“Ah, Mr. St-John, you’re right where I need you,” Doctor Klessner exclaimed in his thick German accent and I winced as Ethan turned his head briskly toward the door, seeing me spy on his private moment.
He straightened up, pursing his lips just as I opened the door and stepped in with the doctor.
“I’m going to take Ms. Byrnes back to surgery. There are a couple of newly approved methods we can use to ensure the viability of the fetus and a faster recovery time.” He gestured to the nurse to come to grab the bed as if he’d been here years and not minutes. “I should be back up within the hour to let you know.”
I nodded and the nurses started to roll the bed out of the room. Ethan and I stayed silent for a couple of minutes in the empty room.
“I didn’t leave because of work. I left because I had the most renowned antenatal specialist in the world waiting for me.”
He turned to me and let out a humorless laugh, which once again reminded me so much of myself. “And I should what? Thank you for it? Please, Hugo—if she’s lying in this bed right now, it’s all on you! You made her life a living hell, you stressed her and overworked her. I can’t help but think that her losing the baby was exactly what you wanted since you offered to pay for her abortion!”
I took a step back at the blow of his accusation, one that sounded far too close to the truth.
“Stress could have caused that. The doctor told me it was a possibility.”
“That doctor was twelve! He had no clue what he was talking about.” I pointed at the door, trying so hard to dismiss my guilt. The weight I was carrying right now was already too much. Anything else and I’d be on my knees in front of him. “I didn’t cause it.”
Please don’t let it be my fault.
“No, you’re right.” He nodded. “It’s my fault, too. I supported her wish to give you both a shot. I helped her accept her feelings for you. I—”
“Herfeelingsfor me?” Why the fuck did my heart flutter like a silly stupid girl’s at the possibility that our night together, her words of love, were not a lie? But if everything she’d said had been true, my actions toward her today were the worst betrayal.
“I should have told her to give Hardings a chance instead of agreeing with her when she said she had to tell him there was no hope because of how she felt about the father of her child. I should have done everything so differently.” He continued rambling while pacing the room back and forth as if I was not there.
“She didn’t want to see Hardings anymore?”
He stopped mid-stride and looked at me while I crossed my arms over my chest, waiting for his answer.
“Yes, that’s what I have to do,” he said out loud, answering whatever inner monologue he was having. “This is the only way.” He nodded and looked at the door. “It’s the only way,” he said again, exiting the room.
“Ethan, where are you going?” I asked after him as he sprinted down the corridor like a man on a mission.
“To right my wrongs,” he replied dismissively without slowing down.
To right his wrongs…I leaned against the wall, suddenly feeling weary. I needed to right my wrongs too—all I hoped was that it wasn’t too late for it.
Chapter 21
Ava
Iwokeupreallyuncomfortable and I couldn’t help but grimace at the soreness of my muscles as I tried to find a comfortable position on the bed. Wrinkling my nose at the smell of antiseptic, I blinked my eyes open, taking in the white and pale green wall in front of me.
Where am I? Is this a hospital?
I let my eyes wander around the room and stopped, shocked to see Hugo in the room. He was uncomfortably asleep on a green hospital chair; his neck would be painful later for sure.
I noticed how he looked and frowned. His suit jacket was thrown carelessly on the chair, his shirt was all wrinkly and so were his trousers. His tie was undone and he sported a dark stubble, showing that he had missed shaving.
I shook my head with confusion. Why was I at a hospital and why on earth would Hugo be there, knowing how horrible he had been that morning?
Morning…Suddenly everything came back to me with a wave of anguish—the sharp pain, the blood and the fear. Ethan's voice, begging me to stay.
I could hear the heart rate monitor beeping alarmingly faster as I pressed the call button for the nurses repeatedly. I needed answers and I needed them now.
Hugo awoke startled, probably alerted by the shrill sound of the heart monitor reflecting my spiking heart rate.
"Ava–" he whispered as a nurse came in.