Chapter 2 - THE BREAKUP I NEVER SENT
Ethan arrived forty-three minutes after the nurse called him.
He looked like he had not slept in days.
He stopped in the doorway when he saw my eyes open.
For several seconds neither of us spoke.
Then he crossed the room.
“Natalie?”
“Why weren’t you here?”
His face changed.
“Your dad had me removed.”
“What?”
“He said you didn’t want me here.”
I stared.
“That’s not true.”
“I know that now.”
“What does that mean?”
Ethan pulled out his phone.
There were messages from me.
Except they were not from me.
Saturday, 10:47 p.m.
I MADE A MISTAKE. I CAN’T MARRY YOU.
Saturday, 10:51.
DON’T COME TO THE HOSPITAL. I NEED MY FAMILY.
Sunday morning:
PLEASE STOP CALLING. YOU’RE MAKING THIS WORSE.
Monday:
THE ENGAGEMENT IS OVER. RESPECT THAT.
My stomach turned.
“I didn’t send those.”
Ethan nodded.
“I figured that out when your aunt Karen called me yesterday.”
“What did she say?”
“That you hadn’t been awake enough to hold a conversation.”
I closed my eyes.
Ethan continued.
“Your dad told hospital staff you’d become agitated whenever my name came up.”
“I was unconscious.”
“I know.”
“Where’s my ring?”
Another silence.
My left hand was bare.
“Diane said you asked her to take it.”
I actually laughed.
The sound came out broken.
Ethan sat beside me.
“I should’ve pushed harder.”
“You believed them?”
“For the first day.”
That hurt.
He looked down.
“I watched you tell Diane she wasn’t your mother. Then you collapsed. Your dad was crying. He said the concussion made you confused after you woke briefly.”
“I woke?”
“Apparently for a few minutes Sunday morning.”
I remembered nothing.
“He said you told him you regretted the engagement.”
“No.”
“I know.”
“How?”
Ethan opened another message.
It had supposedly been sent while hospital records later showed I was under sedation for imaging.
That was when he realized the timeline did not make sense.
He began calling relatives.
My cousin Kelly admitted Diane had my phone.
A nurse finally documented Ethan’s concern and noted that I should be asked directly when alert.
Now I was.
I squeezed his hand.
Then remembered something.
“My job.”
Ethan frowned.
“What about it?”
I had accepted a position with a healthcare analytics company in Arlington.
Start date in six weeks.
The offer required a final onboarding form due Monday.
I had planned to complete it after graduation.
“Give me your phone.”
I logged into my email.
Password rejected.
Tried again.
Rejected.
Recovery address had been changed.
My university email was still accessible through a separate login.
There was a forwarded message from the employer.
We’re sorry you’ve decided not to move forward with the analyst position.
My body went cold.
“No.”
Ethan leaned closer.
“What?”
I showed him.
Someone had declined my job while I was unconscious.
Another email followed.
The company wished me well and noted that, because they had a second candidate waiting, they had already reopened the role.
I stared until the words blurred.
The engagement.
My job.
My email.
Three days.
Someone had been dismantling my life while I could not speak.
Then Ethan asked:
“Is there anything else they could access from your phone?”
I thought of banking.
My stomach dropped.
May you like
There was one account Dad and Diane cared about more than they ever admitted.
The last money my mother had left me.
