Chapter 3
Series 1 Chapter 3
Ethan stopped in the doorway.
His hesitation lasted less than a second.
"She updated her medical information after the divorce last year," he said.
"She needed someone local."
His tone was calm, as if there were nothing unusual about it.
I said nothing.
He walked in and placed the paperwork on the table.
"Your parents live farther away. She was alone then. I was nearby."
"So she put you down?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Ethan frowned.
"Why would I need to?"
Before the accident, I might have agreed.
An emergency contact.
A recently divorced sister.
Aging parents who lived farther away.
A brother-in-law nearby.
Every reason sounded reasonable on its own.
But lying in that hospital bed, I suddenly remembered things I had never connected before.
Chloe had found her new apartment unusually fast after the separation.
She told me a friend helped her.
Ethan had once casually mentioned, "Her building's close to my office."
I looked up.
"You've been there?"
"Of course."
"When?"
"When she moved in."
I had not known.
That afternoon, Chloe came to see me.
Her face was pale, a bandage across her forehead.
Her eyes immediately filled with tears.
"Natalie, I'm sorry."
"It wasn't your fault."
She sat beside the bed.
A few minutes later, her phone rang.
She glanced at the screen but did not answer.
Ethan asked, "The lawyer again?"
Chloe nodded.
"Yeah."
I looked at him.
"You know her lawyer?"
"I referred him."
"When?"
"When she decided to leave."
I turned to Chloe.
"When you decided to leave, I didn't even know yet."
Her lips parted.
"I wasn't ready to tell the family."
"But you told Ethan."
The room went quiet.
Chloe lowered her eyes.
"I just needed to ask someone what to do."
I stopped questioning her.
That was already enough.
Ethan knew before I knew she was leaving her marriage.
He found her lawyer.
He had been to her new apartment.
He was her emergency contact.
Each thing could be explained.
Together, they felt different.
I no longer knew how much I had missed.
Or when my husband had become one of the first people my sister turned to whenever something went wrong.
That evening, my parents came back.
Chloe had gone home.
Ethan was in the hallway taking a call.
I looked at my mother.
"Did you know Ethan was helping Chloe through the divorce?"
She did not answer immediately.
My father did.
"He's just looking out for her."
"Why him?"
"He knows how to handle these things."
"Why didn't she come to me?"
My mother sighed.
"Natalie, don't make this into something ugly."
"I'm asking a question."
"They've always gotten along."
"How long?"
She stayed silent.
My father looked irritated.
"Why does it matter?"
He picked up the water glass, then set it down again.
"Ethan has always treated her differently."
I looked at him.
"Always?"