He Sent Me a Blanket but Hugged His Intern in Bed Chapter 07

He Sent Me a Blanket but Hugged His Intern in Bed Chapter 07

Three years later.

Winter in Ashford was colder than in Fairhaven.

I walked out of a grocery store in a heavy wool coat, holding my three-year-old son Leo’s hand. He clutched

a warm baked sweet potato, happily taking bites.

“Mommy, sweet,” he said, lifting it toward my mouth.

I took a small bite and laughed, wiping the crumbs from his chin.

“Careful, it’s hot.”

“Natalie.”

A hoarse voice cut through the cold air.

I looked up.

Spencer Cole stood a few yards away.

Three years had changed him. He was thinner, his hair tousled by the wind, stubble darkening his jaw. His eyes-once so controlled-were now bloodshot and desperate.

He stared at me, then at Leo, and his face crumpled.

“Natalie…” He took a step forward, his voice cracking. I finally found you.”

I looked at him the way I would look at a stranger asking for directions.

No surprise. No anger. No pain.

“Can I help you?”

My tone was so flat that it stopped him cold.

He had imagined many reactions-tears, fury, even violence.

But not this.

Never this emptiness.

“Natalie, I’m sorry.” His throat bobbed.

“I was a monster. I didn’t know what was happening at the hospital. I didn’t know what you went through.

Just give me one chance to make it up to you-to both of you.”

He reached out to touch Leo’s face.

Leo shrank back, clinging to my leg.

“Mommy, who’s that?”

That one word hit Spencer like a slap.

His hand hovered in midair, and his face turned ashen.

I pulled Leo behind me.

“Mr. Cole. We’re divorced.”

The court had granted the divorce two years ago, citing his fault. I’d won sole custody.

Spencer closed his eyes in pain.

“I know I don’t deserve forgiveness. But every day for three years, I’ve regretted it. I fired Amber. I handed

the company to the board. I’ve been searching the world for you.”

“Natalie, I can’t live without you.’

I listened to his late confession and felt nothing but disgust.

“You can’t live without me?”

I laughed.

“Do you remember that cashmere throw?”

He blinked, confused.

“The one you gave Amber. She stained it, and you threw it in the trash without a second thought. You said,

‘It’s dirty. I’ll buy a newer, more expensive one.””

I held his gaze and spoke slowly and clearly.

“But I’m not a blanket, Spencer. The heart you threw away-you can’t buy that back. That night in the ER,

when I signed the consent form alone, when I agreed to let them take my uterus-you died in my world.”

Spencer staggered back, tears streaming down his face.

“Natalie…”

I didn’t answer.

I picked up Leo and walked into the snow without looking back.