Chapter 2
A mocking giggle came through the speaker, Aurora.
"Chloe, really? Sinking so low just to drag Owen home?" she sneered.
"Don't you know Nora raised him all by herself? No one is more important to him than her. How could you joke about something like this? You must be desperate.
"Owen won't go back with you. Give it up."
Aurora rambled on, convinced this was all a ploy to get Owen back.
"Stop calling him. He's spending my birthday with me. He said today, he's all mine."
Frustration boiled over. I knew arguing with her was useless. "Aurora, I would never joke about this! Put Owen on the phone!"
The next second, Owen's voice, sharp with anger, cut in. "Chloe, that's enough! Making up a lie about Mom being sick just to get me to come home? Have you no shame?
"Let me make this clear. I'm not coming back. Drop it.
"Don't call me again!"
The line went dead. I called back repeatedly, only to find his phone was turned off.
I stood frozen, my phone in my hand, a chill of horror spreading through me.
That was his mother, and he had just casually snuffed out her chance of survival.
I'd known, from the day Aurora returned to the city after her divorce, that Owen still had feelings for her. I knew he'd leave me for her eventually.
But I never imagined he'd abandon everything for her, even his own mother.
Owen and Aurora weren't just childhood sweethearts; they were each other's first love. Eight years together, from high school through university, that kind of history left a mark.
Later, she left him during his most difficult time. Before Owen confessed his feelings to me, I'd heard about him and Aurora. I was afraid he still carried a torch for her. But he assured me repeatedly that it was completely over, that he would never have anything to do with her again.
That promise shattered the day Aurora returned.
After she left her abusive husband and moved back to the city, Owen's heart was never with me again.
He started "working late" constantly. Later, I caught the scent of a woman's perfume on his work clothes and realized his "overtime" was always spent with Aurora. He even paid for and helped with her divorce lawsuit, calling in favors from old classmates.
He's always been so proud, never one to use his connections. Last year, when my mom needed an emergency appendectomy, he wouldn't even pull strings to get her a faster appointment at his own hospital.
I never thought he'd go this far for Aurora. It was obvious he never got over her, but he stubbornly denied it, dismissing it as just "helping an old friend who's had a hard time." He told me not to be so petty and insecure.
He acted so righteous, making me feel like I was the one being unreasonable and controlling.
I turned to look at Nora, unconscious again on the sofa, my brow furrowed with worry.
This was her second attack. If help didn't arrive soon... things looked grim.
I was pacing the living room frantically. Zoey could see something was wrong.
"Is the ambulance still not here? We called them the moment we found her!"
The other neighbors who had come to help were growing restless.
"What's going on? We're not far from the hospital."
"Right? Even with traffic, they should've been here by now!"
"What do we do? Should we just drive her ourselves?"
One neighbor suggested taking her by car, but I immediately shut it down.
"No!
"It's a brain hemorrhage! Any major movement could make the bleeding worse!"
My anxiety was spiking, a deep sense of dread washing over me.
I grabbed my phone and called the emergency line again. The person who answered sounded familiar. It was Lincoln Dean, a colleague of Owen's on the ambulance team.
"Chloe?
"So, it's true what Owen said!"
I didn't have time for small talk. Suppressing the unease, I forced my voice to stay calm.
"Owen's mother has had a brain hemorrhage. Send an ambulance, now!
"Owen is her primary doctor. He has all her medical records!"
An odd silence fell on the other end, followed by a light, disbelieving laugh.
"Chloe, if you want Owen to come home, just say so. No need to waste public resources like this."