"The truth is, I came back for someone important. I thought seeing him again would be difficult, but it seems fate had other plans."
Patrick's voice cut through the air, cold as cracked ice.
"Maybe in that person's eyes, your return is nothing but trouble."
Edith's face went white. She stopped talking.
I'd just been savoring a flicker of sweetness over Patrick's loyalty when I noticed his hands on the steering wheel. His knuckles were bone-white, veins standing out like cords.
A heaviness settled over my chest for no reason I could name. Instinctively, I cracked the window open, desperate for a breath of fresh air.
The gap was barely an inch wide before Edith erupted into a violent coughing fit.
Patrick's expression tightened. He shot me a glare and slammed the window shut.
His voice was angrier than I had ever heard it.
"Tracey! You're a nurse, for God's sake. You don't know that a woman who just gave birth can't be exposed to cold air?"
I apologized in a small voice, my heart pierced by a thousand invisible needles.
There was a time when he'd taken my side just like that.
At a family dinner, his half-brother had played a cruel little game with me. The moment I reached for something with my chopsticks, a plate of picked-over leftovers would slide right in front of me, perfectly timed.
Patrick noticed the malice. He flipped the entire table.
In the stunned, fearful silence that followed, he said, ice-cold, "If nobody wants to eat properly, then nobody eats."
After that, no one in the family dared disrespect me again.
I never imagined the next time I'd see that same ferocity, it would be aimed at me, warning me not to mistreat the person he cared about.
Edith suppressed her cough and spoke up gently.
"Patrick, don't talk to her like that. My health has always been fragile. It's not her fault."
As if realizing his tone had been too harsh, a flash of irritation crossed Patrick's face. He lowered his voice in apology.
"Sorry, babe. I'm just in a rush. Is there anything you've had your eye on lately?"
The implication was clear: he'd foot the bill.
When I ignored him, Patrick slammed his foot on the gas. His expression darkened like a storm cloud.
His voice turned cold. "I'm taking you to the hospital first, so you can't try to pin anything on my wife."