Again, I look through her medical files. Something I do every night when I am here. Nico tells me her daily physio is going well and she nearly has all her strength back in her arm. He ensures she eats and keeps a positive mindset. Given that she didn’t have a lot of body strength to start with, I am not surprised she is doing well. I continue flicking through the pages until I get to the one I am looking for. Her psych evaluation. I wanted everything checked out. I wanted no more surprises. My eyes continue to flick through the typed words until I get to where the notes are about her lump in her breast. Her thoughts on why she was scared to get the lump checked and why. “I didn’t want the drugs. They would kill me before I die. I wanted to live first.”

The memory of the time we talked most of the night and her telling me about how drugs affected her mother is also vivid in my mind. I know it was tough, so I am not surprised she didn’t want to be the same.

A small tap at the door interrupts my reading. Nico is standing there, peering in and flicking his head back to motion for me to leave before she wakes. I snarl at him. The fact that he even knows what time she wakes up makes me wonder; if I wasn’t sitting here, would he be?

He puts his hands up in mock surrender and backs away. I am a bastard; I know that, and I have been a total asshole to all my men since she has been here.

Turning back to look over at her, I see her body move, and I freeze, watching her, before I silently stand, placing her files down on the chair and quietly walking out of the room.

I strut down the hallway and into the kitchen, where I find Nico preparing a morning coffee.

“Want one boss?” he asks, already knowing the answer.

“No,” I reply. “How has she been?” I ask him. It is the same question I ask him every morning.

“Doing well. Although she is starting to talk about what she will do when she leaves here,” he says, raising an eyebrow at me.

Leaves here? The thought of her leaving hadn’t entered my mind. I take a big breath to steady myself. She is going to leave me?

I watch as Nico shoves off the kitchen bench and walks to the refrigerator to grab some milk. Looking inside, I immediately wish I hadn’t. I see the large tiramisu staring at me from the bright white shelf. I scrub my hands down my face to erase the image, as it makes me miss her even more.