THE SPITEFUL BRIDE: Marry To Rival's Son novel Chapter 146

146 WHAT DO YOU REALLY FEEL FOR ETHAN

Chapter 146

Elena stood outside Mia’s hospital room door for what felt like forever, her hand hovering over the handle. Her heart was beating so fast she could hear it in her ears. What if Mia didn’t want to see her? What if she told her to leave and never come back? What if their friendship was over for good?

Taking a deep breath, Elena finally pushed open the door and stepped inside. The room was quiet except for the steady beeping of machines and the soft hum of the air conditioning. Mia was lying in the hospital bed with her eyes closed, looking so peaceful that Elena almost turned around and left without saying anything.

But she knew she had to do this. She had to face what she had done and try to make it right, even if it was too late.

She walked slowly toward the bed, her footsteps making soft sounds on the tiled floor. When she reached Mia’s side, she carefully sat down on the small bench that had been placed there for visitors.

She just looked at her friend lying there, taking in how pale and fragile she looked against the white hospital sheets.

How could she have done this to her friend? How could she have been so selfish and stupid?

She thought, feeling the guilt wash over her again.

“Quit staring at me and say what you came for,” Mia said suddenly, without even opening her eyes.

Elena jumped, startled by the unexpected words. Her hand flew to her chest as her heart rate spiked even higher.

“Oh my God, you scared me,” she said, letting out a nervous laugh. “I thought you were asleep.”

5

“I was pretending,” Mia said, finally opening her eyes and looking at Elena with a small smile. “I could feel you staring at me from the moment you walked in. It was kind of creepy, actually.”

Despite everything that had happened, Elena found herself smiling back. This was so typical of Mia – finding ways to make light of serious situations, trying to put everyone else at ease even when she was the one lying in a hospital bed.

“I’m sorry, Mia,” she began, her voice already starting to shake with emotion. “I swear I didn’t mean any of the things I said. I’ve never seen you as anything less than a sister. I….”

“Shhhh,” Mia interrupted, holding up her hand. “Oh please, if you apologize to me one more time, I might actually gag. And that wouldn’t be good for the baby.”

The smile on her face took the sting out of her words, and Elena felt some of the tension in her shoulders start to

relax.

“How are you feeling?” Elena asked instead, deciding to follow Mia’s lead and move past the apologies for now.

“I’m good,” Mia said, automatically placing one hand on her stomach. “The doctor said I just need rest and we’ll both be fine. No complications, no permanent damage. Just a scary reminder to take better care of myself.”

“I can’t believe you’re pregnant,” Elena said, and this time her smile was genuine and full of joy. “I mean, I can believe it, but it’s just… wow. You’re going to be a mom.”

But then her face changed as she remembered what had happened earlier, how Mia had collapsed and started bleeding.

“And I almost made you lose the baby,” she said quietly, the guilt creeping back into her voice,

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146 WHAT DO YOU REALLY FEEL FOR ETHAN

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“It’s okay,” Mia said firmly. “It’s not your fault. I was also at fault for not trying harder to understand what you’ve been going through. I should have been a better friend.”

“What are you saying?” Elena asked, looking at Mia like she had lost her mind. “Who would want their brother to be used the way I was planning to use Ethan? No one would be okay with their best friend dating their brother just to get revenge on their family.”

Mia raised an eyebrow, studying Elena’s face carefully.

“But I don’t mind,” she said simply.

Elena paused, blinking slowly as she tried to process what Mia had just said.

“What… what?” she asked, looking at Mia in complete shock. “Did you just say what I think you said?”

“I mean I don’t mind you dating my brother,” Mia repeated, speaking more clearly this time. “Under the right circumstances, of course.”

Elena shook her head quickly. “The doctor said you need rest. We should talk about this later when you’re feeling better.”

“We’re not fighting, Elena,” Mia pointed out. “We’re having a discussion. And discussing things isn’t stressful unless you want me to stay completely silent until I give birth nine months from now.”

Both women let out a laugh at the absurdity of that image.

“Do you like Ethan?” Mia asked directly, watching Elena’s face for her reaction.

Elena looked at her but didn’t say anything, suddenly finding the pattern on the hospital blanket very interesting.

“Okay, let me ask this differently,” Mia continued. “Let’s say Ethan wasn’t my younger brother. If you met him as a complete stranger with no family connections, do you think you could see yourself falling for him?”

“Mia,” Elena said in a low voice, clearly uncomfortable with the direction of this conversation. “Let’s just forge about how I feel for now. You’re what’s important right now. You and this little baby.”

Elena reached over and touched Mia’s stomach playfully, trying to redirect the conversation away from her complicated feelings.

But Mia shook her head and gently moved Elena’s hand away.

“You’re important too,” she said seriously. “I need you to know that. I want you to always remember that you deserve all the happiness in the world, regardless of whose daughter you are or what mistakes my father made.”

“Mia, let’s not go down that road again,” Elena said, looking uncomfortable.

“No, I want to talk about this,” Mia insisted. “I promise I’m okay. I promise talking about this won’t hurt the baby. Can you please let me say what I need to say?”

Elena looked at her friend with such love and gratitude that her eyes started to fill with tears. But she blinked them back because she knew that if she cried, Mia would cry too, and Mia didn’t need that kind of stress right now.

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