Chapter 6

Rafe broke off, and the smile on his lips froze. "Looks like I came at a bad time. Sorry for interrupting your little moment as husband and wife."

With that, he turned on his crutches to leave, but he caught his foot on the threshold and fell to the floor.

Odette rushed over and held him in her arms as she helped him up. "You twisted your ankle. Why are you running around?"

She sounded reproachful, but her face was full of concern.

Rafe made a show of pushing her away, looking stubborn and hurt. "Do you know how long I waited for you? If you wanted to stay with your husband, you should've just said so. I would've had my girlfriend come pick me up. Why leave me sitting there waiting for nothing?"

"Didn't you promise me you'd break up with her?" Odette demanded without thinking, but the hurt look on Rafe's face softened her right away.

"Don't be mad. It's my fault. Ezra's badly hurt, so I just stayed a little longer to go over a few things with him. Don't go reading into it."

Rafe turned to Ezra, who was lying in the hospital bed. "Are you okay, Ezra? This is all my fault. If only I'd kept my balance when you grabbed me."

Ezra couldn't help laughing at his act.

Rafe's expression stiffened for a moment. Odette clearly felt for him, and the look she gave Ezra carried a hint of displeasure.

"Ezra, Rafe may not have managed to save you, but he did everything he could. Instead of being grateful, you're sneering at him. Is that how you treat someone who tried to save your life?

"If it weren't for you, Rafe wouldn't have gotten hurt either. You don't just owe him a thank-you. You owe him an apology too!"

Ezra's mouth twitched. Not wanting to waste any more breath on them, he simply closed his eyes.

His refusal to listen sparked a sudden flare of anger in Odette. "Ezra, if I remember correctly, your mom's surgery is in three days. If you still want me to operate as planned, apologize to Rafe!"

Ezra's eyes flew open, and the heart he thought had long since gone numb gave a sharp twist of pain.

Odette was about to stop him when he yanked out his IV, walked over to Rafe, and stood stiffly in front of him.

"I'm sorry you got hurt because of me, Mr. Ellington." While the two of them stared in shock, he went on in the same flat voice.

"And thank you for saving my life, Mr. Ellington."

A smug smile spread across Rafe's lips. He was about to say something when Odette suddenly let go of him and reached for Ezra's bleeding hand.

Ezra stepped back, dodging her touch, and faced her with cold formality. "Please, Dr. Fairbanks, do everything you can to save my mother."

Odette's hand froze in midair, and a heavy weight settled on her chest until she could hardly breathe. It took her a long moment to force the words out. "Ezra, your mom is my mom. Of course, I'll do everything I can to make her better. You don't have to be so formal with me."

Ezra's lowered lashes trembled slightly. "Then thank you on my mother's behalf, Dr. Fairbanks."

Odette's fingers curled at her side. She stepped forward and took his hand, and when Ezra instinctively tried to pull away, she held on tight. "Don't move."

Ezra stopped struggling and let her lead him back to the bed, where she reinserted the IV into his hand. He told Maureen he'd found a new job and was away for training out of town just so she wouldn't worry. For the next few days, he stayed in the hospital and focused on recovering.

Odette came by every day at mealtimes to keep him company. Ezra never argued or made a fuss, and he agreed to whatever she said, which left her feeling strangely powerless, as if every effort she made just sank into nothing.

The night before his mother's surgery, Ezra had a lawyer draw up the divorce papers before he went to her room. When Maureen saw him, she rallied her strength and chatted with him for a while.

After she fell asleep, Ezra took out his phone and texted Odette to remind her of the surgery time.

But the next day, Odette disappeared.