Chapter 64 Chapter 64

Ella stayed in the hospital for another week. She took the pills every day

and as promised, they took away her negative emotions but also

everything else too. She no longer needed my hugs or any kind of

comfort and she lost interest entirely in talking to me or even seeing

me. It seemed Luca could no longer entertain her and most of her time

was spent either asleep or staring vacantly at the wall. Whilst there were

no more tears or nightmares, a smile rarely graced her lips either and

even less often a laugh.

When the Doctor's deemed her healthy enough for our children to

come and see her, she seemed happy enough but she didn't hug them

as tightly as she used to and she just smiled and nodded as they spoke

to her. When Cato asked her how she was, she couldn't answer. When

Lili presented her with a beautiful quilt she had knitted with her Grany,

she told her it was pretty but her smile was meek and subdued.

I tried to explain to them why their Mother was like this. Why they

didn't really have her back yet. Even Cato, the eldest, didn't quite

understand and each and every one of them was quieter and calmer

when I put them to bed that night.

I held her hand as we left the hospital but she only gripped as firmly as

she needed to stay upright and when we got home, she just sat where I

placed her on the bed, without saying a word until she eventually fell

asleep.

Every morning and night for another week I brought her a glass of

water and handed her a pill. I felt a pang of guilt everytie I watched her

swallow one. The medication just felt like a distraction rather than a

solution. One day, she was going to have to feel the pain in all its

intensity and the longer we put it off, the worse it was going to be.

Selfishly, I also missed her. Of course, I didn't want her to have to suffer

but at the same time, I wanted her back. Even though she was right

there beside me, the pills took the real her away.

It felt now, more than ever, like I was just with the shell of my mate. Her

lively spirit was gone. So were her sharp wittiness and sense of humour.

The twinkle in her eye had long since diminished and her once

animated face was in a constant expression as cold and neutral as

stone. I longed more than ever to see a genuine smile on her lips or

hear her sweet laugh or just any sign of consciousness. She hardly even

looked at me and when I kissed her head before bed every night, she

made no response.

I tried not to take it to heart but losing the love of your mate in that

way was never going to be easy.