Chapter 20 – Happily Ever After
LYNN
The sound of the gunshot echoed in my mind, drowning out everything else. For a moment, the world around me blurred, and all I could see was Ethan–my Ethan- collapsing to the ground in a heap of blood and pain.
I screamed. My voice echoed, raw with terror, as I rushed to his side, my hands. trembling as I tried to stem the flow of blood that poured from his chest.
“Ethan! No, no, no!”
My heart was racing, and the world felt like it was crashing down around me. He was all I had everything I had chosen, everything I had come to love. And now, he was slipping away from me.
Ethan’s eyes fluttered, and he gave me a weak smile, but it was clear he was fading. “Lynn…” he whispered, his voice faint,
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barely audible. “I… I love you.”
Before I could say anything, the door of the church burst open, and sirens wailed outside. The police rushed in, and soon they had Nora in handcuffs, dragging her away. Her eyes were wild with fury.
The paramedics arrived seconds later, swiftly taking Ethan away in an ambulance, leaving me standing in the middle of the chaos. My mind couldn’t process what had just happened. My world felt shattered.
I followed the ambulance to the hospital, my body on autopilot. The sterile walls of the emergency room felt like a prison as I paced, my heart in my throat. The surgery room doors remained closed, and all I could do was wait.
Hours passed, and I couldn’t tear my eyes. away from the door. My emotions were a hurricane–fear, guilt, love, and disbelief all swirling together. I couldn’t
understand how this had happened. I had just married Ethan again. We had just
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started our life together. How could this be happening?
The doctor finally emerged, his expression. grave. He looked at me with sympathy, but his words were all business. “Lynn, we’ve managed to stabilize your husband, but he needs blood for his surgery. He s losing too much. You‘ re his closest match.”
I nodded quickly, willing to do anything.
“I’ll donate,” I said, my voice shaky but determined.
The doctor hesitated. “Your blood type is O, right? Let me run a quick test, just to confirm.”
As they took a sample from me, I held my breath. Please, let this work. Please let me save him.
But when the doctor returned, his face was somber. “I’m afraid I can’t allow you to donate, Lynn. There’s a complication.”
My stomach twisted with dread. “What do
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you mean?” I asked, my voice trembling.
He paused, his eyes flicking to his clipboard. “It seems you‘ re…”
Hurried footsteps interrupted the doctor. I turned to see Javier walking into the room, his face tense. He was still in his suit from the wedding, but there was no joy in his eyes now, only concern.
“I heard what happened,” he said, his voice rough. “I’m here. I‘ m O–negative. I’ll donate the blood.”
I was stunned. But as I looked at him, I saw the sincerity in his eyes. Despite everything that had happened, he was here. For Ethan. For me.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you. so much.”
Javier nodded, and the medical staff quickly set to work, taking his blood. My heart pounded in my chest as I waited, but deep down, I knew Ethan’s life was now in capable hands. Javier‘ s blood would
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save him.
It didn’t take long. Soon after, the doctor came back to speak to me.
“He’s in stable condition now,” the doctor said, and I felt my breath catch in my throat. “We‘ ve managed to stop the bleeding. He’s in recovery, but he‘ going to make it.”
S
Tears sprang to my eyes, but they weren’t just tears of fear or sadness. They were tears of relief. Ethan was going to be okay.
I rushed to his side, my heart pounding. I found him in a recovery room, looking pale but alive, hooked up to various machines. He was breathing steadily, his chest rising and falling with each breath.
I sat beside him, my hands gently gripping his. “Ethan… I thought I lost you,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I thought… I thought I was going to lose
you.”
Ethan stirred, his eyelids flickering open.
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He looked at me, a
. soft smile on his lips
despite everything. “I told you, Lynn… I’d do anything for you. Even take a bullet if it means saving you.”
I couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. “You… you‘ re crazy,” I said, laughing through my tears. “You jumped in front of a bullet for me.”
Ethan gave a weak chuckle. “I told you… I’d do it again.”
The doctor entered the room, his expression thoughtful. “Lynn, there’s something else you should know.”
I looked up, my heart racing. “What is hit?” I asked, my voice shaky.
The doctor hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke. “When we did the blood tests earlier, we discovered something else. The reason you couldn’t donate is because… you‘ re pregnant, Lynn.”
For a moment, the room seemed to spin. I stared at him, my eyes wide with disbelief.
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–
“Pregnant?” I repeated, my voice faint.
Ethan’s eyes widened in surprise.
“You‘ re pregnant, Lynn?” he asked, his voice filled with wonder.
Tears streamed down my face as I nodded, unable to speak. I was pregnant. And it was a moment I would never forget.
Ethan reached for my hand, holding it tightly. “I promise, Lynn,” he said softly, his voice full of emotion. “I‘ 11 protect you. I’ll protect our baby. I love you both more than anything in this world.”
And in that moment, as I looked at the man who had saved me in so many ways, I knew one thing for certain: Ethan was the man for me.
The End.
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