He Lost Me The Day He Chose Her

Chapter 3

Ethan returned with breakfast the next morning.

"She had a fever and fell in the bathroom last night. I carried her back to bed. That's why the call sounded the way it did."

He caught my wrist. "We've been together for 8 years, and you won't believe a single explanation?"

His collar was crooked, and several scratches marked the side of his neck.

I pulled my hand free. "I need to rest."

That afternoon, Tessa's best friend, Megan Carter, sent me a message.

Megan: Tessa has a terrible fever, and Mr. Hale refuses to let her go to the hospital. If you have any decency left, come talk some sense into him.

I had the caregiver take me to the apartment.

The door was not fully closed. Tessa sat on Ethan's lap wearing his shirt, her arms wrapped around his neck.

"You didn't push me away last night. Why are you pretending to have a conscience now?"

She leaned toward him. Ethan caught the back of her head, and their faces pressed together. From the hallway, they looked as though they were kissing.

My wheelchair rolled over the threshold.

"Looks like I picked a bad time."

Ethan shoved her away at once. "Claire, she bit her tongue. I was checking the injury."

There was indeed blood at the corner of Tessa's mouth. Megan came out of the bedroom and hurriedly handed her a tissue. "Mr. Hale stayed with Tessa all night. He didn't even change his clothes. Ms. Bennett, even if you don't trust Tessa, shouldn't you trust your own fiancé?"

"You summoned me here just so I could see this." I looked at her. "How long did it take you to stage the scene?"

Megan's expression changed. "If you can't keep your man, you have no one to blame but yourself."

Tessa tugged on her arm. "Stop."

I raised my hand to slap Tessa. She caught my wrist, and Megan shoved my wheelchair from behind.

The chair tipped over. My lower back struck the coffee table, knocking the breath from my lungs. My bladder released without warning, soaking my brief and dripping from the backs of my legs into the carpet.

Ethan stood two steps away.

Tessa had split her forehead open, and he picked her up first. Megan blocked his path to me. "Tessa is bleeding, and you still want to touch her?"

"Ethan..." I braced my palms against the carpet, but my shaking arms would not support me. "Help me up."

He hesitated. Tessa whimpered in his arms.

"I'll take her to the hospital first. Your caregiver will be here any minute."

"She has Megan."

Ethan avoided my eyes and carried Tessa out.

I lay facedown on the carpet and listened to the elevator doors close. More than 10 minutes later, my caregiver arrived and took me back to the hospital.

The injury to my lower back had worsened. I could lose every bit of progress I had made.

When Ethan rushed back, I was signing a transfer request.

He dropped to his knees beside the bed. "Claire, I didn't kiss her. There was blood all over her face, so I—"

"I called for you."

His voice died.

"You heard me, and you still carried her away."