The Man They Never Knew

8

“Hello?” The woman’s voice came through the phone again.

Jenny froze.

Her face, already pale from the events of the day, instantly turned thunderous.

She didn’t speak. For several seconds, she simply stood there, staring at the phone pressed against her ear.

“Can you hear me?”

Jenny’s fingers tightened around the phone, the woman’s voice was soft and unfamiliar.

Yet she was answering Ethan’s phone at this hour.

Jenny’s lips parted slightly, and her heart sank.

“Hello?” Natalie tried again. “Who is this?”

Jenny remained completely silent, her mind suddenly going blank. Then, all at once, countless thoughts crashed into her head. Ethan hadn’t come home. He hadn’t answered her calls.

And now, another woman was holding his phone—a woman who sounded completely comfortable answering it.

Jenny’s eyes slowly reddened.

“Um…” Natalie hesitated on the other end. “If you’re looking for Ethan, he’s—”

Click.

Jenny ended the call and stood motionless, her hand slowly dropping to her side while she continued to clutch the phone tightly in her fingers.

For a long moment, there was no expression on her face. Then her lips curled into a cold, bitter sneer.

“So that’s it…” Her voice was barely above a whisper as she let out a humorless laugh. “That’s why you didn’t come home.”

Her eyes stung, but this time, the tears weren’t from sadness. They were from anger.

Jenny shook her head in disbelief as she remembered how guilty she had felt earlier. “To think I actually felt guilty…”

She remembered Ethan’s cold expression at the hospital, his accusations, his disgust, and his decision to divorce her.

She had spent the entire evening wondering whether she had gone too far, whether she should apologize, and whether she should try to save their marriage.

And now, she had her answer.

A bitter smile appeared on Jenny’s lips. “So you were the one cheating.”

Her chest rose and fell heavily as she stared down at the phone. “You accused me of betraying you…” She laughed again, her voice trembling with anger. “Yet you were already out fooling around with another woman.”

Jenny wiped furiously at the corner of her eye and clenched her jaw.

“What a hypocrite.”

For years, she had believed Ethan was the one person who would never betray her. She had trusted and loved hiim.

Even after their argument, some part of her had still believed that their marriage could be saved.

But now she felt humiliated, furious and betrayed and somehow, strangely relieved.

At least she no longer had to feel guilty.

On the other end of the call, Natalie stared at her phone in confusion. The line had gone dead, and she slowly lowered the phone from her ear with a frown.

“The person hung up…”

For a moment, she simply stared at the unsaved number on the screen. “Who was that?”

Natalie scrolled through her contacts, searching for a name that might explain the call, but there was nothing. She then checked Ethan’s recent calls, only to find that the number wasn’t saved there either.

Her eyebrows drew together.

In fact, Ethan had deleted Jenny’s number earlier that evening. The moment he had told Natalie that he was divorcing Jenny, he had removed Jenny’s contact from his phone without hesitation.

Natalie glanced toward the hospital bed, but the sight of Ethan immediately wiped the confusion from her face.

Her expression turned worried as she walked back to his bedside and looked down at him.

“Ethan…”

He didn’t respond.

Natalie gently touched his arm. “Can you hear me?”

There was no response.

She sighed softly. “You really know how to scare people.”

Just then, the nurse walked into the room carrying a clipboard, and Natalie immediately turned toward her.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes?”

“How is he?”

Natalie looked back at Ethan, her expression softening as she remembered finding him collapsed. She had never imagined that a simple visit would end with her rushing him to the emergency room.

“I found him lying on the floor,” she said quietly.

The nurse looked at her. “You’re the one who brought him here?”

“Yes, he was unconscious on the floor. I tried calling his name, but he didn’t respond. He was burning up, too.”

The nurse stepped closer to the bed and checked Ethan’s IV.

“He had a very high fever when he arrived.”

Natalie’s eyebrows knitted together.

“Was the fever what caused him to faint?”

“Not exactly.”

“What do you mean?”

The nurse glanced at Ethan before lowering her voice.

“The doctor believes severe emotional trauma and exhaustion played a major role.”

Natalie stared at her.

“Emotional trauma?”

