Ethan’s POV
My heart broke seeing Nadine like this, and I felt helpless. I know what I feel for her is real, something I’ve never felt for anyone else.
She has a past she’s trying to escape from-I can tell by how jumpy she gets whenever I touch her. She’s new in Canada, which makes me even more curious.
I told her I wanted her to trust me enough to share what was going on because it was clear something was not right.
But I had to do what I had to do-I ran a background check on her as a new employee.
The things I found out were so shocking, they made me wonder how she’ll ever be able to trust anyone again.
When I was about to tell her that I discovered something about her life, I noticed the way she stiffened. It made me pause, and I had to step away for a moment.
I wanted to protect her, to make her feel safe, but I didn’t know how to approach her without making things worse. It made me realize how deep her wounds must be and how carefully I needed to act.
The last thing I wanted was to lose her trust, but I also couldn’t just stand by and watch her suffer in silence.
I sighed in relief when I saw the ambulance arrive. As they carried her inside, someone immediately started first aid treatment on her. I got in the van with her as it made its way to the hospital.
I sat there, feeling helpless as the paramedic checked on Nadine. My heart pounded in my chest, and I couldn’t shake the fear that something was wrong.
The ambulance ride felt like it was taking forever, even though it was probably just a few minutes.
When we finally arrived at the hospital, the doors swung open, and the paramedics rushed her into the emergency room. I tried to follow, but they told me to wait outside.
I watched as she disappeared through the doors, I felt empty from inside me.
I raked my hands through my hair, I was fucking worried. She was fine earlier, so what could have caused this? I needed to know, but more than that, I needed her to be okay.
But there was something about her-something that drew me in, made me want to protect her, even though I knew she had her walls up.
And those walls were high. It was like she was living in a constant state of fear, and it broke my heart.
I had never been good at waiting. I was always the kind of guy who took action, and fixed things.
But right now, all I could do was sit here and hope that the doctors would come out with good news.
I stayed in the corridor, pacing back and forth, my mind racing with thoughts. Then Sydney burst in and rushed over to me.
“What happened to her? What’s wrong with Nadine? She was fine before she left the house. So what went wrong?” she asked.
“We were at the event, and then suddenly, she just… collapsed. I don’t know what triggered it, but she looked so pale, and I didn’t know what to do.”
Sydney’s eyes widened, “did she say anything? Did she mention feeling unwell?”
I shook my head. “No, she didn’t say anything. She seemed okay, and then… this happened.” I raked my hand through my hair, feeling more helpless than ever.
“The doctors are with her now. I’m just waiting to hear something.”
Sydney slowly sat down, and I turned to her, asking, “What do you think might have triggered this?”
She looked at me, and I could tell she knew something she wasn’t willing to share. But instead of answering, she shook her head. “Ethan, please, let’s wait for the doctor’s report.”
We were both lost in our thoughts when suddenly Mason burst into the waiting room.
I turned to see him walking in, and I could tell that both he and Sydney froze as they locked eyes. It was like the air around them changed.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that these two were soulmates, but for some reason, Sydney was fighting it.
It made me think about how people can be so afraid to let others in, to let themselves feel what they’re meant to feel.
Mason walked in slowly, almost like he was in shock, and I could tell he wasn’t expecting to see Sydney here.
The tension between them was so thick I could feel it from where I stood. I cleared my throat to break the silence and get their attention. Mason finally made his way over to me.
“How is she? Has the doctor said anything yet?” he asked.
I shook my head slowly. “Nothing yet. She’s still in the emergency room being attended to.”
He nodded, but I could see the worry in his eyes. He sat down, but it was obvious he wanted to sit next to Sydney. Instead, he chose a seat far away. I watched them, curious about what was going on.
Sydney was the one holding back, while Mason seemed ready to go all in, to do whatever it took to make things work between them.
Suddenly, a doctor rushed out of the room, and we all jumped to our feet, eager to hear the news.
“Doctor, how is she?” I asked, praying for good news.
“She’s stable, Mr…” the doctor began, hesitating as if trying to recall my name.
“Call me Ethan, Doctor,” I quickly said, not wanting to waste any time.
“Okay, Ethan, we’ve run a series of tests on her, and it appears she had an allergic reaction.”
“An allergy?” I repeated, feeling confused. I turned to Sydney, hoping she could shed some light on whether Nadine had any known allergies.
Sydney stepped closer, clearly interested in the conversation. “She doesn’t have any known allergies, Doctor,” she said, “something else must have triggered this.”
The doctor nodded thoughtfully. “It’s possible something new in her environment caused this reaction. We’ll need to keep her here for observation and run more tests to be sure.”
Then the doctor reached out to shake my hand, and I was taken aback. Why was he shaking my hand?
There was nothing to be happy about with Nadine still lying in that hospital room.
But then he said something that made my eyes widen in shock. I stepped back, looking between the doctor, Sydney, and Mason.
I never expected this would be the case. As I started to piece together the facts, I finally turned to Sydney. Her face was downcast.
“You knew about this?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
She looked at me apologetically, silently wishing I hadn’t found out this way. Then, slowly, she nodded her head to confirm it.
I took a step back and sank into a chair. Mason and Sydney watched me with concern, but I couldn’t even begin to process what I had just learned.