The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 223

She was probably still waiting outside the courthouse, Haynes thought to himself with a hint of detachment.

Haynes remembered a similar situation once. They had planned to visit a bridal shop to try on wedding dresses, but then Rachel had suddenly fallen ill. It was an emergency, and in the chaos, the dress fitting had completely slipped his mind. His phone had died at the worst possible moment.

By the time he remembered what he was supposed to be doing, it was already evening. He called Stella, only to find out that she had stayed at the store waiting for him all day. At the time, he thought she was a little foolish. If he was a no-show and unreachable, why didn't she just leave?

But now, he felt something different. It was comforting, in a way, knowing that someone would be there waiting, no matter when he showed up. The day was still young, and heading over in the afternoon wouldn't hurt, he mused.

"Haynie, Haynie? Are you even listening?" Rachel's voice broke through his thoughts.

Haynes turned his gaze to her. Up close, he noticed how pale she still looked, a sickly shade of white.

"Yeah," he murmured in a low voice. "I know."

Rachel felt a pang in her heart. If Haynes really didn't want to leave, he wouldn't have said just "I know." She bit her lip. He was still thinking about going to see Stella.

She glanced at Jasper, who caught her look and gave her a reassuring nod. Jasper stood behind Haynes. "Hey, Haynie, why don't you keep Rachel company for a bit? I'll go check with the doctor and see how she's doing."

Haynes nodded absentmindedly. About ten minutes later, Jasper returned with the doctor.

The doctor had a serious expression. "Ms. Pearce's vitals are off. We need to run some more tests."