Chapter 74

Liam had tears in his eyes as he heard her groan. “Come on, Maggie! Open your eyes, darling!”

Finally, she fluttered her eyelids and blinked several times, trying to focus as she realized how much pain her body was in. She looked to the side where she heard Liam’s voice and saw him crying.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her left side and started crying too.

“Why does everything hurt? Where am I, Liam?” she asked as he wiped the tears from her face.

The nurse nodded to him to talk to her and whispered she was going to get the doctor.

“Hey, darling, you gave us all quite a scare… What hurts, Maggie?” he managed to choke out.

“Everything. My stomach, my arm, my head, my face… Why?”

“You were in a car accident, darling. You’re in the hospital. The doctors fixed you up, and you are going to be just fine!”

The doctor and the nurse came in again and started checking Maggie out. Liam went to the foot of the bed and kept a hand on her leg to let her know that he was still there.

They asked questions as they gauged how much she remembered and to assess her level of injury.

“Maggie, you were in a car accident, and we had to fix you up a bit, but you are looking good. Your left arm is broken, so you will have a cast on it for the next six to eight weeks.

“Your spleen was ruptured, and we had to remove it, so the pain in your stomach is probably from that. You have quite a few cuts that we stitched up and a concussion.

“You are going to have a headache for the next few days. Is there—”

“Wait! What about my baby?”

“You told one of the paramedics, and we have been watching the baby. The heartbeat is strong.”

She nodded as she sobbed, trying to understand. Liam was there and rubbing her leg, crying with her.

The doctor told her he would get her something for the pain. The medical staff exited the room as Liam went up to her side and took her hand.

“Did I cause the accident?”

“No, from what the police said, a box truck ran a red light and turned right into you and another car. The others only had some scrapes. You couldn’t do anything to prevent it, it just happened…”

They just sat together until the nurse came in with a painkiller to help make her more comfortable. She swallowed the pills after assurances that it wouldn’t hurt the baby.

Liam kissed her lips gently as he sat next to her as she drifted off.

“I’m so happy that you are okay, darling, I love you so much!”

Maggie had drifted off before she could even respond. Liam was thrilled that she had woken up.

He yanked out his phone and texted everyone to let them know that his beautiful wife had woken up and was on the mend.

Everyone was relieved and sent their love and offered to visit as soon as she was up for it. Liam turned on the TV for the first time and flipped channels to pass the time.

He sat in a daze, drifting off with the baseball game as background noise. When he decided to check on Maggie, he heard the door open and saw Brett standing there sheepishly.

“What are you doing here?” Liam asked, trying to sound like he was not seething with anger.

“I got your message. Is she still doing okay?”

“She woke up and is resting now with the pain meds.”

They both stood there, looking at each other, not knowing what to say.

“My wife says I need to make this right.”

“If you don’t want to make this right, then don’t. I don’t want your false apologies or the fake charm that you give to your drunken customers!” Liam said through gritted teeth.

He walked to the foot of the bed so he wouldn’t disrupt Maggie’s sleeping.

“How do you know I would do that?”

“I have known you since you were eighteen. I’ve seen how you deal with idiots and drunks at the club. I’m supposed to be your best friend. If you can’t give me a heartfelt apology, then just leave!”

“Leave? Is that really the call you want to make now that Maggie is awake? Are you afraid of what she will say, Olsen?”

“It is ~my~ call when you being here could upset my wife and unborn child! If you want to push me, I will tell security that you are not allowed in the hospital!”

Brett stepped closer to Liam, and they squared off, daring the other to make a move. Both men’s chests were heaving with anger.

“What the hell is going on?”

Liam and Brett whipped around and saw Maggie awake, looking at them with wide eyes, puzzled as to what could be causing this confrontation. Neither man answered her.

“Well? What are you talking about? Who needs to apologize? For what?”

They both were silent for a second before Liam went to sit on the edge of the bed. “Darling, we can talk about this later. I don’t want to upset you…”

Maggie suddenly remembered the moments before the accident at Liam’s office with Veronica.

