My Best Friend Feared Marriage, but Wanted My Boyfriend as Groom Chapter 03

My Best Friend Feared Marriage, but Wanted My Boyfriend as Groom Chapter 03

The doctor bandaged my wounds while two nurses nearby whispered to each other.

“Those two in the ER were so sweet together. When the guy heard she was pregnant, he looked so happy he just froze. He didn’t even move.”

“I know. They looked perfect together.”

A bitter smile tugged at the corners of my lips.

Perfect together?

A cheating bastard and the woman he was cheating with. Of course they looked perfect together.

The doctor glanced over my test results, then frowned.

“Miss Bennett, you’re pregnant.”

I stared at him in shock.

His expression turned serious. “You’re about a month along. I recommend that we run a full set of tests.”

My mind was a mess.

This baby had come at the worst possible time.

The next day, I went to the rehabilitation center to see Mom. I had decided to take her home with me.

She took one look at the exhaustion in my eyes and gently massaged my temples.

“Stop pushing yourself so hard. If you can’t finish a design, leave it for tomorrow. Your boss is your fiancé. It’s not like he can force you to work yourself to death.”

My nose stung.

I threw my arms around Mom and burst into tears.

She was startled and immediately held me, trying to calm me down.

“I’m okay,” I choked out. “I’m just under a lot of pressure.”

Mom patted my hand.

“When I’m feeling better, I’ll take you to Hawaii. You need to get away and clear your head.”

But when I came back from getting lunch that afternoon, a nurse grabbed my hand and hurried me toward the ICU.

“Miss Bennett, you’re finally back! Your mother fell from the building!”

The food slipped from my hands and crashed to the floor.

I collapsed to my knees outside the ICU doors. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get back up.

I could still feel the warmth of Mom’s hand on my skin. Soft. Gentle. Familiar.

But when I opened my eyes, all I saw was the cold metal door of the ICU.

Something churned violently in my stomach.

Was it despair?

Shock?

Agony?

I didn’t know.

All I could do was kneel there and beg for one thing.

I would take every ounce of suffering this world had to offer if it meant Mom would wake up.

I’d trade my life for hers.

Four hours later, the ICU doors finally opened.

The doctor walked out and slowly shook his head.

“Miss Bennett, I’m so sorry. We did everything we could.”

Everything inside my stomach surged upward.

I doubled over and vomited, unable to stop.

The world spun around me.

I grabbed the doctor by the collar, desperate to ask him something, anything, but no words came out.

When I returned to Mom’s room, the breeze drifted through the open window.

For one terrible moment, I could almost feel her warmth lingering on the bed.

It felt as if she might walk back through the door at any second.

I picked up Mom’s phone.

Her last call had been to Natalie.

What had Natalie said to my mother?

Why had Mom fallen?

My confusion turned into hatred.

Hatred turned into rage.

I gripped the phone so tightly my knuckles turned white.

I didn’t want to think anymore.

I just wanted to find Natalie and demand answers.

Why?

Why had Mom died?

I stormed into Natalie’s company.

The receptionist looked up when I asked for Natalie, then covered her mouth with a laugh.

“You might have to wait a little while. Miss Brooks’ fiancé is here to see her. They’re, um, busy.”

A series of intimate sounds drifted from Natalie’s office.

Each one felt like a needle stabbing straight into my nerves.

Should I just swallow it?

How much had I swallowed already?

I grabbed the fire extinguisher from the wall and slammed it against the office door.

“Natalie Brooks! Get your ass out here! You really can’t get enough of playing the other woman, can you? Sneaking around with another woman’s fiancé in the middle of the damn workday!”

The door finally gave way.

Natalie and Ethan were inside, both disheveled, their clothes barely on and their shirts still unbuttoned.