NovelEnglish"Yes, your child's still young. If you can't go, you can't go it's not the end of the world. But you, grown man that
you are, shouldn't you know how to look after your wife by now?"
"Honestly, you look respectable enough, but how can you be so heartless?"
The crowd hurled one accusation after another, and Haynes's face darkened.
He blurted out, almost defensively, "She's not my wife."
He'd barely finished speaking before the crowd got even louder.
"She's not your wife? Then why are you carrying her around like that?"
"Exactly! If she's nothing to you, why are you the only one holding her?"
"And that little boy just now-isn't he your son? He's old enough, so you must have been married for years. If she
isn't your wife, what are you doing holding another woman like that? Are you cheating?"
Listening to this barrage of accusations, Haynes felt a surge of anger and frustration. How could they get it all so
wrong?
He instinctively glanced at Stella, hoping she wouldn't buy into their wild assumptions.
Noticing his look, Stella met his eyes.
"Mr. O'Brien, you should take Ms. Pearce to the hospital," she said coolly. "Whatever the situation, leaving a
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtwoman in her condition behind is just wrong. Besides, out of all of us, who else could she possibly rely on, if not
you?"
Haynes spoke without thinking. "You could cwith me—"
Stella cut him off. "Mr. O'Brien, with all due respect, I'm not that close to Ms. Pearce. She chere for you, and
now she's in trouble. If you won't take her yourself and expect the rest of us, strangers, to do it instead, does
that make any sense to you?"
The crowd chimed in again, voices blending together in righteous indignation. "Of course not! It's outrageous!"
"Imagine how he treats his wife at hif he's acting like this in public."
"He won't even admit she's his wife-just wants to parade around as single, trying to charm pretty women, | bet."
Under the weight of their disapproving stares, the ambulance finally arrived.
Keen piped up, "Dad, you should go. Don't worry about me-I'll be fine, | can look after myself."
Haynes fell silent.
He could only grit his teeth and climb into the ambulance, feeling every judgmental gaze burning into his back.
Just before the doors closed,
Haynes hesitated, lips parted, as if he wanted to say something to Stella. But before he could find the
words Stella had already turned and walked away without a backward glance. sw
The ambulance raced to the hospital.
Rachel, terrified that Haynes might leave her alone in the emergency room, clung desperately to his , her voice
trembling
"Haynie, please don't leaveby myself..."
"There's so much | still want to say to you..."
"I'm scared, Haynie... What if | close my eyes and never see you again..."
Haynes forced down his irritation and tried to comfort her.
Hours passed as Rachel underwent a battery of tests.
After a long round of treatment, she finally stabilized.
The doctor explained, "Ms. Pearce needs to avoid overexertion and stay away from any risky activities for now
Rest is essential-keeper spirits up and let her recover."
Once the doctor left, Rachel lowered her head in shame.
"I'm sorry, Haynie. My health keeps lettingdown and causing you trouble."
Haynes's expression was unreadable, his tone cool. "If you knew you couldn't handle it, why push yourself?"
Rachel's voice was barely a whisper. "I just didn't want to be the one to spoil everyone's good time."
He replied, voice soft but firm, "No one would have blamed you for sitting out."
Rachel nodded meekly. "I understand... | won't do it again."
Haynes glanced at his watch. "Since you're alright, I'll be heading out now."
Rachel looked up, startled. "Haynie, where are you going? You're not leavinghere alone, are you?"
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