Chapter 11: First Words

"Clara," he said again.

It was one word, and it took everything he had.

His throat worked.

His lips cracked and bled a little, and I grabbed a damp swab from the tray and touched it to his mouth.

"Don't," I said, and my voice came out wet. "Don't push it. You've been silent for three months."

"Water."

I held a sip to his mouth, and he swallowed.

He swallowed, and I put my hand over my own mouth, and I cried.

Damian watched me, with gray eyes that had never been so alive.

His thoughts had gone soft and slow.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry to frighten you. I wanted to say it before I lost the nerve.

"Say whatever you like," I said. "Say it slowly."

"The gate," he whispered. "I heard it. All of it."

"The windows were open."

"You said... Grandma." His mouth twitched. "She called it the best thing since the moon."

I laughed.

I laughed, and I cried again, and he kept his eyes on my face the whole time.

The door opened.

Beatrice stood on the threshold with a tray of tea, and she must have heard the laugh and run the last few steps.

"What is it?" she said. "Clara, is he..."

"Mom," Damian said.

The tray hit the floor.

Teacups rolled over the carpet in every direction.

Beatrice crossed the room in three steps, fell on her knees beside the bed, and took his hand in both of hers.

"Damian. Damian. Oh, my baby."

She said it ten times, and he let her.

When she could breathe again, he turned his head toward her, slowly, an inch at a time.

"Nobody," he whispered. "Don't tell... anyone."

"Not even the doctor?"

Keep reading free with an account. Start I Can Hear My Paralyzed Billionaire Husband's Thoughts from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.