Rejected and Pregnant I Fled The Pack (Evelyn and Damon) novel Chapter 247

Nadia pov

I made my way to the bathroom just before dawn, understanding I genuinely needed a few minutes alone to actually process everything, to release whatever emotion I'd been carefully containing throughout the terrifying night.

I turned the water on hot, letting the steam fill the small space, and stepped beneath the spray, closing my eyes as the warmth washed over me.

The flashback hit without warning.

Suddenly I wasn't in Ethan's bathroom anymore. I was younger, considerably younger, huddled in a corner of Genevieve's crumbling apartment while she screamed at some unseen threat, her wild eyes carrying that same unhinged fury I'd witnessed in those women's cruel expressions. I could smell smoke, though I couldn't determine whether it originated from actual memory or the lingering psychological weight of last night's fire. I could hear her voice, sharp and venomous, telling me I was worthless, that I'd never genuinely belong anywhere, that my existence itself represented some kind of punishment she was forced to endure.

My knees gave out entirely.

I sank to the shower floor, water still cascading over me, and the sobs came violent and uncontrollable, my entire body shaking with the sheer weight of everything I'd been carefully holding together throughout these past several devastating days.

I didn't hear the door open. Didn't register anything beyond my own overwhelming grief and terror until strong arms suddenly gathered me close, lifting me carefully from the tile floor.

Ethan settled onto the shower floor himself, pulling me into his lap, fully clothed beneath the still-running water, apparently having rushed in without pausing to actually remove anything.

"I know, baby," he whispered, his voice carrying gentle, absolute steadiness despite my continued, violent sobbing. "I know you're scared."

I couldn't respond, couldn't do anything except continue crying, my face pressed against his now-soaked shirt, my entire body still shaking with residual terror from the flashback that had apparently overwhelmed me so completely.

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