3 Years by His Hospital Bed, He Chose Her

Chapter 6

Ethan stared at the red exclamation mark on his screen, frustration twisting his features. Paired with what the doctor had said yesterday, the unease in his chest only deepened.

"Ethan, my hand really hurts," Olivia whined, batting her lashes. "Will you feed me?"

But for the first time, Ethan didn't play along. His tone turned cold. "It's just a scratch. Stop the act."

He turned and rushed to the hospital. The moment he saw the doctor from the day before, he grabbed his arm, urgency spilling out in his voice. "What did you mean yesterday? About the girl?"

The doctor looked surprised but answered, "I meant the young woman who took care of you for three years. She couldn't speak. Every time we came in for rounds, she'd just hold up her phone with two words on the screen, 'thank you.'"

He didn't notice the color draining from Ethan's face as he went on, a nostalgic smile on his lips. "Back then, everyone thought you'd never wake up. But she stayed. Lived here, basically. One day, during rounds, she was reading Jane Eyre. We talked a bit. She told me her take on love, 'love with everything you've got when you're in it, but once it's over, don't cling.'"

Ethan swayed on his feet.

He had learned sign language. He remembered Rachel desperately signing to him, It's not what you think.

And what did he do? He had chosen to believe Olivia. Believed she was the one who stayed by his side for three years. Believed she was the one who cared, even though she'd shown up at the hospital in full makeup and a cocktail dress.

His hand flew to his chest as the weight of it all crushed him. Guilt made it hard to breathe.

And then, like a ghost breaking through the fog of his memory, he heard a familiar voice.

He ran out of the hospital, heart in his throat, and froze.

It was her.

Rachel.

Without thinking, he grabbed her wrist, not even sparing a glance at the man beside her. His voice cracked. "Rachel…"

I looked at the man holding onto me like I was his last lifeline. Something about him felt off. I didn't recognize his face, but the discomfort crawling up my spine told me I didn't want to know him.

"Do I know you?"

Ethan's eyes widened in disbelief, glossed with tears. "Rachel, it's me. It's Ethan!"

I pulled my wrist back, eyes wary. "I'm sorry, sir. I don't know you."

His gaze dropped to my bandaged hands, and his whole body trembled. "I, I'm so sorry. Olivia lied to me. I didn't know it was you who cared for me all that time… The girl I pulled out of the alley that night, was that you?"

His words spilled out in a mess of regret and desperation. I tried to piece together what he was saying, but it all sounded like noise.

So I looked him square in the eye and said calmly, "I'm not whoever you're looking for. But if I were, I'd say you're the last person I'd ever forgive."

Something in him shattered.

I walked past without hesitation. Jason, silent until now, brushed his shoulder roughly as we left.

Ethan stood frozen, watching my back as I disappeared from sight, fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white.

The sun was warm on my face. For some reason, two words drifted through my mind,

New beginning.

I didn't know why. I just knew it felt right.