LITMIR.BIZ

      CHAPTER ONE

      ‘WAKE up, Lily.’

      There were two doctors and four nurses gathered by the bed. This had been groundbreaking surgery. Heroic stuff. If Lily hadn’t been close to death already, they’d never have tried it.

      After the operation she’d been kept in an induced coma to give her damaged brain time to recover. They’d saved her life, but would she wake up…whole?

      The junior nurse—the gofer in this small, exclusive French hospital—had nothing to do right now and she was free to think about the patient. She’d seen this girl come in a month ago, deeply unconscious, drifting towards death. Rumour said she was related to royalty, but no one came near her.

      A nurse was supposed to be objective. She wasn’t supposed to care.

      There wasn’t one person around this bed who didn’t care.

      ‘Wake up, Lily,’ the surgeon said again, pressing his patient’s hand. ‘The operation’s over. It was a huge success. You’re going to be okay.’

      And finally Lily’s eyelids fluttered open.

      She had dark eyes. Brown. Too big for her face.

      Confused.

      ‘Hey,’ the surgeon said and smiled. ‘Hello, Lily.’

      ‘H…Hello.’ It was a faint whisper, as if she’d forgotten how to speak.

      ‘How many fingers am I holding up?’

      ‘Three,’ she said, not interested.

      ‘That’s great,’ the surgeon said, jubilant. ‘You’ve been ill—really ill—but we’ve operated and the tumour’s been completely removed. You’re going to live.’

      Lily’s gaze was moving around the room, taking in each person. The medical uniforms. The eager, interested faces.

      And then, as if she’d remembered something really important, her eyes widened. Fearful.

      ‘Are you in pain?’ the surgeon asked. ‘What hurts, Lily?’

      ‘Nothing hurts. But…’ Her hand shifted, slow from disuse, and her fingers spread over her abdomen.

      ‘Where’s my baby?’