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The sun had long since set when Zack pulled into the driveway and turned off the car. The house was lit up in the darkness and he could see the silhouettes of the furniture in the windows, illuminated by the soft yellow light of the lamps. He opened the car door and got out, his feet crunching on the sandy asphalt and his heart tight in his chest. He was just going for a bath, there was no time for more before going back to stay with Andrea, but the doctor had been clear: if he wanted to be with her he needed to get the dust of Africa off of him. He tried not to take too long and then stopped by his parents’ house to kiss Adriana, who was already asleep in her crib. When he arrived back at the hospital his brothers took the opportunity to go and rest too. “You should go, you’ve been traveling for many hours,” Zack told Chiara and she nodded. “I’ll leave in a while, but first I’m going to make sure you’re okay,” his sister said, stroking his hair. Zack sat down next to Andrea and took her hand, he wanted to hug her and tell her he was sorry. But they still had to go through a long road of pain before they could reach any kind of forgiveness. “I’m so sorry,” he said, kissing her fingers. “I’m so sorry, Pastelito.” Chiara shook her head and crouched down beside him. “Hey, none of this is your fault,” she assured him. Andrea didn’t get sick just because you left, she’s been well taken care of, both her and the baby, but we can’t control everything. And about the rest… the reason you left…” Chiara put her hands on either side of Zack’s face. “That’s not your fault either. Someone else killed Mason. Someone else is to blame. Not you.” “I know, but I…” “But you, nothing! Mason Lee died because John Hopkins wanted him to die,” she said, and saw her brother frown in a gesture of incomprehension. Thank you for reading on LeeNovelas.com. “What are you talking about?” —he murmured, stunned. —That John Hopkins knew they were going to kill him, he knew they were killing him and he did nothing —answered Chiara—. He could have stopped it at any moment, he could have arrived in time, intervened… but he decided not to, so Mason’s death weighs on his shoulders, not yours. Zack felt tears filling his eyes and shook his head to shoo them away. His sister’s words of comfort meant a lot to him, but he wasn’t sure he could believe them. —How do you know that? —Because I made him an honorary member of the Alturas Club while we were going to look for you. —Chiara! Remember. Read this novel only on LeeNovelas.com, not on other sites. —Oh my god, we’re adults! There’s no need to be scandalized by something as simple as s@x—his sister snorted—. But getting back to what’s important… John allowed it. Call me crazy but I think he had a motive. I think Andrea and your daughter aren’t the only people Mason hurt, and unlike you, his death is only giving him deep satisfaction. John Hopkins is sleeping like an angel, I can attest to that.Zack swallowed as that strange mix of emotions washed over him. He felt the pain of everything he was going through with Andrea, but also a sense of relief. He was free. Free from his own conscience and that was all he needed to be at peace. Suddenly the door to the room opened and the doctor came in. “We’ll just take a moment for a routine evaluation, I’d appreciate it if you’d wait outside,” he asked them kindly. Zack and Chiara left the room and headed to the hallway, where they each found a chair to sit down. “How do you feel about the annulment of the marriage?” his sister asked. “Desperate. But right now I only care about her life. Then I can deal with everything else,” Zack said. “And now, go rest, I’ll take care of it from here.” Chiara said goodbye and a few minutes later the doctor finally left Andrea’s room. “Good news. Andrea is responding well to the antibiotics, her values ​​have improved noticeably in the last few hours,” the doctor smiled at her with relief. With a little luck she’ll wake up much better tomorrow. Zack nodded, that gave him back a piece of his soul, but the rest was still there inside Andrea. “And… the pregnancy?” he ventured. “We don’t know yet, we know the statistics but sometimes miracles happen. We have to wait,” the doctor said and Zack pulled his hair. “God, I shouldn’t have left!” he murmured rubbing his face but the doctor put a hand on his shoulder with a reassuring gesture. “Mr. Keller, don’t blame yourself. What your wife has she didn’t catch yesterday or a few days ago,” he explained. For the bacteria to have developed like this, it must have been in her system for more than three weeks, and there was no way to realize it until the worst symptoms appeared. Zack nodded with a sigh. He knew very well where Andrea had caught that disease, and what hurt him most of all was that they were still paying the consequences of Mason’s hatred. The doctor said goodbye and Zack spent the whole night there, praying while he rested his forehead on Andrea’s hand and told her over and over how much he loved her. Every so often a few nurses came to check on her, until almost dawn one of them rushed out and returned to the doctor. Zack felt his heart jump in his throat when he was rushed out of the room, and shortly after the doctor came out with a somber expression. “She’s okay?! Andrea’s okay!?” The doctor nodded slowly, but Zack could smell the bad news. “Your wife is okay… but what we were expecting happened. She started bleeding and we just did a test to check it: the embryo broke away,” the doctor informed him. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Keller.” Zack clenched his lips and fists as he tried to process that news, but his consolation was that Andrea would get better, Andrea would survive. So he did what he did best:She swallowed all that sadness and went back inside, to take his hand and wait for her to open her eyes. It was already dawn and the light coming through the window made Andrea open her eyes. Her eyelids felt heavy and her body absent, as if she didn’t have one, and she was so dazed that she was barely aware of where she was. However, what she was sure of was that she knew the man who rested his head on her hand. “Zack…?” She murmured barely and he woke up with a start. “Love? Love you’re awake! Oh God, you’re awake!” He skidded to the door and called for a nurse before returning to her. How are you feeling? Andrea blinked slowly and tried to touch her throat, which hurt a lot. “Can you give me… water?” Zack brought her a small glass with an absorbent and Andrea took a few sips. “You came back…” she murmured hoarsely.Of course I came back. How could I not come back? I told you I was only going to be gone for a short time… but that was because I was stupid, because I shouldn’t have left, not for long or short, I should have stayed and… “I’m glad you left,” Andrea murmured, and Zack’s eyes filled with tears. “Are you glad I left?” she repeated, unable to breathe. “Were you also glad to have our marriage annulled?” For a long moment they looked at each other in silence, but before either of them could say a single word, the medical delegation entered and Zack was taken from the room. That was the longest half hour of his life, as he waited anxiously for them to tell him that everything was okay now, that the woman he loved was out of danger. When they had all finally left, the doctor approached her. “She’s going to survive. She’s sad, of course, but she’s going to get over this, she’s a very strong woman,” he assured her. Zack felt his heart stop when he entered the room and saw Andrea curled up in her bed, crying silently with her knees wrapped around her. “You… you know…” Zack murmured, pulling a chair closer to the bed. Andrea nodded slowly. “I was just a few weeks pregnant,” she whispered. “The doctor said the embryo couldn’t handle the treatment, but if they hadn’t given me that antibiotic I would have died.” Zack covered his mouth with the back of his hand, trying to hold back his sob. “I’m so sorry, baby, really. I didn’t want this to happen but I… I was the one who signed the authorization for you to be given that treatment. I’m so sorry, but I couldn’t let you die…” he said, and his eyes met Andrea’s, and he didn’t see a single drop of accusation in them. One of the girl’s hands found his and she pulled him up until Zack climbed onto that small bed to hug her. “I’m sorry you had to make that decision alone… I know how hard it must have been for you,” Andrea said, not forgetting all the pain she had once felt from Zack over the loss of her first baby. “But for what it’s worth… thank you for saving my life.” Andrea heard that muffled sob and closed her eyes against his chest as he held her tightly. But even though she forgave him from the bottom of her heart, and even though she loved him like she loved no other man in the world, she knew that from that moment on things had to change… drastically.