Chapter 51
Emily and Nicolas were in the waiting room with Jake sitting across from them. He hadn’t said a thing since Stella was sent to emergency surgery. Not a word of blame, expression of anger—nothing. He was basically a shell of a man.
Even if karma was supposed to get them for all they had done to her, she never prayed for it to be in this form.
This…
It was too cruel.
Bowing her head with a deep sigh, Emily couldn’t help but begin to pray.
Nicolas’s hand rubbed at her back.
“It’s gonna be okay.”
Her next words were muffled. “I just wanted to end my contract and leave. I—I didn’t expect any of this.
I didn’t know she would come at us like that and end up falling.
I didn’t expect for her to bleed like that and…
” That baby is innocent, she wanted to say but her voice failed.
“Do you…do you think that it’s my fault? ” she asked in a hushed whisper.
“It was an accident, Emily,” Nicolas said in an end-of-discussion tone, his hand smoothing over her hair.
“I know but—”
“No buts,” he cut her off swiftly. “I know it may be a lot for you to take in now, but none of it is your fault. It was just an unfortunate accident none of us could have predicted.”
On cue, the doors to the emergency room swung open and a doctor stepped out. Jake was in front of him immediately, words tumbling out. “Is everything okay, doc? How is she? And our baby…they’re gonna be fine, right?”
The doctor’s expression was unreadable.
For a moment, Jake’s shoulders stiffened.
Emily swore she stopped breathing altogether too.
“Miss Peterson lost a significant amount of blood on the way here,” the doctor started. “She required a transfusion as soon as she arrived.”
Jake’s hands trembled. “And…?”
“She also required surgery to control the bleeding,” the doctor continued. “Her body responded well to the procedure, but because of the anesthesia used, we’ll need to monitor her closely. Pregnancy sometimes complicates recovery, and there are certain risks we can’t ignore.”
“Are you saying something could happen to her or to our baby?” Jake gaped.
The doctor exhaled slowly. “I’m saying there’s a possibility. But right now, she’s stable, and that’s a good sign.”
Jake let out a shaky breath, relief flooding his features. “Thank God,” he aired.
Emily turned toward Nicolas, tears welling. His thumb brushed across her cheek.
“This is thanks to your quick response,” the doctor added. “If you’d delayed calling the ambulance and hadn’t gotten her here in time, the outcome could have been very different.”
Jake’s eyes landed on Emily and Nicolas. He looked gutted, but gratitude overcame him. “Thank you.”
Shock rippled through Emily. For the first time, she fumbled for words to answer him.
Before she could, he turned back to the doctor. “So can I see her now?”
“You’ll be able to once she’s transferred to recovery,” the doctor said. “It will take about an hour. By then she should be awake and the anesthesia will have worn off.”
Jake nodded, his jaw tight. “Okay. I’ll wait.”
As Nicolas and Emily were about to leave, a familiar black haired girl came bustling down the hall.
Adrianna’s eyes laser-focused onto Jake, running up to him. “Is my aunt alright?”
Aunt?
“Stella’s going to be fine,” Jake said firmly.
Wait…what? Adrianna was Stella’s niece?
Adrianna’s shoulders slumped, before she braced herself on her knees, bent over. “Thank God. I got here as fast as I could when I got the call. She still has me as her emergency contact no matter how many times I’ve told her to change it to you. I’m thankful that she didn't.”
Her eyes shifted to the side and her brows furrowed. As if struck by an epiphany, she shot up into a full stance, shoulders squared again. “Did you cause this?” Adrianna asked, stepping toward Emily.
“Are you serious?”
“Don’t play dumb. I asked if you caused this. I can’t believe you’d do something this evil over a stupid slashed photo and a dead rat. It was just a prank!”
Emily felt like she was splashed in the face with cold water. “Repeat that.”
Adrianna rolled her eyes. “Are you really acting like you don’t know?
Okay, let me humor you. My aunt and I wanted to scare you, so we sent you that lovely package.
I guess it worked because you were spooked out for weeks on set.
I couldn’t resist and had that paint bomb planted in your bag while filming.
You were way too cocky, publicly still dating Jake, living this happy life while my aunt was forced to be the mistress. ”
Because she is, Emily wanted to snap. She cast herself in that role.
Instead, she stared at Adrianna, releasing an exhausted sigh. “I didn’t cause her to get hospitalized. It was an accident,” she repeated Nicolas’s words she’d chosen to trust. “Jake can give you all the details.”
Emily wanted to be angry at her. At them. But she just couldn’t bring herself to be.
Not after everything that has happened.
Taking ahold of Nicolas's hand, Emily shook it, indicating to the exit with a nudge of her head. “Let’s go.”