Kate's pov
My eyes fluttered open to blinding light.
A sharp pain shot through my head before I could register anything else and I forced them shut again, a whimper slipping past my lips. The smell of antiseptic filled my nostrils and my stomach turned.
"She really did that?"
My breath stilled.
Dr. Vivian.
What is she doing here? Where is here?
I forced my eyes open again, slower this time.
"You should have told me earlier. She's been in our hospital for three days. We were about to reach out to you before I saw the news." A pause. "Of course I would have refused her immediately. If she could raise her hands on a baby, she deserves to die in a fucking ocean."
The air left my body.
It's me.
I'm the one in the accident.
How? When? I was just...
The pain doubled and everything rushed back at once. The divorce papers on the table. Confronting Ellen. Begging Aiden to think it through. Walking out of the house. And then nothing.
My heart thudded hard against my ribs.
Am I okay?
"I'll have her transferred to a standard ward but she pays for everything herself. She's no longer your wife. She's no longer a Beaumont. She deserves nothing from us."
The call ended.
My chest clenched.
He told her everything. Every lie, every accusation. And she believed every word of it.
The sound of heels clicking hard against marble approached and I turned my head toward it. Vivian stood at the foot of the bed in a short red dress visible beneath her open lab coat, blonde hair pulled back, arms folded tight across her chest.
"I see you're awake." Her voice was flat.
She looked at me the way you look at something you've already decided about.
"How could you do that? Raise a hand on a barely week old baby?"
"I didn't do it." My voice came out barely above a whisper.
"I never thought you were capable of something so horrible." She shook her head. "I'll get your discharge papers and bill ready. You can leave as soon as possible."
She walked out before I could find another word.
The tears came without warning, sliding down the sides of my face and pooling at my jaw.
I didn't do it.
Why is this happening to me?
Why does every single thing fall apart?
My chest pressed tight as I forced myself upright, ignoring the pain shooting through my body. I pressed my palms over my face as the sobs came harder than I could manage.
"I didn't do it. Ellen did it to frame me. Why is no one believing me? I didn't touch him. I didn't."
"What is she talking about?"
My head snapped up.
Those green eyes.
My breath stopped working.
"Ethan."
He stood in the doorway in a grey tuxedo, tall and still, watching me the way he always did. Like he was filing something away.
I wiped my face quickly. He was still there.
"What are you doing here?"
He walked closer.
"Don't." The word came out sharper than I intended and he stopped. "Don't come any closer. Stay away from me. Go away. Just bring my daughter back." The words spilled out in a rush and my chest caved with the weight of them.
He exhaled once.
"It's been three years, Kate. Get over it." His voice was flat, unbothered. "I'm only here because you ran into my car."
I lifted my head slowly. "What?"
He tugged at his tie. "Since you're not halfway dead, I'll settle the bills and we can both move on. Hopefully we don't cross paths again."
"No." The word left my mouth before a thought could follow it. My fists clenched in my lap. "I'll settle my own bills. Don't show up in front of me again unless you have my daughter with you. I know what you did. It's only a matter of time before I prove it."
"Be my guest."
He turned toward the door just as Vivian walked back in, a nurse trailing behind her with a clipboard.
Her eyes landed on Ethan and stopped.
"What are you doing here?"
He didn't answer. He crossed the room and took a seat like he'd been asked to wait.
Vivian looked at me with something between exhaustion and contempt. "Aiden leaves and now it's Ethan." She scoffed. "You never stop, do you?"
The nurse stepped forward and handed me the bill.
The numbers blurred.
I blinked and read them again.
"Thirty thousand dollars?"
"Yes," Vivian said. "And every additional day adds to that."
Before I could respond the door opened and a woman in a black suit walked in, phone to her ear. She ended the call as she reached Ethan and leaned in to say something quietly. He nodded once. She straightened and turned to the nurse.
"We'll cover the bills. Send the invoice to my office."
"No."
The word came from somewhere steadier than I felt.
My gaze moved to Vivian. "Six months. Give me six months and I'll pay every cent. If I don't, you can take whatever action you want against me."
"We don't operate on payment plans."
"Please." The word cost me something. "I know you hate me right now. But please. For old times sake."
She looked at me for a long moment.
Then she sighed. "Six months. Not a day more. After that I'm taking action." She shot one last look at Ethan before walking out. The nurse followed.
The woman in the black suit glanced at Ethan. He didn't look at her.
"Leave us."
She nodded and the door clicked shut.
The room went quiet.
I pressed my palm to my forehead and let the tears fall because there was nothing left to hold them back with.
Where do I go from here?
What is left?
"Marry me."
My head lifted.
He was still there. Seated. Watching me with the same expression he'd had since he walked in. Like none of this was touching him.
"I'll take care of everything. Your bills, your needs, your future." He said it the way someone reads a clause in a contract. "You play the role of a devoted wife. Convincingly enough to make Aiden understand what he threw away."
My fists tightened in my lap.
"Leave."
He stood slowly. "Don't let pride be the thing that finishes you, Kate. Aiden told the world you're dangerous. That you're a threat to children." He let that sit. "Who hires someone like that? Who stands beside someone with that attached to their name?" Another pause. "Who believes them when they say they didn't do it?"
My jaw locked.
The pain behind my eyes made it hard to think but I held still and I held his gaze.
"Get me my daughter."
He waited.
"Do that," I said quietly, "and we have a deal."