The CEO’s Unspoken Love (Eleanor and Derek) novel Chapter 205

Chapter 205

Eleanor POV

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Nothing could have prepared me for the sight of him lying motionless in the hospital bed.

Derek had always been vibrant, perpetually in motion. Now he was utterly still, his usually tanned skin pale against the white sheets, making the dark stubble on his jaw stand out in stark contrast. His head was partially bandaged, white gauze covering the right side where I knew from Alexander that he’d taken the brunt of the impact. What I could see of his face showed faint bruising

along his cheekbone, a purplish shadow that hadn’t been there before.

Tubes and wires connected to his body, sustaining functions he could no longer manage himself. A breathing tube ran from his mouth to the ventilator, secured with medical tape that seemed harshly functional against his lips-lips that had kissed me with such passion just before the crash.

Smaller tubes delivered medication, while others drained fluids I didn’t want to identify. A pulse oximeter clamped to his finger glowed with a soft red light, measuring oxygen that his blood carried to cells that might never wake.

My legs gave way beneath me. Alexander caught me before I could fall, his arm strong around my waist as he guided me to the chair beside Derek’s bed. The cushion creaked beneath my weight, the sound jarringly mundane in the sterile room. Tears burned hot trails down my cheeks, and I made no effort to stop them. This broken figure couldn’t be my Derek-couldn’t be the man whose smile could light up even the darkest corners of my heart, whose voice had asked me to start over just moments before our world

shattered.

I was vaguely aware of Catherine and Jonathan exchanging a look across Derek’s bed, their expressions softening as they witnessed

my undisguised grief.

“Perhaps we should give her a moment, Alexander murmured, and I felt a rush of gratitude toward him.

Jonathan nodded, placing a hand briefly on Derek’s shoulder before moving toward the door. Catherine hesitated, her gaze lingering on her son’s face before she followed her husband. Her hand trembled slightly as she touched Derek’s blanket, straightening it in a gesture so maternal it made my heart ache.

“We’ll be just outside if you need anything,” she said softly, her voice catching. “Take all the time you need.”

Olivia squeezed my shoulder gently before she left, a silent promise of support. The door closed behind them with a soft click that seemed to seal Derek and me in our own private world.

The room fell quiet except for the rhythmic sounds of the medical equipment keeping Derek alive-the steady beep of the heart monitor marking each beat, the mechanical whoosh of the ventilator pushing air into lungs that wouldn’t fill on their own.

I slid from the chair to my knees beside his bed, ignoring the twinge of pain from my injuries. My trembling hands hovered inches from his face, afraid that even the lightest touch might somehow hurt him further.

“Derek,” I whispered, the word barely audible even in the silence of the room.

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14:25 Thu, Jul 2 MA

Chapter 205

Carefully, I reached out, my fingertips tracing the contours of his face with reverence-the smooth forehead now crossed with a

faint scar, the strong eyebrows that would arch expressively when he was amused, the high cheekbones that gave his face its

distinctive aristocratic look. I realized I had never truly allowed myself to study him this way, to memorize every detail of his face.

The length of his eyelashes, dark crescents against his pale skin. The perfect slope of his nose with its slight bump from a childhood injury he’d never explained. The lips that had pressed against mine with such urgency just before the crash, now parted slightly

around the breathing tube.

My left hand cradled his face while my right found his hand where it lay motionless on the blanket. His fingers were cooler than

usual but not cold-there was life in them still, though they didn’t curl around mine as they always had before. His skin felt different somehow-less vital, as though some essential element of Derek had retreated deeper inside. I leaned closer until I could

feel his shallow breath against my skin-proof that somewhere inside this silent shell, Derek remained.

‘I’m here, I told him, my voice strengthening despite the pain in my throat. “Why won’t you open your eyes and look at me? Are

you angry with me?”

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14:25 Thu, Jul 2 JMA ·

The CEO’s Unspoken Love