Chapter 11 Regret meeting you
642 Words
Ethan had just come back with some takeout when he spotted someone jumping from the fifth-floor window from afar.
He wasn't the nosy type. Just glanced, then looked away. Stuff like this—people ending their lives—it happened way too often these days.
To him, people who didn't cherish life like that didn't really deserve others' sympathy.
A crowd started to gather, murmuring, pointing. Ethan frowned and quietly moved away.
He'd barely walked a few steps before his body froze in place.
Wait a second—the apartment Anna stayed in… wasn't it on the fifth floor?
Without warning, her name slammed into his mind with a pressing urgency. And oddly enough, the first name he thought of wasn't Jasmine.
No way. That woman wouldn't…
Panic hit him like a truck. He dropped everything in his hands and bolted back toward the commotion.
Pushing through the onlookers, the second he saw that all-too-familiar figure lying there, his knees gave out. He just dropped to the ground.
"Sir, sir, are you alright?" Someone noticed his almost broken-down reaction and came up to him.
Ethan didn't respond. His eyes were locked on Anna being carefully lifted onto a stretcher by the medics. He stumbled forward on one knee, getting as close as he could.
Her petite frame was blood-soaked. Ethan's hand trembled as it reached out but didn't dare to touch her.
After she was taken away, the ground still reeked of blood, a big ugly stain left behind.
Someone nearby muttered, "That much blood… she's probably not gonna make it."
"She's not dying!" Ethan's voice cracked as he snapped his head toward the guy, eyes red with rage.
"You—"
The man recoiled, about to say something more, but others pulled him back.
"Leave it, man, guy's probably her husband—poor dude's falling apart, give him a break."
"Hah, if a wife's jumping off a building, don't expect her husband to be much of a saint either."
"Wasn't doing anything when she was alive, now she's being rushed to the ER and he suddenly wants to play the grieving lover? Gimme a break."
The guy kept grumbling until someone managed to drag him away.
Being the CEO of Donovan Corp, Ethan had never been humiliated like this before.
But chillingly, deep down, he felt like maybe… maybe those words weren't completely wrong.
Anna was rushed into the ER, her blood trailing all the way through the hallway.
The sight was gut-wrenching.
Ethan followed closely, practically running after the red trail, heart hammering like mad.
Even after falling from five stories, Anna hadn't died. Her whole body screamed in pain, but she stubbornly clung to consciousness.
She didn't dare sleep. What if she closed her eyes… and just never woke up again?
Her baby hadn't even had a chance to exist in this world before getting taken away.
The shame. The torment. None of it felt justified. Was this really how it all ended?
Her vision started to black out, but then a familiar silhouette cut through the haze.
She bit down hard on her lip until it bled and grabbed Ethan's shirt with all the strength she had left.
The paramedics halted, sensing these might be the last words she ever spoke.
"Ethan… I'm not blaming you. I was the one who chased after you and brought all this on myself." Anna forced a smile, pain etched deep in her face.
"But I won't ever love you again. I messed up bad this lifetime—next one, even if I go off the rails again, I'd rather never meet you."
Then she shut her eyes.
Ethan's heart jolted violently.
Thud.
Anna's arm dropped heavily.
The phone gripped in her hand slipped and clattered to the floor.
And once again, those damn ER doors slammed shut in front of Ethan.
- Writer
