My Ex-Husband Begged Me to Take Him Back - Chapter 93

Chapter 93: The rescue

The smoke thickened even more as Dylan continued to move upward. He pressed a handkerchief over his nose and mouth. His every breath burned, and his eyes watered painfully, but he blinked frequently as tried to look around, hoping to see Ava.

There was no trace of her. Could she still be in the restroom?

Dylan rushed to the restroom. “Ava!” he called out, his voice echoing in the empty corridor.

Inside the restroom, Ava’s vision was hazy, and her breaths were shallow. She was on the edge of unconsciousness when a faint voice reached her ears. It was distant, muffled, but unmistakable.

She lifted her head slightly. “I’m here…” she tried to call, her voice barely a whisper.

Summoning the last bit of strength she had, she lifted a trembling hand, reaching out toward the door. She tried to knock, to make some kind of noise, but her hand dropped limply before it made contact. She could only blink weakly, hoping someone to appear and take her out of there.

“Ava!” Dylan cried out again as he finally came to the ladies’ toilet, but he found the door locked outside, proving that no one was inside. He didn’t know why he felt heavy in his heart as he looked at the closed door, his instinct asking him to open it and check inside.

He reached for the doorknob, but the metal seared his hand, and he pulled back with a gasp, clutching his burned palm.

“Ava! Are you in there?” he mused aloud. This time, he held the doorknob with the handkerchief and twisted it. With a click, the door opened. Thick smoke billowed out.

The scene inside was disturbing. Ava lay crumpled on the floor, her face pale, her chest barely rising with shallow breaths. Smoke swirled around them, stinging Dylan’s eyes and filling his lungs with heat, but he barely noticed.

His heart sank at the sight, the image of Ava’s blood-stained face from his nightmare crossing his mind.

He had that dreadful feeling that he would lose her. “No… no…” His voice shook as he knelt beside her, gently lifting her limp form into his arms. “Wake up, wake up… Ava. You can’t leave me. Do you hear me? Look at me.” He tapped on her cheeks.

Slowly, Ava’s eyes fluttered open, barely slits. She saw a blurry face looming over her. She couldn’t tell if this was real or a dream. ‘Maybe I am dying,’ she thought. ‘But Dylan! You still follow me.’

Her eyes drifted shut again, her strength fading.

Dylan’s heart twisted. A desperate, fierce determination surged through him. “I won’t let you leave me,” he growled helplessly. “You can’t die without my permission.” Scooping her up in his arms, he carried her out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Ava slowly regained consciousness, the harsh glare of the overhead light made her squint. She instinctively shut her eyes again. A tightness gripped her chest, and she was overcome by a fit of coughing.

“Easy, take it slow,” came a soothing voice, accompanied by a gentle hand rubbing her back.

She turned her head slightly, her vision clearing to reveal Ethan sitting beside her, concern etched deeply into his face. For a fleeting moment, she felt a pang of disappointment.

Wasn’t it Dylan who saved her? Had it all been a dream? The memory of him cradling her felt real, yet hazy and out of reach.

She was confused, unable to recall anything clearly. She coughed and coughed, her chest hurting.

“You scared us to death,” Ethan said. “You have been out for more than 24 hours.”

Ava glanced at him yet again, stunned. “I was asleep that long?”

Ethan nodded, his expression clouded with worry and a hint of sadness. “You inhaled a lot of smoke. Doctors were worried, but you made it.”

Ava dropped her head back onto the pillow, her gaze drifting to the ceiling. “When I was trapped in that room… I really thought that was it. I thought I’d die right there.”

Ethan studied her face, his brow furrowing with questions he seemed hesitant to ask. “Everyone else managed to get out safely. But you were the only one trapped. How did that happen? Why couldn’t you get out?”

Ava let out a deep sigh, a shiver running through her as she recalled those terrifying moments. “I don’t know. I was in the restroom when the alarm went off, so I tried to leave right away. But the door wouldn’t open. Maybe… maybe it jammed from the heat.” She paused, the memory vivid and unsettling.

“So you couldn’t open the door!” Ethan’s face held a mixture of shock and doubt.

Ava nodded weakly. “I tried everything I could to open it,” she whispered, “but it remained locked. I shouted for help…” Then her mind drifted to the blurry image she had seen before she had passed out. She didn’t know why she had the feeling that it was Dylan.

“Do you know who got me out of that restroom?” she asked, her heart fluttering with faint hope.

Ethan shrugged, sighing deeply. “I got here as soon as I could, but when I arrived, the doctors were already working on you. I’m not sure who pulled you out… maybe one of the firefighters?”

“I see,” she murmured, a slight heaviness settling over her. Her fingers fidgeted with the edge of her blanket. After a pause, she looked back at Ethan and asked hesitantly, “Did Dylan… come by to see me?”

Ethan looked at her blankly. He shook his head slowly. “Your father and I have been here by your side the entire time. He only left to rest after I insisted. But… no, Dylan hasn’t come.”

Ava’s heart sank. She looked down, trying to disguise the disappointment that clouded her face. ‘What am I even thinking? Why would he come?’ she thought, scolding herself.

In the past, Dylan had never cared for her, never looked after her even if she was sick. This was the same as before. It was foolish to think anything had changed.

All his recent gestures, the kindness, the promises—it had all been hollow, a show that was as fleeting as it was empty. But if that were true, why did her heart still ache with the disappointment of his absence?

Ava knew all too well that Dylan had no real feelings for her. And yet, despite all her reasoning, a painful ache lingered, a quiet yearning to see him she couldn’t quite shake.

“You must be hungry,” Ethan said, breaking the trail of her thoughts. “Let me get you something to eat.”

She gave a small nod, turning her head away, hoping he wouldn’t see the glimmer of unshed tears in her eyes. As soon as Ethan left, she let out a shaky breath. “Ava, you fool,” she berated herself. “You haven’t learned your lesson yet.”