Another nurse adjusted my oxygen mask.
I could barely think.
Barely breathe.
The bed lurched forward toward the operating room while panic consumed me whole.
And then—
Ethan leaned down close enough that only I could hear him.
“Chloe…”
His voice broke.
“My mother knew you were pregnant.”
The world stopped.
I stared at him in horror.
“What?”
But the doors burst open before he could answer.
Bright surgical lights flooded my vision.
Cold air hit my skin.
Voices echoed everywhere.
“Vitals dropping.”
“Anesthesia ready.”
“Move, move!”
My heart slammed violently against my ribs.
Ethan stayed beside me the entire time.
Even while surgeons and nurses surrounded us.
Even while chaos unfolded.
His hand never left mine.
“Ethan,” I whispered weakly. “What do you mean your mother knew?”
Pain flashed across his face.
“She came to see me after the divorce,” I said suddenly, memories crashing together all at once.
Rain outside the apartment.
Divorce papers on my coffee table.
Margaret Chen standing in my living room wearing pearls and disappointment.
And her eyes drifting downward.
Toward the pregnancy test beside the sink.
Oh my God.
“She knew,” I breathed.
Ethan looked physically sick.
