The Unwanted Wife's Return (Ex-Husband Wants Me Back) novel Chapter 415

Waiting for a Miracle

MARY’S POV:

The bright fluorescent light strips running along the hospital ceiling hummed loudly overhead, throwing a harsh, sickly pale glow across the clean floor tiles. I sat still on the hard plastic waiting chair, my cold fingers laced tightly together in my lap, while my eyes stayed glued to the heavy double doors of the trauma unit. The long minutes stretched into unbearable hours, each single tick of the clock feeling twice as long as the last one, every second heavy with the suffocating weight of waiting for news.

The plastic chair felt freezing cold beneath my body, hard and uncomfortable against the back of my legs. The entire hallway smelled strongly of harsh chemical cleaner, rubbing alcohol, and cold panic, that exact same sterile smell that seemed to cling to every single hospital building I had ever stepped foot inside. From behind the thick glass doors, I could hear the faint, echoing sounds of the emergency room, the rapid beeping of heart monitors, the muffled murmur of doctors talking, and the squeak of soft rubber shoes moving fast over clean floor tiles.

Marl sat right beside me on the next plastic seat, his steady presence remaining quiet and completely grounded. He had not said more than a few words since he parked the car in the front lot. He had simply sat right there by my side, acting like a solid anchor in the middle of a terrible storm, his broad shoulder lightly brushing against mine every time he took a slow, deep breath. I could feel the gentle warmth radiating off his heavy coat, serving as a tiny bit of comfort inside the freezing, sterile corridor.

My scattered thoughts kept racing straight back to Hotch. I kept picturing the awful way he had looked lying broken on the pavement, his pale face covered in dirt and his blood pooling out onto the dark stones beneath his head. I kept thinking about how he had rushed all the way across town just to help me escape, willingly putting his own body right in the path of danger all for my sake. He had been my single lifeline through this nightmare, my last bit of hope, and my only way out of a miserable marriage.

And I had come so close to getting him killed right in front of my own eyes.

The heavy weight of guilt pressed hard against my chest, making it difficult to pull air into my lungs. I was the person responsible for this disaster. I was the one who had brought all this violence and danger straight into his quiet life. If he passed away on that operating table tonight, his death was going to be entirely my fault. Just like every single other terrible thing that had gone wrong in my life recently.

Suddenly, the heavy double doors swung open with a soft swoosh.

A tall doctor in a clean white coat stepped out into the hallway, holding a gray clipboard tightly in his left. hand. His face looked tired, with deep lines around his mouth, but his eyes were completely calm and professional, the face of a man who spent his whole life delivering tragic news and wonderful news in equal measure. Dark, purple circles sat under his lower eyelids, showing the obvious signs of a long night shift, yet his calm posture remained steady and reassuring.

I jumped up out of my chair so fast that the metal legs scraped loudly against the floor. The sharp sound echoed through the silent hallway, bouncing off the hard walls. My heart was pounding like a hammer against my ribs, my hands were shaking violently at my sides, and my breath came out in short, frantic

gasps.

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“How is he doing?” I asked, my high voice sounding strained and trembling. “Is he going to survive this?”

The doctor looked straight into my eyes, his expression surprisingly kind. “Your friend suffered a severe head concussion, a cleanly fractured rib on his left side, and several painful impact bruises across his torso. He is going to require a lot of bed rest over the coming weeks, but I am happy to tell you that his condition is no longer life-threatening. You will be allowed to step inside to see him as soon as the nurses wake him up.”

I felt his words wash over my tired body like a warm wave of absolute relief.

Hotch was still alive.

He was actually going to be completely fine.

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