Chapter 86: Would He Ever Come Back?
I walked through the garden for a few moments, looking around the bigger hedges and bushes, trying to find Ethan, but I didn‘t see him anywhere.
It was like he had vanished from my life again.
With a hand over my baby, I walked back home and went inside, closing the door behind me.
It seemed so lonely inside now. Not long ago, Soren and I had been sitting at the table eating dinner, laughing, and having a good conversation about our day. Now, the entire house seemed still and quiet.
“What was Ethan even doing here?” | asked myself aloud. I had no idea.
He said he‘d come there to see me, but why?
How did he even figure out where I was?
I wanted to talk to Ethan again. I wanted to find him and make him sit down and answer a thousand questions.
But that wasn‘t going to happen.
I lay backward on my bed and stared up at the ceiling, wondering if I‘d ever even see him again. There was a chance he would just go back home. Perhaps all he wanted was to see me, and now that he had, now that he knew that I was alive, he would just turn around and head right back to Madalynn‘s open arms.
Madalynn… and her ring.
I decided there was nothing more I could do, so I got ready for bed.
However, In my restless dreams, I kept seeing Ethan again but not being able to speak to him.
When I woke up, I couldn‘t stop thinking about him.
Seraphine was there to check my vitals, and Lola was tidying up the cottage. We were all friends, but I knew | couldn‘t talk to them about this. I couldn‘t risk them finding out the truth about my past.
Thad left that all behind.
Or at least, I thought I had.
“Ro?” Seraphine asked as she put her stethoscope back in her midwife bag. “Are you okay? I‘m done checking the baby, and you usually ask me a thousand questions. Today you‘re just staring off into space.”
“Oh. I‘m sorry.” I shook my head, smiling at her. “I guess I‘m just distracted this morning.”
me, and I knew from the twinkle in her eye that she was prying. “I
just friends,” I reminded her. I ran a hand over
“It really won‘t be
that made me feel. Was I
came to mind. The fuzzy form of a man next to me came into view, but I wasn‘t quite sure
next to me. Soren would be so supportive. He‘d probably manage to make it fun. Ethan, on the other hand… would he even be paying
birth is never easy, but you‘ll be just fine. I‘ll
to get the images out of my mind. “Oh, no. I
have questions, let me know. Your baby is healthy, and you‘re young and strong. I‘m sure this will be a perfectly normal birth where everything will go as planned, and
I knew she had some other patients to see that day. I had other things to do as
and I needed to
that I needed to hurry and finish, or it wouldn‘t be done in time
was what I told myself I was doing… but honestly, I
looking for
home. How had he managed to reduce me to this state again? I had come so far,
teenage girl, pining
called a few times, but he didn‘t answer. Sol cut some flowers
there. She smiled at me as I
be wonderful. Thank you,” I told
even bothered to come here if he wasn‘t going to talk
I thanked her as I took the vase
window as I went to set the vase
spilling water
I said as Lola
get a broom and mop. Pregnancy can make
tools she needed to clean up my mess, and I backed away from the
reached for the
waving me off. “You could hurt yourself. I’ll
felt awful that I’d created such a mess for her to have
thinking straight. I was a
as
night passed, and I still
the next day in the garden, looking for any sign of him while I pretended to prune the trees, but I didn‘t see any trace. No footprints, no lingering scent, no evidence that
think that perhaps he hadn‘t actually come
he‘d shown up in my garden, I had decided I just needed to get on with my life. Whatever it was that had brought Ethan back into my life for those few fleeting moments,
baby‘s nursery, sewing the blanket, staring at nothing as Seraphine organized the drawers of clothing we‘d
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9xfgqZ01n+63i0XDm6k13kzragaMZJjw6wGxDUufqy2CTzPkbR06WOGhrTpF8t5VO3sXQQxRzVgo0r3Z4KB5hFyJ6K8jkwOCt6LMAnuvEFkD2AqQHt84rzvcKH3xsA/Ays5G/uCFbikH1KQdohNWXjXnzMjZhbc4HdodNnvH88WKGP7W4oqVKaF08CE8Fz9YrHT7
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