No Second Chances Ex-husband novel Chapter 34

ETHAN'S POV

I sped through the streets like a madman, my hand glued to the horn as if its blare could magically part the traffic in front of me. Every slow-moving car felt like a personal insult, every red light an enemy I had to conquer. My eyes kept moving from the road to the glowing numbers on my dashboard clock, each second that ticked by made me even angrier.

Come on. Move, damn it.

The hospital was only minutes away, yet it felt as if the city itself was conspiring to slow me down. My mind was racing even faster than the car, flooded with thoughts of Sofia and more than anything, the baby. What if something had happened? What if the message she sent was the last calm before the storm?

I dialed her number again, pressing the phone to my ear, silently begging her to pick up. But the robotic voice telling me the number was unreachable sliced through the car like a knife. I cursed under my breath, gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. My heart hammered so loud in my chest, it was as if it was trying to escape.

At last, the hospital came into view. Relief flooded me, even if only for a second, before panic surged back stronger. I parked hastily, not caring if I had blocked someone in or parked straight. I leapt out, slammed the door, and pulled my phone out to check Sofia’s live location again. The blinking dot confirmed she was inside.

Ignoring the disapproving looks of a few pedestrians, I jogged up the hospital steps and pushed through the glass doors, my shoes squeaking on the polished floor. The air smelled sharply of antiseptic and something else, something that always made my stomach twist with unease.

“Sir, excuse me, you can’t go in there!” a nurse called out, hurrying after me.

But I barely heard her. My feet seemed to move on their own, driven by sheer desperation. I followed the blinking dot on the screen, each step pounding like a drumbeat of dread.

Finally, I reached the door. My hand hesitated on the handle, but only for a second. I pushed it open, heart in my throat.

And there she was.

Sofia lay on the hospital bed, pale against the white bedsheets. A hospital gown covered her, and an IV line snaked into her arm, dripping steadily. For a moment, I just stood there in the doorway, my chest heaving, running a hand through my hair as though I could physically smooth away the chaos in my mind.

Her eyes opened, and her gaze landed on me. “Ethan,” she breathed, her voice weak, hand lifting slightly though tethered by the IV.

“I’m here,” I said quickly, closing the distance between us. I took her hand gently in mine, careful not to disturb the needle taped to her skin. “Don’t move, don’t stress yourself, okay? Just relax.”

A small, weary smile curved her lips. “You came,” she whispered, and in that moment, she seemed so delicate, so fragile, that my anger dissolved, replaced by something like guilt.

“Of course I came,” I murmured, leaning down to press a kiss against her forehead. “I would travel across the world to be by your side, you know that.”

She let out a shaky sigh, her shoulders sinking deeper into the pillows. “It all happened so fast,” she began, her voice trembling as though she was reliving it. “I stopped to get some tacos, but when I was heading back to my car, this man came out of nowhere. He tried to take my purse… I held on, and then… then he hit me. In the stomach.”

Her hand reflexively moved to her belly. My heart nearly stopped at that gesture. My stomach turned cold, fury coursing through my veins. “And then?” I pressed, my voice low and tight.

“I fell… and then I felt this horrible pain. Then the blood…” Her voice cracked, tears pooling in her eyes. “Thank God a kind stranger brought me here. I was so scared, Ethan.”

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