Chapter 46. Thank You for Everything

Dominic’s POV

I quietly entered the hospital room, which was so thick with tension you could cut it like butter, and no sooner had I walked in, than my phone rang, but I ignored it. I entered to find Leila, perched on the side of the bed with her back toward me. Luca stood next to her, one hand resting lightly on her shoulder. Their faces wore regret like the end of time and both glanced up as I shut it—their heads sinking with me under an avalanche.

Leila was holding something in her hand—a small, tightly wadded piece of paper. Luca looked away and closed his eyes as Leila continued to monitor Michael, her red-rimmed gaze causing a tightening in my chest because I couldn’t shield either of them from it. As I got near her, she just passed me the note. I cringed at first, unsure of what I was going to view but deep down inside I knew that it meant for me to see.

I undid my little paper as if it were as delicate as water. Michael had written in scrawly, albeit