Chapter 3
As evening approached, the Caldwells arranged for a car to take us to the
restaurant.
The three of us sat in the back seat.
The entire ride, Ryder, who sat in the middle, was completely focused on Elle.
He adjusted the air conditioning for her, offered her a blanket, helped her open her water bottle.
I sat on the left, watching them chat animatedly while I silently turned to look out the window.
Halfway there, the sky opened up with a massive downpour.
The road was dark, and the car ahead had its high beams on. As we went downhill, our driver was momentarily blinded and didn’t make the turn in time, crashing straight into the guardrail.
In that split second of danger, Ryder instinctively pulled Elle into his arms to protect
her.
CRASH-
Glass shattered everywhere. Sitting by the impact side, I was thrown against the door, blood everywhere.
Searing pain spread throughout my body. I felt like I was being torn apart. Through the haze, I saw the door on the right side open.
Ryder frantically carried Elle out of the car, calling for an ambulance while gently comforting her.
He acted like he’d completely forgotten there was someone else in the car–me. When the ambulance arrived, the paramedics said they should help the more severely injured person first.
But when faced with the choice between me lying in a pool of blood and Elle who was merely shaken in his arms, Ryder hesitated only briefly before choosing to take Elle to the hospital first.
As I watched the ambulance drive away, my vision began to blur, and I couldn’t hold back my tears anymore.
Oh, Ryder.
Twenty years of history together, and it still couldn’t compete with one look from her.
My eyelids grew heavier as the pain that had been torturing me started to fade
away.
I didn’t make it until the next ambulance arrived. Everything went black as I lost consciousness.
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When I opened my eyes, I saw my mother clutching her chest, her voice full of worry and relief.
100%
“Thank God, Autumn, you’re finally awake! The ambulance got you here just in time -you’d lost so much blood they were worried about running out of your type. You were all in the same car, so how did Elle only get a scratch on her hand while you were so badly hurt?”
My father sighed with relief too, taking a sip of water.
“Obviously because Ryder protected her. Nothing shows someone’s true feelings like a crisis. That girl was so touched. I just went to check on them next door–Ryder was feeding her soup. The way they look at each other… I’m pretty sure they’re officially together now.”
I listened quietly until they finished gossiping, then spoke in a hoarse voice.
“How long was I out? Have the immigration papers gone through yet?”
“You were unconscious for two days! We were terrified!”
“Don’t worry about the paperwork–it should all be finalized in about three weeks. You just focus on getting better.”
Hearing we had less than a month left, I felt a strange sense of relief.
Over the next few days, I frequently overheard the nurses talking about all the things Ryder was doing for Elle.
He never left her hospital room, worried sick when she coughed in the middle of the night and running to find a nurse for hot water.
He tested the temperature of all her medications himself and brought candy to make the bitter medicine more palatable.
Worried she’d be bored in the hospital, he went out of his way to find games and toys to entertain her.
I listened to it all in silence.
When a nurse wheeled me down the hall for a follow–up exam, I heard a
commotion.
As we passed Elle’s room, I turned my head and saw Ryder holding a huge bouquet of roses, proposing to her.
“Elle, I fell for you the moment I saw you eight years ago. Those ‘chance‘ meetings were all planned–I deliberately put myself in your path. I remember all your likes, all your dreams. I never got the chance to tell you how I felt back then. Will you give me a chance now?”
Hearing his hopeful, nervous voice, I remembered how Ryder had been planning
this
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confession a month before Elle left for Paris.
He’d missed his chance then, but it was only delayed by a few years.
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When I heard Elle say “yes,” I gave a quiet laugh and continued toward the exam
room.
As I turned away, the crowd of onlookers burst into applause.
Ryder looked up at the sound, catching sight of my lonely figure.
The smile on his face froze for a moment as something flickered in his eyes. But that brief discomfort quickly disappeared, swallowed by his overwhelming happiness.
He reached out, proudly and openly.
And pulled Elle into his arms.
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