Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
He waited. Holding his breath. Not able to think about losing her before he’d even had the chance to show her he would be that man for her. Leila didn’t hastily reassure him. He wanted her to, but he would have known she truly didn’t understand the extent of the problem if she had.
Rubin was very upset when he arrived. I thought it was because he didn’t know you were capable of performing surgery the way you did, but it wasn’t that, was it?
No. He was cautious. Careful. She was too intelligent and already figuring it out.
You had so many weapons with you. You brought them all.
Not all. Just my favorites. The ones that mattered to me. He waited again, suddenly becoming aware the ground had settled, and Rubin was moving slowly back to him. There was concern on his face. He had to have caught parts of Diego’s conversation with Leila. She wasn’t adept enough to keep Rubin from hearing her. Like Diego, Rubin waited to hear what her verdict would be.
He needed to warn Leila just as he promised. You’re spilling over, connecting to both of us.
Rubin moved closer to Diego as if he could shield him from the coming blow. His features were unreadable, but his eyes were filled with compassion and love. Diego had always had that. No matter how brutal the circumstances of his childhood, he’d always had that unconditional love from Rubin. He’d learned to love the same way. Rubin had given him that.
Honey. The voice was soft, gentle, filling his mind with what felt like love. At least the beginnings. It was different from the way Rubin felt to him, but he recognized the emotion. He’d never thought he’d feel it from anyone other than Rubin. He knew his brother had to feel it as well. Diego had warned Leila that Rubin could hear her, but she’d still opted to give him that, to expose her vulnerability to his brother in order to let him know she wasn’t running away.
I think the best we can do for us, Diego, is ensure we have good communication at all times. Once you teach me your coping methods, I can be vigilant for signs to help you. We’ll have to make sure we always have strategies in place for you.
Could she be any more perfect? She recognized there was no cure. She knew she would be facing a lifetime of Diego fighting off demons, yet she was willing to stay. She didn’t immediately think she could fix him. She knew mental health issues were serious. She recognized why he had returned to his cabin, and she poured steel into her voice right along with that same beginning love. She was as determined as he was to face the illness head-on.
I believe that is a good idea. He didn’t know what else to tell her. It was a little overwhelming to think he could have ended his life in that one bleak moment of despair. Had he succeeded, he would have missed not only recognizing his brother’s needs and emotional support but also knowing Leila.
“We need to discuss your ability to perform surgery, Diego,” Rubin said aloud.
Diego was uneasy that Rubin deliberately didn’t break the connection with Leila. He had no idea what Rubin was going to say to him. He’d seen Diego’s work. Rubin had to do mop-up to fix any mistakes Diego made. Yes, he’d saved Leila’s life, but having Rubin dissect his work on the woman Diego wanted for his partner was humiliating. He’d never ever felt that way from anything Rubin had ever said or done, yet he already felt he was looking in a bad light.
“What you believe to be an absolute truth is actually another lie our mother beat into you,” Rubin said. His voice was back to his calm, matter-of-fact tone. The one that said he knew what he was talking about, and he expected others to listen. “She told you everything you were able to do came from a place of evil. How many times did she say that to you? At least twice daily, sometimes over and over when she beat you. You were a child, Diego. You may think you know she was out of her mind, but how could the things she said and did not leave a lasting impression on you? They did me, and she didn’t beat me. She didn’t tell me I was a child of the devil.”
Diego frowned, for the first time not following Rubin’s reasoning. Yes, of course, he knew the things their mother had said and done were the ravings of a sick woman. But that didn’t have anything to do with his level of ability. His confusion must have been evident to his brother, because Rubin sighed and shook his head.