Chapter 4 - The Apology That Didn't Fit
Serena came to my ICU doorway the next afternoon without makeup, flowers, or the red gown from Ethan's campaign. She kept both hands on the wheelchair wheels. "Is June alive?" she asked before mentioning her own son. I heard concern, but also knowledge she should not have possessed; Ethan had told the press my transfer was precautionary. I asked why the birth chime had played early. Serena looked toward Caleb, who had accompanied her from the nursery. "Because marketing rehearsed it at nine," she said. "Ethan wanted the cameras ready." Caleb added that OR-3 had been fully staffed before either of us entered active labor. My emergency forced no choice. Someone had planned the imbalance. Serena then apologized for "letting him carry me away," not for taking my doctors. The distinction irritated me until she gripped the wheel and said, "I told him your room was first." Ethan appeared behind her with coffee I no longer drank. At the sight of Serena beside me, he looked relieved, not angry.
