"Nothing. I was probably hallucinating from the head injury." She laughs, but it sounds uncertain. "For a moment I thought you were standing."
I stare at her. She stares back. Those green eyes search my face, looking for something. Confirmation. Denial. I don't know.
"Standing?" I keep my voice neutral. "That's quite a hallucination."
"I know." She bites her lip. "It was stupid. The pain and the fear and everything—my brain was probably just showing me what I wanted to see."
"What you wanted to see?"
"You. Walking through that door like some avenging angel." She smiles, but it's sad. "Ridiculous, right?"
I should tell her. I should have told her months ago. But I wanted it to be perfect. Wanted to walk to her at my coronation, surprise her, prove that I'm not the broken man she married.
Except she almost died today. She almost died thinking I couldn't walk. Thinking she'd imagined it.
Fuck perfect.
"Antonella."
"What?"
I release her carefully, making sure she's settled against the pillows. Then I grip the armrests of my wheelchair and push myself up.
My legs scream. Every muscle burns. The pain is worse than it's ever been—the rescue mission destroyed whatever progress I'd made. But I don't care.
I stand.
Antonella's face goes white.
Her mouth falls open. Her eyes go wide. She looks like someone just told her the sky is green and water flows upward.
"Bruno." My name comes out as a whisper. "You're—you're standing."
"Surprise." I manage a smirk despite the agony shooting through my spine. "Not a hallucination after all."
"How—when—" She can't form complete sentences. Her hands fly to her mouth. "Oh my God. Bruno. You're standing."
"I wanted to surprise you." I take a breath, fighting to keep my balance. My legs shake. Sweat breaks out on my forehead. "At the coronation. I was going to walk to you in front of everyone. Show you that I'm not—that I can be?—"
The words tangle in my throat.
"I'm not ready yet," I admit. "I mean, I overpassed myself tonight yes, but I'm working on it. Every day. Valentino's been helping me train in secret."
Antonella stares at me. Tears stream down her face again, but she's smiling. Laughing and crying at the same time.
"You absolute bastard." She chokes on a sob. "You've been hiding this from me for how long?"
"Months."
"Months!" She throws a pillow at me. It bounces off my chest. "I've been worried about you. Trying to make you feel better about the wheelchair. And this whole time you've been secretly learning to walk again?"
"I wanted it to be perfect."
"Perfect." She laughs, wiping her eyes. "You almost gave me a heart attack. I'm pregnant and injured and you decide now is the time to reveal you can stand?"
"Seemed appropriate."
"You're impossible." But she's smiling. Really smiling. The kind of smile that lights up her whole face and makes my chest ache. "Get over here."