Chapter 5

Scarlett

The world stopped the moment the doctor spoke.

"Your baby–" he began, and my heart clenched so tightly I thought it would shatter.

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think properly. Everything inside me braced for the worst.

Then, I heard his words–

"They’re alive."

My eyes snapped to his face.

"They?" My voice came out barely above a whisper, trembling, confused. "What do you mean– they?"

A small smile tugged at the corner of the doctor’s lips.

"You’re carrying twins, aren't you aware?"

Silence.

For a second, I just stared at him, certain I had misheard.

Twins?

No– no, that couldn’t be right.

"I–" I let out a shaky breath, my hands instinctively moving to my stomach. "No– that’s not possible. I– didn’t even know I was pregnant until recently. How can I – twins?"

"It’s more common than you think," he said gently. "But what matters is this– despite the accident, both babies are stable. You’ll need rest and proper care, but for now– they’re fighters."

A broken sob escaped my lips before I could stop it.

Twins.

Two babies.

Not one.

Tears streamed freely down my face as I clutched my stomach, my entire body shaking with overwhelming emotion.

"My babies..." I whispered, my voice cracking. "Oh my God.. my babies..."

Relief flooded me so suddenly, so powerfully, it left me breathless.

After everything– After the fear, the pain, the accident—

They were alive.

Both of them.

"Thank you," I choked out, looking at the doctor. "Thank you so much..."

He nodded with a reassuring smile before giving a few final instructions and leaving the room, the nurse following quietly behind him.

The moment the door clicked shut, the silence felt different this time.

Lighter.

Hopeful.

I wiped my tears slowly, still trying to process everything. My hands hadn’t left my stomach, as if I needed to feel them there to believe it was real.

Twins.

A soft knock broke through my thoughts.

I looked up.

"Come in," I said weakly.

The door opened, and the man who had pulled me out of the wreckage stepped inside.

For a second, I only saw him as the stranger who saved my life.

Tall. Broad shoulders. Calm presence.

But then—

My breath caught.

No.

It couldn’t be.

My eyes widened as I stared at his face, my heart suddenly pounding for an entirely different reason.

"You?" I whispered.

He froze mid-step, clearly not expecting that reaction.

Our eyes locked and recognition hit him just as hard.

"Scarlett?" he said, disbelief lacing his voice.

My chest tightened.

It was him. The face I had buried deep in my past. The name I hadn’t allowed myself to say in years.

"Ethan..." His name slipped from my lips like a forgotten memory that refused to stay hidden.

For a moment, neither of us moved. We just stared at each other, the years between us collapsing in a single heartbeat.

"You’re the one who–" I trailed off, my voice shaking. "You brought me here?"

He nodded slowly, still looking stunned. "I didn’t know it was you. Not until just now."

A small, disbelieving laugh escaped me, though my eyes filled with tears again, like a dam cracking under pressure. "Of all people..."

My voice trailed off, swallowed by the absurdity of it all –the irony, the hurt, the messy tangle of emotions.

I shook my head slightly, words lost in the space between us, but my gaze said it all. Why you? Why now? Why like this?

The unspoken questions hung there, raw and exposed.

Ethan Newton.

My college sweetheart.

My first love.

The one who knew me before everything changed. Before life became complicated.

Before I became– this version of myself.

"You saved me," I said softly, my gaze dropping for a moment, like a bird fluttering into shadow, before returning to his, anchored by gratitude and something deeper. "You saved my babies." The words hung in the air, heavy with meaning – a debt, a lifeline, a reminder of the weight he'd lifted off me. His eyes held mine, the silence between us thick with unspoken truths, and the quiet heroism of his actions lingering like a promise."

His expression softened at that, though something flickered in his eyes– something deeper, something unreadable.

"Babies?" he repeated.

I nodded, a fragile smile breaking through my tears. "Twins."

For a split second, genuine shock crossed his face, like a crack in a perfectly crafted mask. His eyes widened, pupils shrinking from the sudden brightness of reality, before he reeled it back in, slotting the composure back into place with practiced ease.

"Twins..." he murmured, almost to himself.

Then his gaze shifted back to me more intense now.

More searching.

"Scarlett..." he said slowly, stepping closer. "Are you... married?"

The question hit harder than it should have.

The sheets bunched beneath my clenched fists, a tangible anchor as a tempest of emotions swept through me. A hundred contradictory whispers screamed for attention, each one jarring against the next, leaving me frozen in a silence of turmoil.

Pain. Bitterness.

Love I hadn’t fully buried and something else, something uncertain.

"It’s... complicated," I replied quietly.

His jaw tightened, but he didn’t press further.

Instead, his eyes dropped briefly to my stomach.

To the life I was carrying.

Then back to my face, his gaze snapping up like a compass needle finding north, and when he spoke again, his voice was different, low, measured, but threaded with a quiet intensity that made my skin prickle.

The words hung in the air like a challenge, or a prayer, as if by speaking them differently, he could change the shape of things.

"Do you want to go back to him?" he asked, the words tumbling out like a plea, eyes searching mine for a spark of truth.

Anything.

The question lingered in the air between us.

And for the first time since the accident, I didn’t have an answer.