“Yes. His body was already under tremendous stress. The fever, dehydration, lack of rest, and emotional shock all combined.”

Natalie’s expression tightened.

“So that’s why he collapsed?”

“Most likely.”

“Is he going to be okay?”

“He’s stable now.”

Natalie exhaled in relief.

“But we need to keep him under observation tonight. We don’t want him getting up suddenly or being left alone.”

“I’ll stay.”

The nurse looked at her.

“You don’t have to.”

“I know.”

Natalie pulled a chair closer to the bed.

“But I’m staying anyway.”

The nurse smiled faintly.

“All right. Just make sure he doesn’t try to remove the IV.”

“I will.”

The nurse made a few notes on her clipboard.

“If he wakes up, don’t overwhelm him with questions. Let him rest.”

Natalie nodded.

“Understood.”

“And if his fever rises again, call us immediately.”

“I will.”

The nurse gave Ethan one last glance before walking toward the door and leaving.

The room became quiet again, with only the steady beeping of the monitor breaking the silence.

Natalie sat beside Ethan, her eyes fixed on his pale face.

She had imagined seeing him again after all these years. She had imagined him smiling and finally looking at her the way she had always wanted.

She had never imagined finding him unconscious, and she certainly hadn’t imagined that the first night they spent together again would be in a hospital room.

Natalie reached out and gently brushed a strand of hair away from his forehead. “You really scared me.”

Ethan remained motionless.

Natalie sighed softly. “Why do you always carry everything by yourself?”

Her voice became softer as she continued, “You could have called me sooner. You didn’t have to wait until you collapsed.”

For several minutes, Ethan remained completely still. Then, suddenly, his lips moved.

Natalie froze. “What?”

She leaned closer, watching him carefully. Ethan’s brows furrowed as if he were trapped inside a nightmare, and his lips moved again.

“My…”

Natalie held her breath.

“My daughter…”

Her heart clenched. “What did you say?”

Ethan’s fingers twitched against the blanket.

“My daughter…”

Natalie was confused. Why did he mean by his daughter?

Seeing him like this made something inside her ache.

Then—

“Excuse me?”

Natalie turned around.

A doctor walking past the room had suddenly stopped, his eyes fixed through the glass at Ethan. His expression changed the moment he recognized him.

“Wait…” He stepped closer to the glass. “Is that Ethan?”

Natalie frowned. “You know him?”

The doctor looked at her. “I spoke to him earlier today.”

Natalie’s heart skipped. “You did?”

“Yes.” The doctor glanced at Ethan again. “I remember him very clearly.”

Natalie immediately walked toward him. “What happened earlier? Why was he here?”

The doctor hesitated. “I don’t think I’m supposed to discuss another patient’s private medical information with—”

“I’m the person who brought him here,” Natalie interrupted. “I found him unconscious at home, and I’ve been with him since then.”

The doctor studied her for a moment. “Are you family?”

“No.” Natalie paused before adding, “I’m his friend.”

The doctor nodded slowly. “I see.”

Natalie’s eyes remained fixed on him. “Please. I just need to understand what happened. He’s clearly not okay, and I have no idea what happened before I found him.”

The doctor sighed. “He came here earlier today with his wife.”

Natalie stiffened.

“His wife?”

“Yes.”

Natalie’s expression changed immediately. “What happened to her?”

The doctor lowered his voice. “She had suffered a pregnancy loss.”

Natalie’s eyes widened. “She was pregnant?”

“Yes.”

Natalie stared at him in disbelief before slowly looking through the glass at Ethan.

“He didn’t know?”

“From what I understood, he didn’t know until today.”

Natalie’s heart sank. “Oh my God…”

The doctor continued carefully. “It was a complicated situation. She had donated a significant amount of blood to another patient despite the risks. And also from what I heard too, his wife appeared to be unfaithful.”

Natalie went completely still.

“Unfaithful?”

The doctor nodded slightly.

Natalie’s face hardened.

The man she had cherished for years was lying unconscious in that hospital bed, broken by the loss of his child and the betrayal of the woman he had trusted.

She clenched her fists.

“I’ll make sure she pays for every single thing she has done.”