The Mafia Lord's Secret Lover - Chapter 18

18: When Will He Wake Up?

Evelyn quickly turned forward again, masking her expression.

The last thing she needed was for Axel to know what she was thinking. When they reached the post-operative observation room, a nurse guided them inside. Her heart tightened as she saw her poor baby Oliver lying in the bed, small and pale beneath the sheets, wires and monitors attached to his tiny body. And before Axel could react, she rushed forward, clutching her son’s hand gently, as if he might shatter at her touch.

“Oh, sweetheart…” she whispered, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

Her voice trembled, full of fear and love.

…

Axel stood a few steps back, his expression locked in its usual mask, but his eyes betrayed him.

They softened as they rested on Oliver, his son.

His blood.

His heir.

This boy, barely a child, carried the very thing Axel never thought he wanted but now couldn’t imagine losing.

Yet Axel’s feet refused to move. He stood near the door, his back against the wall, watching Evelyn as if she were a scene from a dream he wasn’t entitled to touch.

Her figure trembled gently as she hunched over the hospital bed, her forehead softly resting near Oliver’s hand. A gentle, broken whimper slipped from her, tender and raw, conveying her delicate pain.

At first, the sight warmed him.

A strange, foreign warmth; his heart swelled for the first time in years. For the first time, Axel allowed himself to imagine what it might have been like if things had been different, if they’d raised Oliver together from the beginning. If only Evelyn had come to him sooner and shared her pregnancy. He wouldn’t have done anything to harm her; instead, he would have welcomed her and raised their son together. Everything would have been perfect…

calm and joyful, unlike this scary, dramatic situation.

However, that fragile warmth twisted into unease. His gaze stayed on the wires and tubes covering Oliver’s body, the steady rhythm of the monitor beside him. Each beep was both a reassurance and a threat. But now Evelyn was holding their son so tightly that he feared she might accidentally tug something loose and put their son’s life in danger.

His mouth parted, the warning on his tongue, but he swallowed it back.

He didn’t want to shatter her fragile composure with his cold voice. So he let her cling.

He let her whisper prayers against their son’s skin.

Until she moved.

Her knee pressed against the edge of the mattress, her arms moving as if she planned to climb onto the bed and pull Oliver into her lap. Axel’s entire body went stiff.

In a heartbeat, his chest seized with a surge of panic he couldn’t control.

“Evelyn,” His voice echoes through the room.

“Stop.

Don’t climb onto the bed.

Oliver could be in danger!” The words snapped Evelyn back instantly, causing her to stumble off the mattress. Her hands trembled as she pulled away, hovering in midair.

She turned to him, wide-eyed, her face pale with fright. “Oh…

I’m sorry.” Her voice was nothing but a whisper.

” Will he be okay?

When will he wake up?” “He will.” Axel forced his tone to sound calm, even though his pulse hammered against his ribs.

“As long as you don’t mess with those machines and make them malfunction.” Evelyn froze.

Her expression slowly grew stiff as she heard that.

Her gaze flickered to Oliver, then back to Axel, as if he’d accused her of something terrible. “I didn’t do anything to make them malfunction,” she said softly, her voice trembling a little.

“I wasn’t touching anything at all.

I would never hurt him.” He stifled a laugh.

“I believe you,” he said with a flat expression. She narrowed her eyes at him as she spoke her mind, “God, you always assume the worst of me, Axel…” she said, her voice trembling.

“Like I came here just to sabotage the medical equipment.

Relax…

Axel, I’m not that reckless.” Her words sound sharper than she probably intended. Axel’s gaze hardened, but inside, guilt twisted in his chest.

He could see the raw edges of her fear, the way her fingers hovered near Oliver’s tiny hand but didn’t dare touch it again.

Silence lingered between them once again. Then, Evelyn sighs quietly.

Her shoulders trembled as she whispered, almost to herself, “I just… I need him to wake up.

That’s all I need.” Axel opened his mouth several times, but no words came out. He wanted to go over to her, maybe put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

But he held back.

Every step closer felt like giving up.

Instead, he leaned against the wall, his posture relaxed. “Oliver is strong,” he said finally, his voice low but steady, “He’ll wake soon.” Evelyn turned her head just slightly, enough for him to catch the flash of vulnerability in her eyes. She says nothing.

She didn’t snap back like she usually did. But, she just looked at him, long enough for his cold mask to nearly slip.

For a moment, Axel felt the room feel cramped.

He exhaled quietly, pushing away from the wall. “Well, you can touch him if you want.

But don’t climb on the bed again.” He said gently.

Evelyn blinked, startled by the shift in his tone, then nodded quickly. “Don’t worry, Axel.

I’ll keep my dangerous self-control in check,” she said while clutching Oliver’s hand more carefully this time.

A flicker of emotion crossed Axel’s face, softening the edges of his usual coldness.

He didn’t trust himself to say more. He kept his silence, but his body betrayed him; shifting closer, staying right by the bed, like he wasn’t going to let anyone near his son.

And though he stayed silent, his chest burned with one undeniable truth: his life would never return to the way it was before this moment.

They remain in the room for a while, neither of them speaking, until a nurse rushes in, surprising them. “Mr.

Knight, I’m sorry-”