Cristiano's POV

"Hello, everyone. I am Doctor Weekly. Kamea is resting now in a private room. Surgery for her arm and leg took a little longer than we thought. Whoever pushed her did it with force. She hit her head hard when she landed at the bottom of the staircase. We did a scan and did not see any cracks in her skull. She does, however, have a concussion. It's possible also that she may develop amnesia. We will check her for that when she wakes up."

I really hate Reed right now. He is going to pay severely for this. What man would do such a thing to a woman?!

The doctor continued, "She also suffered a broken arm and broke her left leg. Kamea has bruised ribs. She does have swelling in her brain, and because of that, she slipped into a coma. We placed her on life support. Her room number is 1471. You may go see her, but keep your visits short. Also, talk to her about special moments or events that happened in her life. Hearing your voices can potentially help her to wake out of the coma."

"Thank you, Doctor Weekly."

Kamea's mom says, "Marissa and Andre, you can go first."

"Thanks, Auntie. Let's go, Dre."

"I want him alive so that I can kill him myself!!"

He didn't want her, so now he tries to kill her?!!

"Over my dead will he get away with this!!"

After about 20 minutes, Kamea's cousin came back to the waiting room. "Auntie, we are probably going to be gone when you come back. So, we will see you tomorrow."

Kamea's mom waved goodbye to her niece and then left the room. All that was left in the waiting room were me, her cousin, Marissa, and her boyfriend.

"Look, Cris, I know my uncle already warned you, but I will add my piece too. My suspicions about Reed were true. He always came off as someone who would cheat, and he proved me right. Kamea, Noelani, and I are very close. They are more like my sisters than cousins. I wanted to break his face when she called me and told me what had happened. So, I am going to straight up tell you DO NOT hurt my cousin. Or else Andre and I will hurt you, got it?"

"Believe me. I got it." Man, her family doesn't play, which is understandable.

"That is one thing no one will have to worry about. She deserves to be treated like a queen, and that is what I vow to do. She means everything to my 5-year-old twins and me. I promise you. I love her very much."

Then she says, "Promises can be broken. But I can tell you really care about her by the way you talk about her and the sincerity in your voice. And I want to be there when you propose to her, your wedding, baby showers, etc."

"It's a deal."

Marissa's POV

"One more thing before we leave. Whatever you have planned for Reed, I want in on it. I can't stand him for what he did to her. I want him sliced and diced so he can be fed to the dogs."

"Here is our number. Call us when that joker is found."

Cris' POV

"Let me note never to cross anyone in her family."

Kamea's family came back to let me know it was okay to visit her now.

"Thank you, Cris. It really means a lot to know my sister will have you in her life. Please take good care of her, and we will see you later." Those words meant a lot coming from her sister.

"You're welcome." And then, they left the hospital.

Kamea's friend, Tamia, came in and took me took her room.

"Thanks, Tamia."

"You're welcome. See you later. Since Kam has a private room, her parents said that you can stay with her."

"Thanks." I had to prepare myself before I entered because of the way the doctor described her injuries. It was not going to look good. So, I slowly opened the door and went in.

"My goodness, Reed, how could you do this to her?"

I slumped into the chair that was in the room. On rare occasions, I have been known to cry. And this was one of those occasions.

Even though she is bruised and battered with casts on her left arm and right leg, and her ribs are wrapped, she is still the beautiful woman I have fallen in love with.

I slowly moved the chair closer to her bed. I placed her hand in mine and did as the doctor said. I didn't have any past special events, so I talked about hopeful future events.

"Sweetheart, I hope you can hear me. We already know who did this to you, and he is going to pay. Please love, wake up for your family, for Día and Rocco. And, for me. Ti amo, Kamea. (I love you, Kamea.) Ever since the night at the club, I have loved everything about you - from your beautiful, curly hair and voluptuous body down to your toes. And, when you wake up, I will tell you."

"My feelings for you are undeniably strong. And I know you feel the same way after hearing your parents say that I make you smile. Please, baby, wake up. I'm not leaving this hospital until you do. You can't leave me. I lost Alicia. I can't lose you too. I want us to do so many things together - get married, travel with Día and Rocco as a family. I want us to create children of our own. I hate Reed for this - for everything he has done to you. I promise you, baby, he will pay."

***********************************

I don't know when I fell asleep, but I woke up to someone tapping me on my shoulder.

"Good morning, sir. I am going to check Kamea's vitals. It won't take too long, and you can come back in." The doctor stated.

"Thanks. I need to make a few phone calls, and I will be back."

So, I walked out of the room and headed to the cafeteria for something to eat. While there, I called my secretary at the winery and told her to reschedule any meetings I have until at least two weeks. I also called the club and told them I wouldn't be there to make sure everything was going smoothly. I called my parents too.

"Mom, can you bring the twins to the hospital after they are done with school? And, can you have flowers delivered to Kamea's room? Her last name is Palu. Kamea's room number is 1471. I want to tell Dia and Rocco what happened. It's bad - Kamea has a broken arm and leg, bruised ribs, bruises on her face, and breathing tubes. And she is in a coma."

"Oh, my goodness, that person who did this is horrible. Okay, I'll bring them over. And I'll order the flowers now. We'll bring you something to eat too."

"Thank you. The doctor is in Kamea's room checking her vitals. I'm in the cafeteria eating some breakfast. Thanks, mom. And, see you later."

***************************************

Narrator's POV

Cris had no idea that Candi, of all people, just happened to be sitting near him.

