/Samantha/
I could forgive him, of course I could, because he was my dad and he always would be, and I knew that Henry had already forgiven him because he was the one that convinced me to let it go and look at it from James's point of view. I knew that Henry had already forgiven him because he was the one that convinced me to let it go and look at it from James's point of view. James, Henry is aware that you weren't serious about what you said, and I reassured him with a nod and a whisper as I said it.
He stared at me with a hopeful expression on his face; he sincerely desired for it to be the case. "Does he?" he croaked, his voice cracked and choked with the weight of his feelings.
I gave a feeble smile and nod of my head before responding, "Of course he does, Henry loves you too."
Then he gave a jovial grin and brushed his hand over his face, brushing away the few tears that had begun to trickle down. "I was just so angry, all I could think about was that you two had run off and gotten married and taken away one of the most special things a dad could have in his life," the man said. "I was just so angry that you two had run off and gotten married and taken away one of the most special things a dad could have
I gazed at him in a curious manner, wondering what it was that had been taken away from him. What exactly do you mean by that?
He gave me another gentle massage to the face while smiling and just staring at me with such adoration in his eyes. "It is the hope of every father that his daughter will one day wed the man of their dreams.
I envisioned an extravagant wedding for you, complete with a show-stopping cake with your entire happy family looking on and smiling. I always saw myself being the one to walk you down the aisle in your stunning white dress and answering the vicar's question about who gives this woman permission to be married.
"Because she's my daughter, I'd come forward with confidence and say yes because she's my daughter," he murmured while smiling wistfully.
I could instantly understand why dad was so unhappy, and it made me grin as I thought about the proud smile that would be on his face as he placed my hand in Henry's. I smiled at the small fantasy that had started to play out in my thoughts, and it made me smile as well. Even while it didn't justify his actions, at least I could finally understand them.
I couldn't help but confess it as I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat: "That sounds great."
He acknowledged the statement and then said, "Yeah, but that doesn't matter right now." What is most important right now is that you get the operation for your husband, since Henry is going to be absolutely heartbroken if he can't walk. As he said it, he showed a hint of discomfort, and I couldn't help but feel grateful that he knew Henry so well, that he was thinking about Henry and no one else, and that, by calling Henry my husband, he was finally acknowledging that we were married. I smiled in appreciation of all of these things.
He rose up and put his hand on my shoulder as he said, "I'm going to go outside and make some calls. Do you want to come out for some fresh air, or are you going to go back inside?"
I couldn't stand the idea of being more than a few paces away from Henry, so I shook my head and pointed in the direction of his room. My stomach was in a knot just thinking about it. "Let me go back in," she said.
He gave me a friendly smile and planted a kiss on my head. "I'm going to contact Ron; just wait here for me to get back to you as soon as I can. Stay brave, Samantha, and don't let anyone get you down; you and Henry belong to one other, and the two of you will get through this together.
I waited until he was out of sight before taking a few deep breaths and then opening the door to his room again. He turned and walked away along the corridor. I approached his bedside in a casual manner, but I refused to look at Linda or Richard. Instead, I concentrated all of my attention on the man who was the love of my life.
Before James came back in the room, he looked defeated and sad at me while shaking his head at me. At that moment, I realised that what Linda had said was accurate. I remained there holding his hand for what seemed like an eternity. Our marriage was not recognised by the state.
I gave a slight nod in return and thought to myself, "Yeah, I guess I always knew it; I think deep down I always knew that it was hopeless." I turned my attention back to Henry and rested my chin on the edge of his bed while I watched the rhythmic movement of his chest. I paid little attention to the hushed talks that were taking place in the other parts of the room. It didn't matter what they said anymore; all that mattered to me was that Henry opened his gorgeous green eyes. I didn't care what they said anymore; it made no difference.
As the minutes stretched into hours, the nurse arrived and informed me that he could have only one person stay with him tonight. I was caught off guard by this news. I gave Linda a stern look to let her know that if she dared to order me to leave the room, I was going to grab Henry's intravenous pole and beat her to death with it; there was no way that I was going to leave this room.
She gave me a defiant look for a moment, but I did not back down from the challenge. She must have noticed on my face that I wasn't going to go since she gave me a slight nod before turning to Richard and stood up. This indicates that she saw that I wasn't about to leave. She mumbled, "Let's leave, we can come back in the morning," as they were walking away.
I mumbled "thank you" in a feeble manner. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for her to leave this room and go back to him; perhaps she was a more resilient person than I was since there was no way I could coax myself into leaving this space.
Her response was, "I'll see you in the morning." She took a firm hold of Henry's hand and planted a kiss on his cheek before turning and leaving the room in another fit of sobbing. After saying their final farewells, Richard, my mother, and James, I was finally able to spend some quality time with my spouse.
I moved my chair closer to him and spent the entire night sitting awake next to him, softly reminding him that I loved him and listing all of the activities that I wanted to do with him once he woke up. I made a list of all of his favourite foods, which I would prepare for him, as well as all of the ridiculous television episodes that he like, which I would watch with him when he was feeling better, and I said that I wouldn't even grumble about them.
I finished by explaining that since our marriage wasn't recognised by the state, he would have to remarry me, but this time I wanted the elaborate ceremony that James had been planning on throwing for us.
I warned him that if he didn't wake up within the next hour, I would use all of his winnings from Vegas to throw the most lavish wedding I could possibly imagine. When he did not wake up by the time the deadline arrived, I added another item to the list of things that would cause me to squander money in an effort to startle him into awakening. I gave him another hour.
Our wedding plan included: a Chanel wedding dress, Gucci outfits, elephants to transport us to the church, money flowers, chocolate dessert bowls, a ten piece live band for the party, iPod's as table favours for the guests, and a whole bunch of other things. After ten threats, he still hadn't woken up.
If Henry didn't start breathing again soon, I was going to have to ship him back to Vegas to work to pay for everything. When I thought about it, I couldn't help but crack a small smile, even though I knew full well that I didn't require any of those stuff. All I wanted was for him to regain consciousness, feel better, and smile again.
The next morning, Linda and Richard made their way back. A fresh set of clothes and some food were handed to me by my mother and James. I took it with me into the restroom, where I changed into clean clothing while discarding the food in the garbage can. I couldn't even entertain the thought of eating because my stomach was already churning with anxiety, nervousness, and knots; there was no way that I could possible fit anything else in there.
A little while after lunch, the officer who had been at Blake's residence earlier came in. He informed us that Blake had been charged with several crimes, including disobeying a court order, violating the provisions of a restraining order, committing serious violence, attempting murder, and kidnapping.
It would appear that he is currently being held at an institution for those who suffer from mental illness; nevertheless, it took them some time to charge him because he required medical attention for a gunshot wound to the leg. Because of what he did to Henry, I wished he would rot in jail; I had no sympathy for him at all longer; he should be the one laying here, not my kid. Henry was the one who benefited from what he did.
I tuned out as Richard questioned the officer about why they had not acted sooner and how this could have occurred; he wanted to make a formal complaint against the police for their hesitation, which allowed Henry to be stabbed not once, but twice. I tuned out as Richard questioned the officer about why they had not acted sooner and how this could have occurred. I chose not to listen to the chat since the topics being discussed are not relevant to me at this time. It was way beyond my bedtime, and I simply was unable to think about it.
I was sitting there like a zombie, unable to tear my gaze away from Henry even though my weary head was beginning to gently drift off into unconsciousness. I did not feel like eating or drinking, and although people were concerned about me, I was unable to respond to their inquiries. Because I was slowly passing away on the inside with each passing minute that Henry laid there lifeless, I simply did not have the strength to fake a smile and put on a show for them.