Chapter 5

Denver's POV.

I didn’t expect to see her.

I’d just stepped out of Dr. Kimble’s office, half-lost in thought, adjusting my watch when I saw the familiar shape of a woman hunched on the bench down the hall. Her shoulders were curled in and her face buried in her palms. Crying.

Neriah.

What the hell?

I froze mid-step.

She looked… broken. Wiping her face like she was trying to hold herself together with tissue and silence. Her eyes were red. Her lips trembling from biting. She wasn’t just upset — she looked wrecked.

I backed away quickly, ducking behind the corner before she could notice me. Not because I was scared. Just... careful.

What was she doing here? Alone? Wasn’t she supposed to be home with Liam, baking cookies or whatever perfect-housewife shit he bragged about at family dinners? Had she lost another pregnancy? I knew they’d been trying for a while… or so I’d heard.

But something about the way she looked didn’t feel like grief. It felt deeper.

She stood after a minute, adjusted her coat, and walked out of the hospital like she’d just finished mourning. I didn’t move until the automatic doors slid shut behind her.

Then I turned and walked straight to the front desk, trying not to look like I was an assassin.

“Hi,” I said casually, leaning against the counter. “I was wondering… has anyone named Neriah Chadwick been admitted today? Or maybe checked in for any scans or something?”

The nurse glanced at her monitor, typing without looking up. “No Neriah Chadwick in our records today.”

I blinked. “Are you sure? I literally just saw her walk out.”

She paused, double-checked, then nodded.

“Nope. But we do have a Laura Chadwick listed. She checked in earlier this morning in the maternity ward.”

I stared at her.

Laura? Laura Chadwick?

I leaned back, confused. “Wait. Laura Chadwick was admitted in the maternity ward?”

The nurse gave a polite shrug. “That’s the name we have. She just put to bed before noon, I think. Are you a visiting family member?”

“Uhh, Yeah,” I nodded and quickly stepped away from the counter.

Something felt… wrong.

Why would Laura be listed under Liam’s last name?

Unless Liam married Laura…

No. No, that doesn’t make any sense.

I brushed past the front desk and ran towards the automatic doors, ignoring the awkward stares the nurses threw at me. 

Something about Neriah’s face wouldn’t leave my head.

I got to the parking lot and slid into my car. Instantly , I spotted her car right ahead— parked and unmoving. She was just… sitting there like she didn’t know where to go next. Her hands were on the wheel, while she bawled her eyes out. 

I squinted, confusion swirling in the pit of my stomach. ‘What the hell happened to you?’

After a minute or two, the car finally pulled out of the lot without hesitation. I waited three seconds, then quietly tailed behind her.

At first I told myself it was nothing. Just curiosity, boredom, coincidence. I wasn’t following her. Not really.

But then she turned and headed in the opposite direction of her house.

I frowned.

That’s not the way home.

“What the hell was she doing?”I muttered under my breath.

Then I sighed, leaned back into the seat, and shook my head. “Nope. Not my business. She’s Liam’s wife. Let him fix it. The bastard’s the reason I have to hide behind a hoodie like a wanted man.”

I slowed at the junction and turned the wheel. I started making a U-turn. Or, I almost did. Because not even five seconds later, I heard a thunderclap of shattering metal behind me.

BOOM!.

My foot slammed on the brakes, throwing me forward with so much force that made my heart slam into my ribs.

“What the fuck was that?” I gasped and whipped my eyes to the side mirror.

And there it was…

Neriah’s car, crushed beneath a delivery van like a soda can. I blinked hard, watching in disbelief at the twisted metal and shattered glass. 

Then I exhaled a slow, dry breath through my nose. “Damn. Too bad.”

My voice came out more sarcastic than I meant it to. “Well,” I said with a shrug, shifting the gear into drive, “I guess that’s Liam’s problem now.”

The engine roared to life but I didn't move. Instead, I paused as a fleeting thought settled in the back of my mind. I leaned back into the seat slowly, my fingers tightening around the wheel.

"...maybe I could use this."

Because accidents were tragic, but sometimes they were doors…

And I had just watched one swing wide open.