Candi's POV

"Hmm, the man-stealer is in the hospital, and she is in a coma?" Interesting. I want Cris back, and she is in my way. "If I have to kill her, that is what I will do."

*************************************

Cris's POV

I went back to her room, and the doctor was finishing up. I asked the doctor, "How long can a person stay in a coma - days, weeks, months, years?"

The doctor then told me, "Sadly, some patients can stay in a coma for long periods of time. We are hoping Kamea doesn't. She is a bright, smart, and loving person. She goes above and beyond to make sure all her patients successfully battle through Diabetes. She's friendly with all the staff at the hospital, and everybody loves her. And her smile brightens our day. When Kamea sees anyone having a bad day, she smiles and gives them a little pep talk. When we heard what happened to her, it was devastating. We will make sure she gets the best care and pray that she comes out of this coma soon."

"I'm hoping she does too. I want to marry her one day."

"Take good care of her. Kamea is like a daughter to me. Don't break her heart."

"I promise you I won't." Then, she left the room.

Shortly after, her parents came in to see her. "My children are coming with my mother later, and I would love for you to meet them. And I ordered some flowers for Kamea and hope they arrive soon."

"Thank you, son. And thank you for all that you are doing for our daughter," Kamea's father said to me. He even smiled at me as I walked out the door.

"It's a start, but I have to show them that I really love her and will do what I can to protect her."

*Later in the afternoon*

I must have fallen asleep in the waiting room because when I looked at the time, it was 3:30 pm. My mom probably took the twins to get something to eat because they were not here yet.

As soon as I said that, they came into the waiting room.

"Daddy, daddy, we miss you," Rocco said while they both gave me the biggest hug.

"Daddy missed his munchkins too. I have something to tell you. Someone hurt Ms. Kam and put her in the hospital."

Día started to cry, so I wiped her tears. "Why is Ms. Kam hurt?" Rocco asked me with a sad look on his face. I couldn't tell them who did it, but I tried to explain as best as I could as to why this happened.

"The person that hurt her is a very bad man and mean. He pushed her down the stairs, and she fell, and that's why she is here." I could feel the anger in me surfacing again. "Daddy is going to make sure they pay for hurting her."

Kamea's parents came in, so I introduced them to my children. "Mr. and Mrs. Palu, this is my mom, Isabela. And these two little munchkins are my twins, Día and Rocco." Surprisingly, they both ran over to them and said hi. Those two are full of surprises because, most of the time, they stick to me like glue.

"Is Ms. Kam going to be okay?" Rocco asked with puppy dog eyes. "Can we see her?" Día then says.

"We are hoping, sweetie. Aren't you a handsome little man? And your sister looks just like a princess. I think Kamea would love that."

"Rocco and Día, say thank you."

"Thank you!" They had the biggest smiles on their faces.

"I'll take you later to see her, okay?"

"Okay, daddy. "

*One week later.*

Sadly, Kamea is still in a coma. My security team checked in with me and said they hadn't found Reed yet. I told them to find him by any means necessary and bring him back alive. I made a promise to her parents and to her cousin, Marissa, that we were going to make him suffer.

My mom convinced me to at least come home for a little bit to spend time with my kids. So, I did. But I called the hospital every day to see if her condition improved. She had improved some. The swelling in her brain has lessened dramatically, so the doctor took her off the life support machines. She still didn't wake up.

"Daddy, can we draw Ms. Kam a picture so she can see it when she wakes up?" Again, Día amazes me. She is the shy and quiet one of the two. But, ever since she met Kamea, I noticed her coming out of her shyness.

"Of course, baby girl. She will love that. Let's draw a picture for her and buy her a teddy bear too."

"Daddy, can I give her one of my bears?" Rocco says.

"How about we each draw a picture and give her a teddy bear? And we can take them to the hospital tonight."

I went and got some paper so we could all draw a picture.

Reed's POV

"Are some women really this easy? I've known this chick for a few days and already have her in bed?"

"You're good, baby! More daddy! More!" she says, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"You want more?! Well, I'm about to give you more!!! Who...is....your.... daddy?!

I gave her what she asked. Then, all of a sudden, she killed it. "If you are this good, why did your ex-girlfriend break up with you?"

I instantly thought of Kamea and how she is now lying in the hospital, fighting for her life. I was no longer interested in this chick.

"Please leave! Put your clothes on and leave! Stop stalling and leave!!!"

Why was I suddenly thinking about Kam? I got up from the bed and went to get my wallet. Even after we broke up a year ago, I still have a picture of Kam in my wallet. This picture is from when we went to the photo booth at the carnival.

Kam is beautiful, sexy, and thick in the right places. Her smile could brighten anyone's day. She could have any man she wanted, but she chose me. And, look, what happened to her? I have to find a way to make things right and see if she is okay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Narrator's POV

Meanwhile, back at the hospital.

Cris's POV

"Okay, let's check and make sure we have everything. Pictures?"

"We have them, daddy."

"Teddy bears?"

"We have them too, daddy."

"Good. And daddy has his picture and teddy bear too."

Día and Rocco didn't just pick out any bear. They both chose their favorite teddy bears to give Kamea. I opened the door, so we could go to Kamea's room.

I was horrified at the scene that was developing.

"Rocco and Día, hide!!" The next thing I knew, I was involved in a fight.

***********************************

Thank you all for taking the time to read chapter nine.

And thank you for your votes, comments, and support! 😘😘😘😘