open-those once piercing blue eyes now bloodshot and vacant. After

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14:24 Mon, Jun 15

Chapter 173

several attempts, they focused on me.

‘Aria… His voice was a painful rasp. ‘This is a dream, right?’

I stood paralyzed, words failing me. He recognized me through my Arya disguise.

‘Has to be a dream,” he continued, grimacing. “For three years, I tried to find you when I closed my eyes. Every single night. But you

never showed.

He lifted a trembling, IV-bruised hand toward my face, as if trying to verify I wasn’t a hallucination.

“This isn’t a dream, Mr. Morgan,” I said, deliberately formal.

His hand halted mid-reach. Confusion clouded his face, then understanding dawned. “You’re… actually here?”

“Yes.”

“Why? At the airport, you couldn’t get away from me fast enough.”

From my peripheral vision, I caught Elizabeth watching through the window. Blake followed my gaze.

“I see,” he said, realization dulling his eyes. “My mother dragged you here.”

“Yes,” I admitted. “Elizabeth said your condition was… critical.”

His vitals had improved slightly from catastrophic to merely terrible. “Since you’re less likely to die in the next five minutes, I should go.”

“No!” The word erupted from him, triggering a coughing fit that left blood on his lips. “Aria, everything hurts.”

I stopped, one foot already toward the door.

‘Since you walked away at the airport, it feels like my insides are being shredded,” he gasped. “It’s slightly better with you here, but it’s

still excruciating.”

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