The Man They Never Knew

9

Jenny’s chest tightened as she stared at the phone in her hand. The image of another woman answering Ethan’s phone kept replaying in her mind, making her blood boil. She couldn’t sit there anymore, so she stood abruptly.

“If you think I’m going to sit here and cry over you, Ethan, you’re wrong.”

She grabbed her handbag from the sofa and stormed toward the door, her anger growing with every step.

“If you want another woman, then at least have the courage to admit it to my face.”

Jenny yanked the door open and marched outside. Her mind was racing. Ethan hadn’t come home, he had ignored every call, and now another woman had answered his phone. There was only one explanation.

“He must be with her.”

Jenny clenched her jaw as she walked toward her car, her thoughts immediately turning darker.

“A hotel…” she muttered bitterly. “He must be at a hotel.”

She unlocked the car and got inside, her fingers tightening around her handbag.

“If I catch you, Ethan, I swear…”

She slammed the door shut and started the engine, her hands trembling with anger.

“I want to see her face.”

Jenny pulled out of the driveway, her eyes burning as she gripped the steering wheel.

“I want to see exactly who you chose over me.”

She pressed harder on the accelerator, but before she could drive very far, her phone suddenly rang.

Jenny glanced at the screen.

Mom.

She frowned and almost ignored it, but the phone kept ringing.

“Seriously?”

She grabbed it and answered.

“What?”

Susan’s furious voice immediately exploded through the speaker.

“Jenny!”

Jenny pulled the phone slightly away from her ear.

“Mom, I’m busy.”

“Busy?” Susan sounded absolutely furious. “Where have you been?”

Jenny’s brows furrowed.

“What are you talking about?”

“What am I talking about?” Susan snapped. “I have been calling you for almost an hour!”

“I didn’t hear my phone.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

Jenny tightened her grip on the steering wheel.

“I’m not lying.”

“Then why did the hospital call me?”

Jenny’s expression changed.

“The hospital?”

“Yes! Ethan is in the hospital!”

Jenny’s heart seemed to stop.

“What?”

Susan took a sharp breath.

“You heard me. Ethan is in the hospital.”

Jenny stared blankly at the road, unable to process what she had just heard.

“No…”

“He collapsed!”

Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel.

“What do you mean he collapsed?”

“The hospital staff called me because they couldn’t reach you.”

Jenny swallowed hard.

“I…”

“They said you were listed as his emergency family contact.”

“I didn’t know.”

“You didn’t know?” Susan’s voice rose. “Your husband is lying unconscious in a hospital bed, and you don’t know?”

Jenny’s face went pale.

“He’s unconscious?”

“Yes!”

Susan sounded close to tears now, but her anger remained.

“They said he was brought in with a dangerously high fever and severe exhaustion. Why weren’t you answering your phone?”

Jenny’s mind went completely blank. For a moment, the anger she had felt disappeared beneath a wave of panic. All she could think about was Ethan lying unconscious in a hospital bed.

“Which hospital?”

“What?”

“Mom, tell me the hospital!”

Susan quickly gave her the name and address.

Jenny immediately made a U-turn.

“I’m going there.”

“You’d better be.”

She hung up.

Her heart was pounding as she stared at the road ahead. Ethan was in the hospital. He had collapsed. And she had been sitting at home thinking he was sleeping with another woman.

“God…”

Jenny stepped harder on the accelerator, panic replacing every trace of anger.

“Please be okay.”

⸻

Twenty minutes later, Jenny rushed through the hospital entrance.

“Excuse me!”

A nurse looked up.

“Yes?”

“Ethan Wade. He was brought here tonight. Where is he?”

The nurse checked the computer before looking back at her.

“Room 314.”

“Thank you.”

Jenny hurried down the hallway, her heels striking the floor repeatedly as she moved faster and faster. When she finally reached Room 314, she grabbed the handle, but before she could open the door, a woman’s voice came from inside.

“Your fever is still a little high.”

Jenny froze.

Her blood ran cold. A woman.

Again!

She pushed the door open, and her entire body went rigid. There, beside Ethan’s hospital bed, was the same woman from the phone.

The woman was gently wiping the sweat from Ethan’s forehead with a damp cloth while Ethan lay motionless beneath the blanket. His face was pale, an IV was attached to his arm, and a monitor beside the bed displayed his heartbeat.

Jenny’s eyes immediately narrowed.

Her fear disappeared, replaced by anger.

“What the hell is going on?”

Natalie turned around and froze.

Jenny stormed into the room.

“So this is where you’ve been?”

Natalie frowned.

“What?”

Jenny laughed bitterly.

“You couldn’t even come home, Ethan, but you had enough energy to spend the night with another woman?”

“Enough.” Natalie’s voice cut through the room.

Jenny whipped her head toward her.

“What did you say?”

“I said enough.”

Natalie put the damp cloth down and stepped away from Ethan’s bedside.

“You walked into this room for five seconds and started accusing a man who can barely breathe of cheating on you?”

Jenny’s jaw dropped. “I don’t care!”

“You should.”

Natalie’s eyes flashed with anger.

“Because if I hadn’t found Ethan tonight, you wouldn’t be standing here arguing with him.”

Jenny stared at her.

“What are you talking about?”

Natalie pointed toward the hospital bed.

“Look at him.”

Jenny glanced at Ethan and his ace was unnaturally pale.

His breathing was shallow, and the monitor continued to beep steadily beside him.

Natalie’s voice became colder.

“He narrowly escaped permanent damage. He had severe pneumonia. His fever was dangerously high. He was dehydrated, exhausted, and barely responsive when I found him, so he could have died."

A wave of guilt crashed over Jenny. For a brief moment, her eyes fell to the floor. She had no idea Ethan was this sick. She had no idea he had nearly died.

But the guilt lasted only a few seconds before her pride rose again. Jenny lifted her chin and looked directly at the woman standing beside Ethan’s bed.

“Then who are you?”

Natalie looked at her calmly.

Jenny’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve never seen you before. Why were you the one taking care of him?”

A faint, cold smile appeared on Natalie’s lips.

She calmly picked up the damp cloth and placed it on the table before turning her attention back to Jenny.

“My name is Natalie Watson.”

She paused, watching Jenny’s reaction.

“And I’m Ethan’s attorney. I’m here to handle his divorce.”

The words struck Jenny like a slap.

Her face instantly drained of color.

"So he’s really divorcing me…" Jenny turned deathly pale—she never truly believed Ethan would follow through.