4

The call went through. For a split second, I was relieved Nathan picked it up. Then his words sliced through me like a blade.

“Have you calmed down? Do you regret giving me back the ring? I told you, Emily, don’t play any more games. You will always come back to me, why the drama?”

I couldn’t even muster the strength to argue. My chest tightened again—worse than before. My vision swam.

I ended the call.

Then, with the last strength in my hands, I dialed 911. “I… I’m having a heart… attack…”

The operator’s voice blurred, but I knew they could find me. GPS would trace the call. I’d done everything I could.

The world faded. Blackness curled in at the edges.

And just before it took me, I felt myself being lifted.

For a moment, I thought it was a dream. Or maybe a hallucination.

Because the voice shouting my name?

Was Nathan’s.

“Emily—what happened? Why did you faint? Emily—look at me!”

I coughed. This had to be a trick of my brain. There was no way Nathan was here. Not when Chloe could’ve asked him to take her to buy another bag or tour another spa.

Then I heard the screech of tires. Red and white lights painted the walls. Paramedics rushed in.

“Sir, step back. Put her down. We need to begin emergency protocol.”

I was slipping under again when I heard someone bark, “What’s wrong with her?!”

It was Nathan. His voice—panicked now.

“She’s had a heart attack,” a nurse said, not bothering to look up. “Lucky she took her prescription—otherwise she wouldn’t have lasted long enough for us to get here.”

“Heart attack?” Nathan repeated, stunned. “Emily? She was always… so healthy. She never said—”

“She has an underdeveloped heart,” the nurse cut in flatly. “It’s in her medical file. What’s your relationship to the patient?”

“I… I’m her fiancé.”

The nurse sneered. “You’re her fiancé and you didn’t know about this?”

They loaded me into the ambulance. I drifted in and out, catching fragments. City lights bleeding into the cabin. The pulse monitor beeping.

Then—traffic.

Nathan’s temper predictably snapped. “Are you fucking kidding me? Just take the alley! Turn the wheel!”

The nurse rolled her eyes. “Watch your tone, sir. We don’t work for you.”

Nathan didn’t get to be the caring fiancé now.

If not for him—his silence, his neglect, his betrayal—I might not be in this ambulance at all.

By the time we reached the ER entrance, the paparazzi had already swarmed in.

They were shouting over one another as the doors opened.

“Is Emily having a heart attack because of Chloe?!”

“Do you feel responsible for her condition, Mr. Brooks?”

“Which one will you choose?”

“Both your women have heart problems—is this cosmic irony or poetic justice?”

Nathan snapped. “Fuck off!” he barked, shoving his way through with the gurney.

They wheeled me into surgery. The bright lights of the hospital ceiling blurred above me.

I heard his voice outside again—desperate this time. “Let me in! She hates pain! I have to be there for her!”

I turned my head and whispered to the nurse nearest me. “Don’t… let him in.”

The last thing I wanted was to have Nathan here. He wasn’t someone I trusted anymore.

My mind slipped again, back into the dark, just as I heard him shouting outside, “Emily, I’m sorry. Please hang in there. We still have a wedding to attend. Our wedding.”

As if.

I let the silence take me.

…

When I woke again, sunlight slanted through the blinds.

And Nathan was slumped forward in the visitor’s chair, asleep with his head resting near my side.

I shifted slightly. He snapped awake.

“Emily?” His voice was hoarse. “Are you okay? Do you feel dizzy? Do you need me to call someone?”

He looked terrified—like I might crumble again right in front of him. Like a breath from me was more precious than gold.

I didn’t speak. Just tilted my head toward the water glass on the table.

He jumped to grab it, holding it to my lips with trembling hands.

After I drank, I sat back and studied him. “What are you doing here?”

His brow furrowed. “Why wouldn’t I be here? You’re my fiancée. My future wife.”

I smiled—but it didn’t reach my eyes. “I mean… where’s Chloe? Isn’t she going to be mad you’re playing the supportive fiancé to someone else?”

Nathan flinched. Just slightly.

Right. He probably hadn’t told her he was here.

I closed my eyes, shutting him out in every way that mattered. “You should go. I wouldn’t want to ruin your love story.”

“No—Emily…” He reached for my hand. “Chloe and I—there’s nothing between us. I was just worried. I didn’t want to upset her and risk her condition getting worse.”

I didn’t respond. Didn’t open my eyes. Let the silence hang like fog.

Nathan’s fingers curled around mine. He pressed his forehead to my hand.

“Please,” he whispered. “I know I messed up. When she came back, I panicked. I thought if I took care of her, she’d leave quicker. And then you and I could go back to normal. I was wrong. I didn’t think about how it would affect you. I just… I was selfish.”

“You were chasing closure with your first love,” I said flatly. “Your Mrs. Right.”

“No, Emily—you’re—”

“Nathan,” I cut him off and opened my eyes, meeting his directly. “There are some things you can’t undo. You chose to protect her. You didn’t even pause to consider what it was doing to me. You forgot that even strong women can break.”

I took a breath. “And I won’t pretend your choices didn’t push me here. Maybe I’d have ended up in this bed anyway. But the stress? The betrayal? The humiliation? They didn’t help.”

He opened his mouth to argue—but then his phone buzzed.

I didn’t have to guess who it was. His expression said enough.

“It’s fine,” I said calmly. “Answer it.”

He didn’t move.

So I reached out, took the phone, and tapped the speaker button.

Chloe’s voice spilled into the room. “Nathan? Where are you? Why aren’t you answering my calls? Are you with Emily? Is that why you’re ignoring me?”

Neither of us said anything.

She hesitated. Then her voice softened. Calculated. “Did something happen between you two?”

Nathan finally answered. “Emily… she’s in the hospital. I’m with her.”

A beat of silence. Then Chloe’s voice, full of sugar and faux concern. “Oh. Emily. Is she okay? Is it something serious?”

I didn’t hesitate. My voice came cool, steady, and clear. “Nothing serious. But thanks for your concern.”