Chapter 138
The elevator doors slid open, and I bolted out without so much as a glance in Henry’s direction. My colleagues lingered behind, wldapering amore). themselves, while I only wanted to escape. I heard the sound of hurried footsteps following me without looking back, I knew it was Henry parking throlad the crowd to catch up.
“Sophia!” His voice echoed down the hospital corridor. “Who do you think you’re giving the cold shoulder to?”
1 kept walking, my pace steady and determined. Something inside me had completely shattered. What was the point of this endless game?
“Sophia!” He grabbed my arm, forcing me to turn around. “What’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me?” I yanked my arm away. “This is just my face! I was born with it, can’t change it! I don’t recall asking you to look at it. If you don’t like what you see, you’re free to look elsewhere. I’m certainly not forcing you to look at me.
Henry’s expression changed as he realized I wasn’t just angry–I had completely given up.
“You’re upset about last night, aren’t you?‘ His voice softened. “I can explain everything-*
“Don’t bother,” I cut him off, my tone flat and emotionless. “I don’t need explanations.”
For a moment, something flashed across Henry’s face–was it panic? Fear? Whatever it was, it seemed to root him to the spot as turned and walked away. I didn’t look back, but I could feel him standing there, suddenly struggling to breathe, as if something precious had just slipped through his fingers.
Too late.
In the cafeteria, my colleagues quickly gathered around me, their curiosity impossible to contain.
“Sophia, who was that gorgeous man?” Lisa leaned across the table, her eyes wide with interest. “The way he called your name–so intense!”
“Yeah, what’s the story there?” Sarah chimed in. “He couldn’t take his eyes off you.”
“He practically commanded you to come to him,” another colleague added. “Like something out of a romance novel!*
I stabbed at my salad, wishing they would drop the topic. “There’s no story. I told you, I barely know him.”
“Come on,” Lisa pressed. “Nobody looks at someone they ‘barely know like that. We’re not letting this go until you tell us something.”
I sighed, realizing they wouldn’t stop until I gave them something, Fine.
“Look, if you’re so interested, I can introduce you,” I offered, deliberately using a casual tone. “But fair warning–he’s a complete jerk. Married with a kid, and still keeping a mistress. That woman in VIP room 317? That’s his mistress.”
Their expressions transformed instantly from fascination to disgust.
“What a scumbag, Lisa muttered.
‘I knew a man that good–looking couldn’t be decent,” Sarah added with a scowl.
“And that woman–knowing he’s married and still going after him? What kind of trash does that?” another colleague spat. “Next time I have to give her an injection, I might ‘accidentally‘ miss the vein a few times.”
I didn’t correct them. They could think whatever they wanted. None of it mattered anymore.
Near the end of my shift, I was preparing medications for the next day when I sensed someone enter the room. Looking up, I found Thomas awkwardly standing in the doorway, his face still showing faint bruises from Henry’s assault.
The sight of him brought back uncomfortable memories. The last time we’d been alone, he’d tried to force a kiss on me in the storage room behind the changing area. If Henry hadn’t shown up when he did… I shuddered at the thought.
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Chapter 138
Sophia, he began, his volce soft and apologétle. Can we talk?
I glanced around, aware of my colleagues curious eyes. The last thing I needed was more hospital gossip. With resigned sigh, I get to k me out of the office area.
Once we were alone in an empty corridor, I kept a safe distance between us.
“I don’t know how to face you anymore, 1 told him bluntly. “Every time I see you, I remember what happened that day, and it makes me sick.
Thomas’s head hung lower, his face filled with guilt. He looked like a schoolboy caught misbehaving.
“I’m so sorry, Sophia. Truly sorry,” his voice filled with remorse. “I was completely out of line that day.”
I liked you too much, he continued, speaking more urgently now. “I could have had a better career overseas, but I wanted to see you. No matter how they tried to convince me to stay abroad, I insisted on returning, just to see you. Perhaps I suppressed my feelings for too long and couldn’t control my longing
I shook my head, tired of these half–truths and unspoken feelings.
“Thomas, maybe I wasn’t clear enough before. Let me be perfectly clear now: I don’t have feelings for you. I didn’t six years ago, and I don’t now. I have never seen you as anything more than a colleague. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
This brutal truth hit him like a physical blow. He swayed slightly, then suddenly lunged–forward, wrapping his arms tightly around me.
“Sophia, don’t move,” he whispered, his body trembling against mine. “I feel dizzy. Just let me hold you for a moment. Consider it pity if you want, or sympathy–just give me this moment.”
My nurse’s instincts detected something unusual about him.
His symptoms weren’t normal–rapid heartbeat, labored breathing, slight tremors in his limbs. I recognized the signs of respiratory alkalosis from hyperventilation. His brain wasn’t getting enough blood.
Despite my discomfort, I didn’t push him away. “How are you feeling right now? Is your heart racing? Having trouble breathing? Any weakness in your limbs?”
Thomas nodded against my shoulder. He clearly knew what was happening to him.
“I think it’s respiratory alkalosis from emotional distress,” he managed between shallow breaths. “Sorry to burden you like this.”
Still holding me, he said, “Sophia, try hugging me back, help calm my emotions so I’m not so agitated.”
Saving him was my priority–that was all I focused on.
I turned to face him properly and hesitantly put my arms around him, trying to soothe him as I would any patient having a panic attack.
‘Sophia, what are you doing?”
A sharp, angry voice cut through the air, interrupting the moment. I knew that voice all too well, even the rhythm of those footsteps was familiar to me.
I turned slightly, seeing Henry striding toward us, his face filled with anger.
I simply turned back, pretending I hadn’t seen him at all.
Whatever storm was coming, I was too tired to run from it anymore.
The Ex–Wife’s Redemption: A Love Reborn
Chapter 139
