CHAPTER 5: The Choice I Made

ETHAN'S POV

The knock on my study door came just as I was finishing a call with one of the company's directors.

I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my forehead.

“Come in.”

The door opened slowly.

One of the maids stepped inside. Her face was pale, and she looked like she was struggling to find the right words.

“Sir…”

I frowned.

“What is it?”

She hesitated.

“Mrs. Stone has been taken to the hospital.”

My entire body went still.

“What?”

“She collapsed, sir.”

I pushed myself out of the chair.

“When?”

“Not long ago.”

I stared at her.

“How did it happen?”

“There was an argument between Mrs. Susan and Aunt Maggie. Mrs. Maria tried to stop them and—”

She stopped.

“And what?”

“She was pushed.”

My jaw tightened.

“Where is Aunt Maggie?”

“She took Mrs. Maria to the hospital.”

I glanced at the clock.

For a moment, I couldn't think.

Maria was pregnant.

The last thing I had expected was for her to end up in a hospital after everything that had happened between us.

“Which hospital?”

The maid gave me the name.

I picked up my phone.

I should have left immediately.

I knew that.

Instead, I stood there staring at the screen.

The image of Maria from earlier that day came back to me.

She had refused to sign the divorce papers.

She had walked away from me without crying or begging.

I'm not making it easy for you anymore.

Those words still irritated me.

For three years, Maria had always been predictable.

If I was angry, she apologized.

If I ignored her, she waited.

If I told her something she didn't like, she accepted it.

But that day, she had simply walked away.

And now she was in a hospital.

I dialed the hospital.

After a few rings, someone answered.

“I'm calling about Maria Stones. She was brought in recently.”

The person on the other end asked me to confirm some details.

I did.

Then I waited.

“How is she?”

“She is being attended to by the doctors.”

“Is she conscious?”

“Not at the moment.”

My fingers tightened around the phone.

“And the baby?”

There was a brief silence.

“The pregnancy is being monitored.”

I closed my eyes.

The baby.

My baby.

The thought unsettled me.

I had been angry when Maria told me she was pregnant. I had thought she was using the pregnancy to change my mind about the divorce.

But hearing that she was lying unconscious in a hospital made everything feel different.

For a few seconds, I considered going there.

I could get into my car.

I could be at the hospital within minutes.

I could see for myself that she was okay.

Then I heard footsteps behind me.

I turned.

Susan stood at the doorway.

“Who are you calling?”

I lowered the phone slightly.

“The hospital.”

Her face changed.

For a moment, the confidence disappeared from her eyes.

“I didn't mean for her to get hurt,” she said quietly. “I got angry.”

I stared at her.

“She was pushed.”

“I know.”

Her voice was barely above a whisper.

“I didn't think she'd fall that hard. I just… I was angry.”

I said nothing.

Susan stepped farther into the room.

“Is she okay?”

“I don't know yet.”

Susan looked at me for a few seconds before asking,

“You're going to the hospital?”

The question hung between us.

I looked at my phone again.

“I don't know.”

Susan's eyes narrowed.

“She'll be fine.”

“She is pregnant.”

“And the doctors are taking care of her.”

I didn't answer.

Susan walked toward me.

“Ethan, you've already made your decision.”

I looked at her.

“What decision?”

“Our marriage.”

Her voice softened.

“You chose me. You told Maria the marriage was over.”

I looked away.

She was right.

I had chosen her.

I had chosen Susan long before that day.

Maria was supposed to be part of my past.

But now she was in a hospital carrying my child.

I didn't like the confusion that came with that thought.

Susan touched my arm.

“If you go there, what do you think will happen?”

I frowned.

“She might think you regret your decision.”

I didn't respond.

“And what will people think?” she continued. “That you left your wife and then ran to her the moment she got hurt?”

I pulled my arm away.

“I just want to know that she's okay.”

“And you already know she's being treated.”

Her words were reasonable.

At least, they sounded reasonable.

I looked down at my phone.

I could still go.

Nothing was physically stopping me.

But going to the hospital would mean facing Maria.

Facing the pregnancy.

Facing the decision I had made.

And I wasn't ready for any of that.

“I'll call again later,” I said.

Susan smiled faintly.

“That's better.”

I nodded, though I wasn't sure whether I was agreeing with her or trying to convince myself.

************************************************

That night, I couldn't sleep.

Susan had already gone to bed, but I remained awake, staring at the ceiling.

I kept thinking about the hospital.

Was Maria awake?

Was the baby okay?

Had Aunt Maggie blamed me?

Had Maria asked about me?

I reached for my phone.

My thumb hovered over the hospital number.

I could call again.

Instead, I put the phone down.

I had made my choice.

I wasn't going to keep looking back.

Maria had refused to sign the divorce papers, but that didn't change what I wanted.

I wanted Susan.

I wanted the life I had planned.

And if I went to Maria now, I would only make things more complicated.

So I stayed where I was.

I told myself she would be fine.

I told myself the doctors would take care of her.

I told myself I was doing the right thing.

At the time, I believed it.

I didn't know that one day, I would remember this night differently.

I didn't know that I would wish I had picked up my phone and gone to that hospital.

All I knew was that I had made my choice.

And I was determined to live with it.