Please Come Back, My Love Chapter 48

Elena: POV

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I registered the irony. This woman had just slapped me. Called me a mistake. Told me I wasn't good enough for her son.

And here I was, breaking my back to keep her heart beating.

Sirens wailed outside. Footsteps pounded up the stairs.

"Paramedics!" A man's voice. "We've got it from here."

Strong hands pulled me back. I stumbled, my legs barely holding me up. My shirt was soaked with sweat, my hands cramping.

The paramedics moved with practiced efficiency—defibrillator pads, oxygen mask, IV line. Within seconds, they had Evelyn on a stretcher.

"You did good," one of them said to me as they wheeled her past. "Real good. You might have saved her life."

I nodded numbly, watching them disappear down the service elevator.

Victoria stood frozen by the mirrors, her face white. She stared at me like she'd never seen me before.

"You—" Her voice cracked. "You saved her."

I looked down at my hands. They were shaking. "Yeah."

"After she... after everything she said..."

"She's Julian's mother." I met Victoria's eyes. "That's all that matters."

For a long moment, we just stared at each other. Then Victoria's expression hardened.

She pulled out her phone.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Calling Julian." She was already dialing. "He needs to know his mother's in an ambulance."

*Oh god. Julian.*

My stomach dropped. He was going to think I did this. That I caused this somehow.

*She slapped me. We were arguing. And then she collapsed.*

"Victoria—" I started.

But she was already talking, her voice high and distressed.

"Julian? Thank god. You need to get to the hospital right now. Your mother collapsed. We were at Bergdorf's and—" She glanced at me, her eyes calculating. "And there was an incident. Elena was screaming at her and then she just... she fell. I don't know, Julian. I don't know what happened. Just come. Please."

She hung up.

I stared at her. "What the fuck did you just do?"

"I told him the truth." Victoria's voice was calm now. Cold. "His mother collapsed after you yelled at her."

"That's not—" My hands balled into fists. "You made it sound like I caused this."

"Didn't you?" She tilted her head. "She was fine until you started screaming."

"She slapped me first!"

"So you say." Victoria picked up her purse, checking her reflection in the mirror. "But I didn't see that. What I saw was you losing your temper. Getting in her face. Upsetting her until she collapsed."

*She's lying. She's fucking lying.*

"The saleswoman saw," I said desperately. "She'll tell the truth."

Victoria smiled. "Will she? Mrs. Sterling is one of Bergdorf's best customers. Do you really think some commission-hungry salesgirl is going to risk that relationship to defend you?"

My blood ran cold.

Because she was right. The saleswoman wouldn't back me up. Not against a Sterling.

"You're a real piece of shit," I said quietly.

"Maybe." Victoria's smile widened. "But I'm the piece of shit who's going to be by Julian's side at that hospital. While you..." She looked me up and down. "Well. We'll see what Julian decides when he hears what really happened."

---

The ambulance ride was a blur. I'd insisted on coming—pushed past the paramedic who tried to stop me, climbed in before they could close the doors.

Victoria followed, of course.

Evelyn lay unconscious on the stretcher, oxygen mask over her face. The steady beep of monitors filled the small space.

As we pulled away from Bergdorf's, Victoria leaned down close to my ear. "...thank you for being so generous. But they'll never know."

I frowned. *What the hell does that mean?*

Victoria straightened, catching my eye. She gave me a small, satisfied smile.

Something cold settled in my gut.

---

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Emergency entrance.

They wheeled Evelyn through the automatic doors while Victoria and I trailed behind. The bright fluorescent lights made everything feel surreal—the white walls, the antiseptic smell, the hurried footsteps of nurses.

"Family only past this point," a nurse said, holding up her hand.

"I'm her daughter-in-law," Victoria said immediately.

The nurse looked at me. "And you?"

"I—" My throat closed up. "I'm also... I'm married to her son."

The nurse's eyebrows rose slightly, a hint of disdain in her eyes as she looked at me, but she gestured for us both to wait in the corridor.

We stood there in silence. Victoria checked her phone, typing rapidly. I stared at the door they'd taken Evelyn through.

*Please be okay. Please.*

Not because I liked her. Not because she'd ever shown me an ounce of kindness.

But because Julian would never forgive me if she died.

Twenty minutes later, a doctor emerged—middle-aged, gray at the temples, kind eyes behind wire-rimmed glasses.

"Mrs. Sterling is stable," he said. "Thanks to the quick action of whoever performed CPR. You saved her life."

He looked between Victoria and me. "Which one of you—?"

"I did." Victoria pointed at me. "I knew CPR."

The doctor's face broke into a warm smile.

He extended his hand. "Thank you. Truly. Your quick thinking made all the difference. If she'd gone another minute without oxygen..."

He shook his head. "We'd be having a very different conversation."

‘How can she have the audacity to claim she knows CPR? I was the one who saved her.’

But relief also flooded through me. *She's okay. She's alive.*

"Can we see her?" I asked.

"Soon. We're running some tests, getting her settled. I'll come get you when—"

"Doctor?" Victoria touched his arm. "Could I speak with you? Privately?"

He glanced at me, then nodded. "Of course."

They stepped away, moving down the corridor. Victoria leaned in close, her hand still on his arm, speaking urgently.

I watched the doctor's expression change.

At first, he nodded along, professional and attentive. Then his eyebrows drew together. He glanced back at me—a quick, assessing look.

Victoria kept talking, her voice too low for me to hear. But I saw her gestures—pointing at me, touching her own chest, shaking her head sadly.

The doctor's face hardened.

When they returned, his kind eyes had turned cold.

"Miss Vance," he said stiffly. "I understand there were some... complications. Before the incident."