Breaking Mr. Cold (Giselle and Donovan) novel Chapter 501

"Babe, your hands are freezing," Donovan murmured as he lifted Giselle's hand to his lips.

He kissed her gently, again and again, until hot tears rolled down his cheeks and splashed onto her skin.

"Don't leave me. Please, don't do this," he pleaded, his voice cracking as his composure completely fell apart. "I know I've done terrible things. I know I don't deserve you, but I can't live without you. If you go, I won't know how to keep going. I don't even know what the point of all this money is anymore."

He shook his head, tears streaming down his face. "Without you, every second left in my life means nothing. Darling, please, hold on. Be good and fight through this, okay? Wake up and hit me, scream at me, slap me a hundred times if you want, just don't leave me. Do you hear me, babe? It's me, Donovan. Can you hear me?"

He was still weeping when Tony arrived with two nurses. They seized him by his shoulders, pulling him away.

"Don," Tony said softly, his expression heavy with sorrow. "Giselle's condition is critical. You can't get too close. Say what you need to say and then leave. I'll do everything I can to keep her alive. I'm her father. No one wants her to live more than I do," he said firmly.

Looking at his dying daughter, Tony's chest tightened with unbearable grief. The loss of Sebastian was still raw, and now, facing the possibility of losing Giselle too, he could barely stand on his feet.

In the end, the nurses forced Donovan to stumble toward the door. Just before he stepped out, he turned back and took one last, lingering look at Giselle, thinking this might be the final time he would ever see her. His vision blurred as despair swallowed him whole.

The moment he stepped out of the ICU, Donovan's strength gave way. He dropped into a chair, shaking uncontrollably, as if the world around him had fallen silent.

Ethan turned back and went inside, quietly making his way toward Donovan.

"Don," he said softly, resting a hand on Donovan's shoulder. "No one wanted this to happen. You need to face reality. She's just a woman. You can't let this destroy you. Remember who you are, and what you still have to protect," he said firmly.

"Enough," Donovan rasped, his gaze fixed on the ICU door that had just closed behind him. "Ethan, start grooming Zach to replace me. I want my resignation announced at the shareholders' meeting the day after tomorrow," he said under his breath.

Ethan's face went pale. "What are you talking about?" he asked.