Billionaire's Bounty Cost Of Love And Revenge novel Chapter 128

Chapter 128

Asher’s POV

The hospital room was unnervingly quiet, with the only other noise coming from the occasional rustle of fabric as I shifted in my chair and the soft beeping of the heart monitor

Yet, beneath the silence, there was an unshakable tension that made Marcus’s fragile state feel even more real, like he was on the edge of something irreversible, something permanent.

It was the only sound breaking the silence, yet somehow, it was deafening. Each measured beep was like a countdown, marking the agonizing passage of time since the accident. Four days.

Four days of waiting, of watching, of hoping for something, anything, to change.

Four days since my world had come to a screeching halt.

by had been discharged, and I should have felt relieved. I should have been grateful that at least she was safe, that she had walked away from this with her life intact. But I couldn’t feel anything close to relief. Not when Marcus was still here, trapped in a lifeless state, hooked up to wires and machines that hummed softly around him, doing the work his body could no longer manage on its own.

The air in the room was heavy, thick with the sharp smell of antiseptic. No matter how many times the nurses came in to check on him, adjusting his IVS or taking notes on their clipboards, that sterile hospital smell never faded.

It clung to everything, the sheets, the walls, my clothes. It even clung to me.

Somewhere inside, there was the faintest trace of something softer, something that didn’t belong in a place like this.

The flowers Janine had brought yesterday sat on the small table by the window, their petals still fresh, their colors still vibrant against the otherwise lifeless backdrop of the hospital room.

The nurses had taken the time to arrange them nicely, as if they thought it would make a difference. As if the presence of something beautiful could warm this cold, hollow place.

But it didn’t.

Nothing could.

I stared at Marcus, lying so still beneath the crisp white sheets. His face, once so full of life, was pale, almost colorless under the harsh fluorescent lights. He didn’t have that proud look he usually wore.

He had no visible injuries on his body, and at first glance, it was hard to tell what had happened to him.

The fact that he was still unconscious, still caught in a limbo between life and…

I swallowed hard, forcing that thought away.

He was alive.

But for how long?

The doctor’s words replayed in my head for what felt like the hundredth time. It was all I could think of. The weight of those words crushed down on me.

“I’m sorry, but he fell into a coma. At this point, we cannot tell you exactly when he will recover, or if he will recover. We will, however, continue treatment and hope for the best…”

That was all they had to offer me. A hollow, meaningless word that did nothing to stop the dreadful feeling creeping up my chest.

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Chapter 128

Hope wouldn’t wake Karcus up. Hope wouldn’t fix what had stready happened. It couldn’t reverse that ugly incident that had landed Marcus here in the first place.

And hope wouldn’t hurt the man who did this to my brother.

Ishifted in my chair, leaning forward, my elbows resting on my knees as I buried my face in my hands. My fingers dug into my scalp, the pressure doing nothing to ease the pounding ache in my head.

thad barely slept since the accident.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw it, the image of that man pointing a gun at me, the empty feeling in my chest. I wasn’t scared in that moment, not until I heard the gun go off and then another gunshot.

It took a moment for my brain to process what was happening, but it was too late, Marcus was already falling down. The image of him sprawled on the floor, blood gushing out of his abdomen. Him managing a smile despite the position he was in…

The doctor’s words were a knife that had been lodged in my chest ever since he said them, and every time I replayed them in my head, the blade twisted deeper.

Or if he will recover. Those words haunted me the most. No one could tell me if Marcus would ever wake up, and that uncertainty was eating me alive.

1 sat beside his bed, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees, hands clasped together so tightly that my knuckles turned white. My gaze locked onto his face, his still, expressionless face.

Marcus was supposed to be the strong one. The one who had everything under control. He wasn’t supposed to be lying here like this, helpless, trapped in a coma where none of us could reach him.

I swallowed against the lump in my throat, but it didn’t go away.

This was my fault.

I had spent years looking at Marcus as my competition, constantly trying to prove that I was just as good, just as strong. He was the golden boy, the ideal son, the one who set the bar so high I could barely see it.

I had resented him for that. I had pushed myself to be his equal, to prove that I could stand beside him as more than just his reckless younger brother.

But now, sitting here, watching him fight for his life because he had put himself in danger for me, all of that felt so meaningless.

Marcus had never been my rival. He had been my protector.

Everything he did, he did for our family. For me.

How had I not seen that before? How had I been so blinded by my own pride that I failed to recognize the sacrifices he made?

He was perfect so I didn’t have to be. He had to conform to my father’s nonsensical rules so I could be free. I had spent years of my life envious of how perfect he was while he was envious of how free I had lived.

I had found love, and Marcus, well, Marcus couldn’t find anything else. There was nothing for him, just the life he had built around Sterling Industries…

A sharp breath shuddered through me as I reached for his hand. His skin was cool, his fingers still beneath mine.

I gave them a gentle squeeze, half–expecting him to squeeze back, to show me even the slightest sign that he could hear me. But nothing happened.

“Marcus…” My voice came out hoarse, barely above a whisper. “I need you.”

The only answer I got was the steady beep of the heart monitor.

“You were right,” I admitted, my throat tightening. “I’ve been a fool. I thought I had everything figured out, but I didn’t. I don’t.”

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