Page 15 of After Everything
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means my father is pulling our firm from the case, David. The Henderson case. The biggest case either of our firms has handled in a decade." She paused. "Your partners are going to want to know why. And when they start asking questions, when they start putting pieces together…” She shook her head, frustrated. “Just think about it… Affair with co-counsel, sudden divorce, our firm backing out… They're going to figure it out."
My stomach dropped.
She was right. Of course she was right.
Henderson was worth millions in billable hours. Partnership-making, career-defining work. And Sarah's firm was walking away because of me. Because of us.
My firm would know. They'd figure it out. They'd know it was my fault.
And they sure as hell wouldn’t be happy about it.
"Sarah, please?—"
"I'm sorry," she said, and for the first time, she sounded like she might actually mean it. "I really am. But I have to go."
She walked to the door. I stood there, frozen, watching her leave.
Her hand was on the doorknob when I finally found my voice.
"Did you ever actually love me?"
She stopped. Didn't turn around.
"Does it matter?"
Then she was gone.
CHAPTER 6: EMMA
Iwas charting meds when Jess appeared at the ICU nurses' station.
It had been a week and a half since I'd kicked David out. Ten days of functioning on autopilot: work, home, sleep, repeat. The new locks on my doors. The wine stain I still hadn't scrubbed clean. The silence that filled every room.
I'd gone back to work after three days. Couldn't afford not to, and honestly, I needed it. Needed the structure. Needed to focus on keeping other people alive so I didn't have to think about how my own life had imploded.
"Hey," Jess said, slightly out of breath. She must have taken the stairs—the ER was two floors down. "You busy?"
I glanced at the patient board. Mr. Patterson in bed 3 was stable post-op. Mrs. Ellis in bed 7 was sleeping. Nothing critical happening for once.
"I've got a few minutes. What's up?"
Jess looked around at the other nurses, then lowered her voice. "Break room. Now."
Something in her expression made my stomach tighten. "Is everything okay?"
"Just come on."
I followed her down the hall to the small break room we shared with the step-down unit. It was empty except for someone's forgotten coffee mug in the sink and a box of donuts that had been sitting there since morning shift.
Jess closed the door behind us.
"Okay, so don't freak out," she started, which was never a good way to start a conversation.
"What did you do?"
"I've been... keeping tabs. On David." She pulled out her phone. "I know you said youdidn't want to know what was going on with him, but Emma, you need to see this."
