Chapter 3

Mia's POV

On my second day postpartum, afternoon, Ethan finally shows up at my hospital room door.

He's carrying an insulated food container, his hair's a mess, looking exhausted.

"Mia, I'm so sorry." He walks over, reaching for my hand. "Last night was crazy at Scarlett's place. The wiring in that old apartment almost started a fire. I had to call an electrician, wait around to make sure everything was safe... my phone died and I left my charger in the car..."

I pull my hand back under the blanket.

He opens the container. Inside is a cold, lumpy pile of pasta.

"I know you love pasta." He sets it on the bedside table. "I was gonna make you something fresh, but I was rushing to get here..."

These are leftovers from Scarlett's place. Just grabbed them on the way out and now he's pretending they're for me.

"Ethan," I'm staring at that pile of noodles, "last night at Scarlett's, were you actually fixing wiring all night, or did you just spend all night with her?"

His face freezes for a second, then he frowns. "You stalking her Instagram again? Mia, don't you think obsessing over someone's social media is a little... much?"

"Scarlett lives alone in that dump, the power went out during a thunderstorm, she's terrified of the dark since she was a kid. What was I supposed to do?" His tone's getting impatient. "You're my wife. Don't you trust me at all?"

I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

"Ethan, I hemorrhaged last night."

"What?"

"The doctor made me sign an emergency consent form." I look at him. "He said if Ryan had gotten here ten minutes later, we both would've died."

The container lid slips from his hand and hits the floor.

His face goes white.

"How... that's not possible." His voice is shaking. "You've always been healthy. At your last checkup, the doctor said everything was perfect..."

"Yeah, I'm healthy." I smile. "So I guess I should've just handled it myself, right?"

"No... that's not what I meant..." He tries to move closer. I raise my hand to stop him.

"The baby's in the NICU. Two weeks premature." I point toward the door. "Go see her. Then get out."

"Mia, baby, I screwed up. I had no idea it was that serious..." His voice cracks, and he lunges forward trying to hug me. "I swear, I'll never talk to Scarlett again. Please, just forgive me this once..."

"Ryan." I call out.

The door swings open.

My brother walks in, two bodyguards in black suits behind him.

"Get him out of here." Ryan's voice is flat. "Get him out before he contaminates the room."