The CEO’s Unspoken Love (Eleanor and Derek) novel Chapter 210

Chapter 210

Eleanor POV

“Eleanor.

My name, whispered from Derek’s lips, hung in the air like a fragile bubble that might burst at any moment. The sound was barely audible, his voice raspy from disuse, but in the quiet hospital room, it felt as loud as thunder. For a moment, I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. Time seemed to stop as my mind struggled to process what I had just heard.

I stared at Derek’s face, watching as his eyes, which had been closed for days, slowly opened. They were unfocused at first, then gradually cleared, finding and fixing on my face. The soft amber light of late afternoon filtered through the window, illuminating the fine lines of his face, the pallor of his skin against the stark white hospital sheets. I’d imagined this moment countless times during the long vigil by his bedside, but nothing had prepared me for the overwhelming rush of emotion that flooded through me.

My hands flew to my mouth, trying to contain the sob that threatened to escape. Tears welled up and spilled over, running unchecked down my cheeks. I leaned forward, my body moving of its own accord, reaching for him with trembling hands. The monitor beside the bed registered my shadow, its steady beeping a counterpoint to my racing heart.

“Derek?” My voice broke on his name, a mixture of disbelief and wild, soaring hope. “Can you hear me? Is this real?”

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly in a weak but unmistakable smile. His eyes, those piercing blue-gray eyes I’d feared might never look at me again, held mine with a tenderness that made my heart constrict. Even in his weakened state, there was something undeniably Derek in that gaze-the intensity, the focus, the way he seemed to see through all my carefully constructed walls

directly to the truth of me.

I couldn’t hold back any longer. I threw myself toward him, careful not to disturb the tubes and wires still attached to his body, and buried my face against his shoulder. My tears soaked into the thin hospital gown as my body shook with the force of my suppressed sobs. The smell of antiseptic and hospital soap couldn’t mask the underlying scent that was uniquely his, a scent I had thought I

might never experience again.

‘I can’t believe it,” I whispered, my words muffled against him. “You’re awake. You’re really awake. I straightened up, wiping frantically at my wet cheeks, trying to compose myself. The past days flashed through my mind in a blur of endless waiting, of one- sided conversations with his unconscious form, of watching the monitors for any sign of change. I’ve been waiting so long… The

doctors weren’t sure if… if you’d ever…”

I couldn’t finish the sentence. The memory of those terrible conversations with Dr. Martin, the careful way he’d tried to prepare me for the possibility that Derek might never regain consciousness, was still too raw. Each day had stretched into the next, a purgatory of hope and despair. I had read to him, talked to him, played his favorite music, anything to reach through the darkness that held

him captive.

I felt the lightest pressure against my palm and looked down to see Derek’s fingers weakly curling around mine. The simple gesture, so small yet so significant, set off a fresh wave of tears. His hand was thinner than before, the bones more prominent beneath the

skin, a testament to the toll his body had paid during the long unconsciousness.

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Chapter 210

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“Thank God you’re finally awake,” I said, my voice shaking. I thought I might never see you again, never talk to you…” I swallowed

hard, trying to steady myself. “Every day, I sat here hoping, praying for some sign that you could hear me, that you were still in

there somewhere.”

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The CEO’s Unspoken Love