I Refuse to Be Your Second Choice novel Chapter 68

Alexander’s sudden gentleness had unsettled Natalie, and she had used the excuse of getting water to escape.

She was almost at the end of the hallway before she remembered that private hospital rooms came equipped with their own water dispensers. Sighing, she turned back.

As soon as she entered the room, she saw it: the IV in Alexander’s left hand had blood backing up into the tube. He was just leaning against the headboard, his face grim.

“Your hand!”

Natalie rushed over. “There’s blood in the tube! Didn’t you see it?”

She immediately pressed the call button for the nurse.

Alexander remained silent.

The nurse arrived quickly and was puzzled by the backflow. “The drip isn’t finished, and there’s no air in the line. How did this happen?”

Alexander glanced at his left hand. Only he knew about the deep crescent-shaped marks his fingernails had dug into his palm.

After the nurse fixed the IV, the drip resumed its normal pace.

Noticing his still-dark expression, Natalie asked, “What’s wrong? What happened?”

Alexander finally looked up, his dark, murky eyes boring into her. “You have a phone call.”

His answer was completely off-topic. Confused, Natalie picked up her phone to see who had called.

A few seconds later, she understood the source of his mood.

“You saw it.”

She was certain he hadn't touched her phone; the lock screen showed one missed call and one unread message. But from his angle, he would have seen the screen light up.

“You are not to work with Veritas Legal,” he said. The words were spoken softly, but they carried an undeniable, domineering weight.

Natalie replied, “This is a work matter. You have no right to interfere.”

Alexander let out a derisive snort. “Work? Or are you using your position for personal reasons, creating opportunities for the two of you to meet?”

“I have no intention of explaining this again. If it makes you feel better to believe I betrayed you, then fine, think whatever you want.”

As Alexander’s trusted assistant, Aaron knew everything. He had witnessed their initial bliss and their sudden cold war.

“You heard what was said that night. Was I wrong to accuse her?”

Aaron recalled the night he had accompanied Alexander to BlueNight. As they passed a table, he heard a young woman loudly proclaim, “Did you guys know? Natalie Watson confessed her feelings to Professor Ramirez.” When her friends expressed disbelief, she insisted, “I saw it and heard it with my own eyes and ears, right here! Natalie told Professor Ramirez she liked him. I swear it’s true!”

After that night, Alexander had become cold and distant toward his wife.

Aaron didn’t know what to say. From his own observations, Natalie seemed to love Alexander and only held deep respect for Eugene Ramirez.

“Maybe it’s just something from the past. Everyone has a first love, right? Besides, your own relationship with Ms. White doesn’t exactly seem simple…”

Aaron was mid-sentence when he saw a gaze as sharp and cold as an arrow shoot toward him from Alexander. He immediately shut his mouth. He cursed himself for his big mouth. Who was he to comment on such matters? Every word he’d said had struck a nerve. He was done for; he was definitely going to get caught in the crossfire.

Leaving the hospital, Natalie felt a pang in her own stomach. She stopped at a breakfast shop and bought a carton of milk. After drinking the warm milk, her stomach settled, and her mind felt clearer.

There was no future for her and Alexander. The divorce had been dragged out for three years, long enough. She refused to let him hold her signature hostage any longer.

“I have to find another way to do this, and soon,” she muttered to herself, her eyes filled with determination.