To Love a Shadow To Be the Sun novel Chapter 73

Elara was caught off guard. She stumbled backward, crashing hard into the cold metal IV stand—a dull, biting pain shot through her waist and forced a muffled groan from her lips.

At the same moment, Lina, thrown off balance by the tussle, tripped and slammed her wrist against the unforgiving steel rail of the hospital bed. The sharp crack was followed by a shriek as tears sprang to her eyes. "Ah! My hand!"

Brian rushed forward in a flash, his first instinct to check on Elara. But Lina's cry of pain made him veer, grabbing her hand instead. "What happened?"

Gareth was fuming. He shoved Elara, who had just barely regained her footing, sending her sprawling to the ground.

"You've completely lost your mind! First you threaten your mother-in-law, now you dare lay a hand on your husband's sister? Do you really think you can do whatever you want just because the old lady backs you up? Don't forget—your grandfather's medication request may have been approved, but that doesn't mean you'll actually get it!"

Elara hit the floor hard. The pain in her side flared, even sharper than before, but as she looked up and saw the two men desperately shielding the women in their arms, all her pain blurred away.

"Brian, I—" Lina started to say with noble self-sacrifice that she was fine, but Brian suddenly let go of her hand and strode toward Elara.

But before he could reach her, Elara rolled over and got to her feet on her own, pointedly dodging his outstretched hand. She refused to give this man even a glance; instead, her frosty gaze fixed on Gareth.

"I'll go to the lab for your blood test, but the Vincent family can't keep pushing me around. From this day on, I have no father-in-law, no husband. When the day comes that we're all dragged down, let's see who loses more."

In plain terms: she was cutting ties.

Gareth opened his mouth to say something, but Elara had already turned and walked out of the room.

He whirled on his son. "See what you've done? She's completely out of control because of you."

Brian's face was expressionless, but his voice was cold enough to chill the air. "Father, remember what it'll cost you to threaten me with Grandpa Ellis. If you only have eyes for Nanette, then why shouldn't Elara be the person I care about most? Don't wait until I've stopped caring about this family altogether…"

He didn't need to finish the sentence. One look at Lina, and Gareth understood.

Gareth's face went pale. He tried to soften his tone, but his son had already turned and followed Elara out, leaving the room colder and emptier than before.

Lina stood with her head bowed, eyes stormy with emotion.

At the lab.

Chuck was momentarily speechless.

At least Charles had handled this one thing right.

Elara put away her ID and stood up, wincing. The pain in her side almost made her lose her balance, but she steadied herself and looked at Chuck.

"I'm trying to stop Dr. Chamberlain from making a mistake. Didn't you notice?"

Chuck's throat tightened with guilt.

Elara smiled faintly, as if she knew the truth but didn't intend to pursue it. "You're a good doctor, and you have a bright future ahead of you. Eight years of medical school isn't easy—be careful, all right?"

Chuck's discomfort was clear.

Elara had seen Nanette's hospital chart back in the room; Chuck was listed as her attending physician.