Ripples and Hills Part Two.

Chapter 106.

Hulio.

Night.

My eyes drag open, heavy. The room sharpens into view. The same room I’ve been in for days. Displeasure churns low in me. For a moment, I thought I’d ended it, one clean slice of the blade, and silence. But here I am. Alive. Still broken. Still this.

My gaze falls on Prudence. She’s curled on the sofa, a blanket half-slipped off her. Something flickers inside me, warmth. She’s still here. Watching over me like some stubborn angel, even at this hour. Even in my darkest moment. The clock reads eleven. But I shove the feeling away. Warmth has no place in me.

I reach for my phone, needing distraction. Instead, my arm knocks over a cup. It crashes to the floor, shattering.

Her head snaps up. Alarm fills her face.

“Hulio… you’re awake,” she stutters, then scrambles up, moving quickly to the mess.

“Did you need water?” She asks, her voice rushed, concerned.

I shake my head, lean back against the pillow. Guilt pricks me for waking her. She disappears and returns with a broom and dustpan. Cleans every shard. Throws it all away. Then comes back, sits in the chair beside me. Her eyes fixed on me, steady, careful, too full of concern.

“You didn’t leave?”

She shakes her head.

“Why?” I ask.

“I needed to be sure you were okay.” She smiles then, soft and beautiful. Too beautiful. It hits me like a blade to the chest

“You should have gone,” I mutter, turning my head. “I don’t deserve your pity. Or your hate.” My throat burns. Ashley’s words crash over me in fresh waves.

“I don’t pity you. I care about you.”

The words freeze me. My breath catches. I look back at her.

“You… care about me?”

She nods, quiet, but steady.

“Didn’t you hear Ashley?” My voice cracks, shatters. “She called me a cripple. Who wants a cripple, Prudence? No one. Not even family…” My voice breaks again, thinking of my mother, my brother, both gone when I woke.

“No. No,” she whispers. “They care. Your family cares. They were here…your brother just left with your mum because she was distraught. They love you. They do.”

I shake my head. Tears fall anyway.

“No one cares for a man who’s lost himself…I’ve lost myself. My abilities. My strength. What’s the guarantee I’ll ever have the will again? After today?” The words rasp out of me, small, defeated.

She climbs onto the bed without hesitation, takes my hands in hers.

“You’ll walk again…You’ll stand again. And I won’t go anywhere until you do. Please, don’t give up now. You’re already doing so well. Look at your practice…”

“Look how hard it is!” My voice spikes. She flinches but doesn’t let go.

“I can’t even move without that damned walker. I can’t, Prudence. I can’t keep fighting. I’m just… just an invalid. A man no woman would ever want.”

The dam breaks. Harsh sobs tear through me. My body shakes, wracked with the weight of everything. She pulls me into her chest, holds me as I break apart. Her scent, pine, lavender, honey, chocolate, wraps me. I cling to it. To her. She’s my anchor in this storm.

And then, her voice. Soft. Shocking.

“I would want you.”

The world stops.

I pull back, stare at her like she’s gone mad. But her gaze doesn’t waver. Her lips tremble, then steadies.

“What… what did you say?” My voice is hoarse, raw.

“I said I would want you, Hulio. All of you. Perfections. Imperfections. Everything.”

Her smile is fragile, luminous. And it lands somewhere deep in me I thought was dead.

A thought creeps in. Dark. Twisted.

Maybe this is how I can keep myself alive and sane again. If she wants me, then I’ll bind her to me. Make her mine. If I can’t be whole again, at least I’ll have someone who stays. Someone who won’t leave me in the ruins, if this walking therapy fails.

She fusses over me then, settling me back into the bed, pulling the blanket up, propping my pillow. Tender. Too tender.

“Are you in pain? Should I call one of the nurses?”

I just stare at her. She’s stunning. Scar and all, she’s breathtaking. Body like a model, that sharp bob cut, framing her face like some screen goddess. And she’s here. With me. She’s admitted she wants me. Maybe this is the only way I can survive.

“Hulio?” She presses gently.

I blink, guilty. “What?”

“I asked if you need anything. Painkillers, water, something?”

I fix my eyes on her. Steady. “Yes. I need something.”

She leans closer, attentive.

“What is it?”

Forgive me, Prudence. I’m about to use you. But it’s the only way I can stay alive in this cruel world.

I drag in a breath. My voice shakes but I force the words.

“I need you, Prudence Kateri… to be my wife.”

Her eyes go wide. Horror flickers there, but I press on.

“If you don’t marry me… I’ll stop. I won’t practice walking again. I won’t take another treatment. I’ll give up. For good.”

The look on her face is terror, disbelief, devastation all in one. And it cuts deeper than any blade.

And I know I’ve just broken something sacred in her.