Chapter 3

"I didn't touch her, Ethan," I said, my voice dangerously calm. The other patrons in the cafe were staring.

Ethan didn't listen. He held Chloe, who was sobbing into his shoulder. "Look at what you've done," he hissed at me. "She's fragile. You know what she's been through. Don't you ever, ever come near her again. Do you understand me?" His words were a threat, designed to control me, to put me back in my place as the villain of his story.

I looked at him, at the man who had just accused me of assault on top of everything else. The love I once felt was gone, replaced by a cold, hard pity. "I understand that you are a fool," I said.

Suddenly, Chloe gasped, clutching her chest. "Lily," she choked out. "I got a call from the hospital. Her fever is back. We have to go. Now."

Ethan's attention snapped from me to her. All his anger vanished, replaced by panic. "Okay, okay, let's go." He looked back at me, his expression shifting again. "Ava, you're an architect, but your firm does hospital design. You know the staff at City General. You have to help us. Your name can get us past the red tape, get her seen faster."

The irony was sickening. He wanted my help. He wanted to use the career I had almost sacrificed for him to benefit the woman who had ruined my life. For a moment, my professional ethics warred with my personal feelings. But a child was sick.

"Fine," I said, standing up. "I'll make a call."

At the hospital, it was chaos. The emergency room was packed. I used my connections to get Lily into a private room immediately, away from the noise and confusion. As I was speaking with the head nurse, explaining the situation, Chloe followed me into the hallway.

"You think you're so great, don't you?" she whispered, her voice full of venom. "Coming here, playing the savior. You're just trying to make Ethan feel guilty."

"I'm here because a child is sick, Chloe. That's all."

"Liar!" she suddenly screamed, her voice echoing in the quiet corridor. She lunged at me, grabbing the front of my jacket. "You did this! You poisoned my baby!" Nurses and doctors turned to stare. I felt a hot flush of humiliation creep up my neck.

I grabbed her wrists and pushed her away from me. "Stop it. You're making a scene."

"Ava, what are you doing?" Ethan came running down the hall, having heard the commotion. He saw me holding Chloe's wrists, saw the tears streaming down her face, and immediately assumed the worst.

"She's lying, Ethan," I said, my voice shaking with rage. "She attacked me. I was just defending myself."

"Chloe would never do that," he said, pulling her into a protective embrace. "She's a mother, worried about her child. You're the one who is out of control."

I felt something inside me break. It was the last, final thread of hope that he might, just for a second, see the truth. That he might believe me. But he didn't. He never would. He had made his choice.

"Dr. Riley?" A nurse approached me cautiously. "Lily's test results are back. The chief of staff would like a word with you and Mr. Miller."

We followed her into a small office. The chief of staff, a man I knew professionally, looked grim. He didn't look at Ethan or Chloe. He looked directly at me.

As the doctor began to speak, Chloe suddenly stumbled against me, hard. I fell sideways, my head hitting the corner of the desk with a sharp crack. Stars exploded behind my eyes.

"Oh my god, Ava!" Ethan cried out, a flicker of genuine concern in his voice. He reached for me.

But Chloe was faster. "She fainted!" she shrieked. "The stress must be too much for her. Poor thing." She put herself between me and Ethan, effectively blocking him. His brief moment of worry for me was gone, replaced by his duty to her.

I pushed myself up, my head throbbing. That was it. I was done being their pawn, their excuse, their victim.

"I'm not Lily's doctor," I said, my voice ringing with finality. I looked at the chief of staff. "My professional courtesy ends here." Then I turned to Ethan and Chloe. "She is your daughter. You deal with this. Both of you, get out of my sight."