Chapter 5 - The Hospital Wait
Jude parked the gray sedan directly in the ambulance bay of East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, completely ignoring the massive red "NO PARKING" signs.
He escorted Hadley into the bright, chaotic emergency room. The nurses took one look at Mae, checked her oxygen levels, and immediately ushered them into a private triage room. The cold air had stabilized the baby, but she needed a steroid injection to fully stop the swelling.
For the next two hours, Hadley sat in the sterile hospital room, rocking a sleeping, safely breathing Mae in her arms.
When the doctor finally left, telling her they were cleared to go home, Hadley expected to find the waiting room empty. She assumed the billionaire CEO had dropped her off and returned to his luxurious life.
But when she walked out through the automatic doors, Jude Tolbert was still sitting in the uncomfortable plastic chairs of the waiting area.
He was holding a cup of terrible hospital coffee, staring blankly at the wall.
"Mr. Tolbert?" Hadley asked softly.
Jude looked up, quickly standing. "Is she okay?"
"Yes," Hadley nodded, tears welling in her eyes again. "The doctor said if we hadn't used the cold air and gotten here so fast, her airway would have completely closed. You... you saved my daughter's life."
"I just drove the car," Jude said quietly, looking down at the floor.
"Why did you stay?" Hadley asked, clutching her faded diaper bag. "It's Christmas Eve. Your family must be wondering where you are."
Jude looked out the hospital window into the dark night. His sharp, corporate mask slipped for just a second, revealing a profound, crushing sadness.
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"I don't celebrate Christmas," Jude whispered. "That music box you broke... it belonged to my little sister. She died of leukemia five years ago. I keep it in my office because I can't bear to look at it at home."
👉 How will Hadley react to the heartbreaking truth about the CEO's past?
