Soren stared at his phone, silent.
Was she really so determined not to come back?
"This won't do," he finally said, his tone icy. "The designer needs precise measurements. If anything's off, making alterations will take time—and we don't have any time left."
Evangeline sighed in resignation. She didn't think her measurements were a problem, but Soren's insistence left her little choice. She agreed to meet, set a time, and then hung up.
Exhaustion pressed down on her. After drying her hair halfway, she barely managed to crawl into bed before sleep overtook her.
When dawn broke, she woke feeling hollowed out, her head throbbing and her stomach churning uncomfortably. Still, she forced herself up, gathered her things, and headed out the door.
She barely made it to the elevator before her vision went black. The world spun, her body went numb, and everything faded away.
The next thing she knew, the sharp scent of disinfectant filled her nose.
She opened her eyes to find herself in a hospital bed.
"You're awake." Glenn's worried face appeared at her side, his voice gentle but strained. "How are you feeling?"
"What happened?" Evangeline pressed her aching temples, searching her memory.
She remembered leaving her apartment. After that—nothing.
Glenn studied her pale face, lips pressed in a tight line. After a moment, he swallowed back whatever he'd been about to say.
Outside the window, the sky was already dark.
"What time is it?" Panic surged through her as she reached for her phone, only to realize it was almost evening.
She threw off the covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed.
Glenn was quicker, gently but firmly pushing her back. "Where do you think you're going?"
He'd always known Soren didn't care much for her, and that the past few years had been hard. But he hadn't realized just how bad things had gotten.
After her miscarriage, she hadn't even received proper treatment.
"The doctor also said there's a hematoma that needs to be removed surgically," Glenn continued quietly. "If it isn't, you might not be able to have children in the future."
Evangeline froze.
She'd been forced to switch hospitals at the last minute, and after that, she'd never had a thorough checkup. She'd felt better and assumed she was fine, never expecting something so serious could be lurking beneath the surface.
Still, after a few seconds of silence, she managed a small smile. "It can't be that bad. I'll get a full checkup some other day. But UME just relaunched here—if anything goes wrong now, it would be a disaster—"
"No, Evangeline."
Glenn cut her off, his voice grave and unwavering. "To me, nothing matters more than your well-being."
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