CHAPTER 178: RECOVERY
Diana found herself lying on white sheets by the time she came to. She looked around and found two bags of drip connected to her body and other wirings she could not even mention. An oxygen mask was also wrapped around her nose. She looked to her side and found James lying there. Even watching him now, she didn't feel like he was at peace. It looked as if he was fighting with some unknown demons in his sleep.
Her heart tugged for him.
And then she remembered, her babies.
How long had she been out?
She suddenly began to panic as the memories of the accident came rushing back. The stairs. The fall. The fear. Those babies were her last connection to James. If she lost them now... then she had nothing left.
Her BP spiked immediately, and the machines around her started beeping erratically.
James jumped up from the sofa at once, instantly by her side. He sat on the bed, holding her gently as he tried to calm her down.
Harry rushed in too at the same time.
"Calm down, Diana. Everything is alright," James said quietly, his voice low and steady.
But it was how he said it that shattered her. Distinctly, even in her scattered thoughts, she realized—he had called her Diana… not baby.
It meant he hadn't forgiven her yet.
Still, she tried to breathe. Tried to hold it together as she looked at him with teary eyes.
"James… our babies," she choked out. "Are they alright? Did something happen…?"
James didn't say anything. He just kept rubbing her back gently, his touch warm, steady… distant.
Diana leaned into that brief moment of closeness, trying to absorb as much warmth from him as she could before he finally pulled away.
It was Harry who answered her question.
"Diana, you had a little bleed," Harry said gently, adjusting the IV line as he checked her vitals. "But we managed to stop it in time. Your children are safe. That's two strong little champs you've got growing inside you."
Diana sighed in relief. "Well, their father is strong. I wouldn't expect any less."
James, who had been standing silently at the edge of the room, clenched his jaw tightly. Without a word, he turned and walked out of the room, muttering something about getting fresh air.
Harry watched him leave and then turned back to Diana, his expression calm but serious.
"Di," he began gently, "if you really want to win your husband back, you need to take better care of yourself. Let him see that you're doing okay."
Diana's brows shot up, tears still clinging to her lashes. "Wait, Harry… don't tell me you all think I did this knowingly?"
Harry shook his head. "No, Diana. Of course we don't. But you've been unconscious for the last forty-eight hours. Your husband hasn't left your side, not once in all that time. Not to eat, not to sleep properly. Di, how do you expect him to forgive you quickly when you're not even taking care of yourself? You should know by now, your health is everything to him."
A broken sigh escaped Diana's lips.
"Harry… a whole lot was going on with me. I was feeling really pressured and overwhelmed by everything that had happened. I had no one to talk to." Her voice broke. "All I could do was sit and cry."
She paused, breathing shakily, her emotions spilling over.
"I couldn't even distract myself with work because even outsiders wanted a pound of my flesh. My parents wouldn't speak to me. If not for the girls, it was almost like I had no one. The investors were calling nonstop, sending angry messages… threatening to pull out…"
Her voice faltered, and she finally broke down again, tears rolling freely down her cheeks.
"Okay, fine, fine, I understand," Harry said softly, his voice touched with concern. "But please… your face was swollen like a ball when we first brought you in. I wouldn't want that to happen again."
Diana nodded as she sniffed. "So… does that mean that he still cares? I mean… you just said he was with me throughout."
"Of course, Diana. He still cares. You are the mother of his children."
Diana's throat closed up. Her lips parted to speak, but all that came out was a broken whisper.
"But I want it to be more than that, Harry… I want to go back to when I was just more than being the mother of his children. I want to go back to when I was his wife. The woman he loved and cherished."
Her voice cracked again, raw and filled with ache.
"I'm drowning here, Harry… Were you guys this angry with your wives when they messed up?"
Harry sighed. "Diana, that's the thing, we all had different experiences from James. In fact, we had it better. None of us experienced what he did."
He paused, meeting her tear-filled eyes with painful honesty.
"The man was broken before you met him. And just when it seemed he was alright, you ruined it again with your bare hands. That's a lot to come back from, Di. And your husband is a stubborn man, with enough pride to feed his ego. You will have to do better. Much better."
He reached out and touched her hand gently. "And in order to do better, you need to stay healthy. Alright?"
Diana nodded, her voice barely a whisper. "Alright…"
A beat of silence passed.
"I'm hungry, Harry," she finally said, a small smile cracking through her grief. "It seems like I could finish a truckload of food."
Harry chuckled, that warm laugh she hadn't heard in days. "That's the spirit, dear. Truckload of food incoming."
What neither of them realized was that James had been standing outside the door, listening to everything.
James stood outside the door as he took in everything she said. Majority of the problems she was complaining about, he had already handled it for her
An hour later, a cart filled with food was wheeled into her room after she had showered and dressed with the help of Monica, who had come to visit her. The food was so much, it looked like a buffet. Diana smiled weakly, touched by the gesture, even if she had no idea who made it happen.
But deep down, she hoped it was James.