SOPHIE & THE DUKE 🔞

Chapter 27

SOPHIE

I woke up from a deep sleep feeling disoriented. It was like coming back to reality from a place without any shape or color, where time didn't seem to exist. My eyes were heavy with sleep, but I felt an urge to open them. At first, everything was blurry and bright, but slowly I started to make sense of my surroundings. I tried to move my hand, but it felt difficult, like my body was not familiar to me. I could hear a machine beeping steadily, monitoring my heartbeat. I was thirsty and my first breath felt hard to take, like coming up for air after being deep underwater. With each breath, my mind cleared up a bit more.

The place I found myself in bore an unsettling familiarity; somewhere deep within, I recognized it, yet my mind struggled to piece together the fragmented memories. As I came to full consciousness, a single thought clawed its way to the forefront of my mind, raw and insistent.

"My baby," I whispered with a feeble breath, the very act of speaking a monumental effort. My hands instinctively sought the once-prominent swell of my abdomen, only to be met with a stark absence. Vague recollections—shadows and echoes of pain—surfaced. Gio had been there when I passed out from the pain.

"Oh God," I gasped, terror slicing through me like a blade, my pulse thundering in my ears. Summoning every shred of strength within me, I let out a cry that bore the weight of my soul.

"My baby! Where is my child?" The words erupted from me, a frenzied, haunting plea.

Desperation clawed at my throat, a silent prayer begging not to have lost my most precious one. "Where is my baby?" I cried out again, my voice a raw, jagged thing.

The murmur of voices, the soft shuffle of footsteps—signals of life beyond the sterile walls—drew my frantic gaze to the now-open door. A woman, perhaps in her mid-forties, burst into the room, her eyes flicking to the monitors with practiced urgency.

"Who are you? Where is my baby?" The questions tumbled out, laced with panic. I was powerless to sit up, my body a vessel of weakness, my heart a nexus of fear.

"Calm down, Sophie, please," she urged with a tenderness that belied the urgency of the situation. "You've just awakened from a deep coma, and it's crucial that you don't panic. I promise I will explain everything in due time, but right now, you need to relax," she said, her voice a soothing balm as she clasped my hand gently, her other hand attentive to the IV drip that tethered me to life.

Tears betrayed the storm of emotions within me, cascading down my cheeks unbidden. She was my anchor in the tempest, her presence a steadying force.

"Now, let's get you sitting up," she coaxed, her hands guiding me with a compassionate firmness. "Take it slowly... that's right, slowly," she encouraged, her voice the very embodiment of patience and care.

"Do you feel comfortable?" she inquired, her eyes searching mine for any sign of discomfort.

A muted affirmative hum was all I could muster through the overwhelming haze.

"Good. Now, let's make you even more comfortable," she declared, her smile a fleeting glimmer of warmth as she skillfully arranged the pillows to support my back.

"Water," I managed to whisper, my throat parched and aching.

She responded with immediate understanding, swiftly moving to the bedside table to fill a cup from the jug. "Here, take it slowly," she instructed, bringing the cup to my lips with a steadiness that allowed me to drink without overwhelming my weakened state. Once I'd had enough, she placed the cup back down.

"Where am I?" The question emerged from me as I surveyed my surroundings, my neck protesting with stiffness.

"You're in Italy, Sophie. Now, please relax," she said, her voice a gentle command as she administered something into the IV line. Almost instantly, a wave of dizziness washed over me, and as I succumbed to its pull, the world faded to darkness once more.