“Is this because of what happened before the accident?”

“What do you remember about that night, darling?”

“I need to talk with my husband alone, Brett.”

“Are you sure, Mags? I mean, I can stay if you need—”

“Does it look like I need your help?” she shot back at him.

He shook his head. “I’ll come see you tomorrow, Mags. Rest well, Sis.”

“Night, Bear.”

Watching Brett walk out of the room, Liam sat in the chair next to the bed, dreading every moment that was about to come but knowing he had to take his lumps.

“Liam, I remember that bitch with her hands on you and her asking you to start an affair with her, and you not answering her right away. Am I right?”

“You are right, Maggie. Can I explain, please?”

Maggie saw the pain and love on his face. “I know you are a good man, Liam. I’m sure you haven’t left my side since I’ve been here. So, explain everything to me.”

“Maggie, I went about my normal schedule and worked out. I came back and showered, and when I came out of the bathroom, she was on the couch.

“I asked what she wanted, and she made some rubbish excuse about being in the neighborhood. I brushed her off and asked her to leave.

“That’s when she started talking about our past together and how much she missed me and wanted me back. I made it very plain to her that I loved you and our life was perfect.

“I asked her to leave again. That’s the part where you must have heard outside the door.”

Liam stopped and took a drink of his water.

“She came up, put her hand on my chest, told me she still loved me, and asked for us to have an affair on Tuesdays. I was so shocked at her sheer audacity that I was speechless.

“I couldn’t believe she thought so little of herself and the vows of marriage! Your face on our wedding day flashed in my head and how much I loved you that I drifted away for a moment.

“I thought about how much you mean to me and how much I love and respect you and never want to hurt you. And then you walked in, and I saw the look on your face and knew that I hurt you anyway.”

Maggie wiped the tears from her face again and took his hand. “I do love you, Liam, so much. You knew how much Jason had hurt me, and I knew you wouldn’t do that to me.

“I just let my temper and hormones get the better of me. I had just found out before practice that I was pregnant and wanted to surprise you.

“I know it was a bit early, and we hadn’t talked about when we wanted to have more, so I wanted to tell you alone, just in case you were upset…”

“Darling, I told you I would have six kids with you—or as many as you will give me! I want to have more when you are ready.

“It’s not me that gets pregnant, but you. So you have all the power, Maggie. And for the record, I am thrilled that we are pregnant! I can’t wait!”

Maggie smiled sadly and looked at him. “I’m sorry that this happened. I’m sure that I worried you when I didn’t answer your phone calls.”

“Please don’t, Maggie, this is not your fault! I love you so much and will do everything in my power to show you every day how much I love you. Please tell me how I can make it up to you,” he pleaded.

Maggie was crying again and put her one good hand on his face.

“Babe, you do that every day. We will be okay, I promise. My head totally understands, it’s just gonna take my heart a bit longer. Life is too short for this to tear us apart.

“Although, I just can’t forget seeing her hand on your body and how I felt. I can’t promise that if I see her again, I won’t beat the shit out of her, so just promise me you will defend me in court!”

He laughed as he kissed her hand. “I will even help bury the body! I already have a plan on how to deal with her.”

“So, what happened with Brett? I want the truth!”

Liam took another drink and explained what he had caught Brett saying to her while she was unconscious. Maggie was seething.

“Why the ~hell~ would he do that? My dear brother and I are going to have a little discussion tomorrow! Son of a bitch!”

Liam felt bad for Brett but knew that she would be fair to him.

“Liam, I just want to say that I love you, and I am so happy that we are having another baby. Thank you for being here…”

He leaned in and kissed her gently before resting his head on hers, careful not to hurt any part of her bruised body.

“Tell me how bad I look, Liam.”

“You look beautiful in every way.”

“I should have known that you wouldn’t tell me the truth, you cheeky git!”

They laughed as she moved over in the bed and asked him to lie next to her. He was careful not to bump any part of her that was hurt.

Liam lay with her until she fell back to sleep and then went back to his reclining chair, drifting off.