Forever After All: A Billionaire Marriage of Convenience Novel

“Don’t worry. She’ll wake up. Your mother and I have been friends since we were kids. She’s one of the strongest women I know. Don’t give up hope, sweetie.”

Sofia holds my hand tightly as we sit next to my mom’s hospital bed. She’s been accompanying me to see my mother once a week for a while now. She’ll sit here for hours and just talk to my mother about their childhood memories, about Lucian, Alexander and me. I like to think that my mother can hear her, and that the happy memories will help her want to wake up.

Today Sofia has been far more quiet than usual, and I know she’s worried about Alexander and me. He and I have barely spoken recently, and I can tell that it’s affecting her. Usually, we’d have dinner with her every other night or so, and the way Alexander would joke with her, the affection he’d display toward me, it’s always made her happy. Now he doesn’t even bother putting on an act for his mother anymore. He mostly ignores me, and it’s worrying Sofia.

My mother’s new doctor walks in, his face buried in his notes. The doctor looks surprised when he realizes my mother isn’t alone. “Ah, Ms. Kennedy?” he asks.

“Yes,” my mother-in-law and I both say. I look at her, flustered.

The doctor looks confused and stares from me to her. “Ms. Elena Kennedy?” he clarifies. I nod and stand up to shake his hand.

He blushes as he limply shakes my hand. “I—you—you’re so young,” he blurts out. I stare at him wide eyed and he shakes his head apologetically. “I didn’t mean it that way. God, I’m so sorry. It’s just, because you’re the guardian—’

I laugh and shake my head. “It’s quite all right. Please call me Elena. You’re Dr. Taylor, I assume?” He doesn’t look old enough to be a doctor, but Alexander assured me he’s a prodigy and an expert in his field. It took Alexander weeks to convince him to come work for us.

He nods and proceeds to tell me about my mother’s condition. “I flew in a few days ago and wasn’t told anything about who I’d be treating or what the patient’s condition was. The Kennedys have been really hush-hush about everything, so I didn’t really know what to expect. I’ll be your mother’s permanent physician from now on. She’ll be my only patient, and I’ll provide her with round-the-clock care. For now, we’re keeping her on the same drugs the previous hospital had her on so as to not shock her system, but I noticed some anomalies in her chart and well… it doesn’t seem right. It looks like her brain activity is really high for a patient who’s been in a coma for so long, and she certainly isn’t brain dead. I’ll be performing several tests throughout the next couple of weeks, so I’ll know more soon. Having said that, I actually believe there’s a chance she might wake up someday, Elena.”

I stare at him in disbelief, my eyes filling with tears. She might actually wake up again one day? A relieved sob tears through my throat, and I bury my face in my hands. His words are like a lifeline to me, after years of disappointment. I sniff, trying my best to keep my emotions under control, and Sofia wraps her arm around me.

“That’s wonderful news, sweetheart. I knew it. Your mom has always been a fighter.”

I nod, smiling through my tears. I drop my head against her shoulder and inhale shakily. “Yes, she is, isn’t she?”

The door opens behind us and I straighten, surprised to find Alexander walking in. His eyes find mine and he frowns when he realizes that I’m holding back tears. He walks up to us and places his hand on my shoulder, a hint of concern visible through his cold demeanor.

“What happened?” he asks, his voice soft.

“The doctor said she might wake up,” I whisper, trying my best to blink away my tears.

Alexander’s eyes widen, and he smiles, a real smile—the first I’ve seen in days, if not weeks. He brushes my hair behind my ear gently. “That’s wonderful news, Buttercup.”

I sniff, a shaky smile on my face. “It’s all thanks to you. If not for you, she wouldn’t be in this facility, and she wouldn’t be receiving such good care.”

He looks into my eyes and shakes his head. “It wasn’t me,” he tells me. “It was you. The faith you have, the sacrifices you’ve made.”

Sofia nods in agreement and tightens her grip on me, hugging me tightly, a wide smile on her face.

“Mother,” Alexander says, pressing a kiss to her cheek. She smiles at him, her eyes moving between the two of us. I guess this is the most we’ve spoken in a while.

Alexander walks over to my mother and grabs her hand carefully. He presses a delicate kiss to the back of her hand and the sweet gesture sends tears to my eyes all over again.

He then turns towards my mother’s doctor, who looks at him nervously. “I assume the research facilities are to your liking?” he asks.

Dr. Taylor nods. “Certainly, Mr. Kennedy. I’m beyond grateful for your funding of my study.”

Sofia grabs my hand and smiles. “Alec and I have a standing lunch date every Tuesday. He said he wanted to check in with your mother’s new doctor, so I asked him to pick me up here,” she says.

I glance at her and shake my head. So she orchestrated this. She’s trying to push Alexander and me together.

“I won’t intrude,” I say, knowing Alexander won’t want me around. He’s been going out of his way to avoid me recently. “You guys go ahead. I’ll sit here with my mom a bit longer, and then I’ll head back home. I have an appointment at three.”

Alexander stares at his mother for a couple of seconds and sighs. “Come on,” he says. “There’s plenty of time. I’ll drop you at home later.”

I frown at him, but Sofia nods happily. Alexander holds my coat out for me, but it’s his mother that he’s looking at. I helplessly put my arms through the sleeves and then step away. Before I have a chance to do the buttons up, he wraps his hands over mine and smiles at me. He looks into my eyes, and I can’t help the way my heart skips a beat. It feels like I haven’t seen him in forever. I’m pretty sure he’s been waiting to come to bed until he’s certain I’m fast asleep. I’ve been trying to stay up and wait for him, but he never shows… yet every morning his side of the bed is messy.

Alexander steps closer to me and slowly does my buttons up, taking his time. I see Sofia beaming from my peripheral vision, a relieved look in her eyes. She doesn’t even realize that it’s all an act, and part of me wishes she would. I don’t want to do this anymore. I don’t want to pretend to be happy together when he won’t even look at me in private.

Alexander grabs my hand and entwines our fingers before wrapping his other arm around his mother. He leads us to his car, and I’m surprised he didn’t arrive here in his limousine. He opens the passenger door of his sports car for me and smiles apologetically.

“I’m sorry, Buttercup. You’ll have to squeeze into the backseat. If I’d known you’d be here, I’d have come in a bigger car.”

I smile and shake my head to indicate I don’t mind. The backseat of his Aston Martin really is tiny, but thankfully I manage to fit just fine.

The restaurant we’re going to isn’t very far, and Sofia thoroughly enjoys the ride. Alexander lowers the roof for her so she can feel the wind blowing through her hair. He watches her with an indulgent smile every time she shakes her hair out, a huge grin on her face.

He takes such good care of her, and I can’t help but lose a little bit of my heart to this version of him.