Enzo
"I'm sorry, but you don't get to order me around like a maid," Ella scoffed, walking past me toward the staircase.
I blinked, my heart tugging with rage, barely able to process what just happened.
I had simply asked her where she spent the night, coming back at this ungodly hour, and she gets to walk out on me?
My brows furrowed. My feet hit the floor as I rose from the couch and launched toward her, just as my phone rang.
Jack Anderson.
An old ally from high school.
I paused, eyes widening at the screen. Memories flooded my mind, loving ones from our past. It had been months since I last spoke with him after my recovery.
"Hi, Jack. It's been a long time. I…." I began, but he cut me off.
"Enzo, I'm sorry, but this isn't the time for pleasantries. Isn't your ex-wife Bianca Smith?" he asked.
I flinched.
The Smith?
"No, she's Bianca Anthony. Why? Is something wrong?" I asked, my eyes darting to the floor.
"Just come to the hospital. There's a patient here, and I think it's her," he said, sounding serious.
My heart skipped a beat. His words hit me like a blow.
Hospital?
"Alright, I'll be there shortly." Without delay, I grabbed my keys and stormed out of the house.
Bianca Smith? As in the first wealthiest family?
No. There had to be a mix-up. Bianca wasn't connected to the Smiths, besides nothing could possibly be wrong with Bianca, my ex-wife.
Jack had only met Bianca twice, during my accident and recovery. Why would he pull such a stunt?
The question lingered as my curiosity surged.
Moments later, I was parked at the hospital; just a thirty-minute drive from home.
I swiftly got out of the car and slipped into the main building. The familiar scent of disinfectant struck my nostrils as I made my way down the corridor.
My foot slammed against the tiled floor, desperation clouding my being, mirroring the turmoil in my heart. The sound echoed through the passage.
"Sir, how can I be of help to you?" the receptionist asked.
I stopped to respond but spotted Jack in the distance.
"I'm sorry, but I think I've seen whom I seek," I said, and without waiting for a reply, I hurried toward him.
"Hi, man," I greeted, my heart pounding wildly.
He turned toward me, his expression blank. Without a word, he led me to the emergency ward. And there, laid out from a distance, I saw her.
My breath caught in my throat. My lungs clenched tight as my eyes widened, as though they'd burst from their sockets.
Without thinking, I rushed to her side. Her face was pale, lips dry. Her eyes were partly open as though caught between two worlds.
Wires were connected to her body, alongside machines and tubes. From the sight before me, time stood still. My chest heaved, unable to bear the crushing reality.
I reached out, my fingers brushing against her arm.
Cold. A kind of cold I couldn't warm.
Jack's voice pulled me back. "There's an issue. It's urgent."
Urgent? What could possibly be worse than this?
"What urgency…?" I murmured, as Alex appeared at the door.
My jaw tightened. Grief intensified as I moved toward him. His hands were tucked into his pants pockets, but he froze upon realizing I was there.
"What are you doing here?" he barked, pulling his hands free. His eyes darkened with rage.
"What I'm doing here isn't the issue," I snapped. "You f**king married her, and not even twenty-four hours later, she's lying here almost unconscious?"
He ran a frantic hand through his hair.
"If there's anyone to blame, it's you," he snapped back. Walking past me, and heading to Doctor Jack, who led him outside the ward into the corridor.
He just walked past.
I inhaled sharply and instinctively followed, standing nearby, heart pounding like a hammer to my chest.
"I'm sorry," Jack began, "but from the tests carried out so far, there might be a more serious underlying issue."
"What issue?" Alex asked before I could speak.
Jack looked down, flipping through a file in his hand. "It's not confirmed yet, but she's undergoing further tests. If results remain the same, I'm afraid she's facing an SHK condition, and it's critical."
"Please, can you explain more?" I demanded.
He looked up. "A simultaneous heart-kidney transplant," he said.
I jolted, confused.
"How did you never know?" Jack asked, eyes shifting between Alex and me.
My throat dried instantly. I struggled to accept that Bianca could be suffering such a condition under my roof, and I had no idea?
The world spun beneath me. I wanted it to open and swallow me whole.
I had seriously messed up.
"Well, at this point, we just keep our fingers crossed and hope the results come back clean," Jack said, tapping my shoulder before turning to leave.
"What happens if she does need the SHK?" Alex asked.
Jack stopped in his tracks. His expression unreadable.
Silence gripped the air, thick with tension. Sweat beaded on my forehead as a hot rush surged from my chest down to my toes.
"Then I'm afraid," Jack said with a faint, knowing smile, "it will involve both of you."
Both of us?
How?