Married To My Ex's Brother, Reborn Miraculously-Chapter 156: A call from the hospital

Anne’s face went pale, her throat tightening. It felt like the air had been knocked from her lungs.

"I-I’m coming," she stammered, her hand trembling slightly as she clutched the phone. "Please... make sure he is alright."

Anne grabbed her bag. As she turned to rush out, Denis reached for her arm, gently stopping her.

"Anne—what’s wrong? Why are you crying?" he asked with genuine concern.

"It’s my father," she choked out. "He is in the ICU. I have to get to the hospital."

"I’ll take you," he offered.

Fear twisted in her gut as her mind raced. The confrontation with Denis was forgotten in an instant. All that mattered now was her father.

She didn’t protest. She nodded quickly, wiping her eyes.

"Come on," he said, guiding her toward the elevator.

Megan paused mid-step as her eyes caught sight of Anne and Denis walking swiftly down the corridor and stepping into the elevator together. Her brows furrowed in surprise.

"Is that... Denis? What is he doing here? And where the hell is he going with Anne?"

The sight baffled her. As far as she knew, Anne had once worked under Denis, and if Lorie’s gossip was to be believed, Anne had used her charms on him and ended up getting fired because of it.

A mocking smile tugged at Megan’s lips. "Denis is about to get married, and here you are, Anne, clinging to him. Honestly, can’t you survive a day without a guy wrapped around you?"

Rolling her eyes in disgust, Megan strutted away, a sour taste of envy lingering beneath her contempt.

At the hospital...

Anne burst through the entrance, her eyes scanning desperately. Denis followed closely.

She didn’t slow down until she reached the ICU, where she immediately flagged down a nurse.

"I’m Anne," she said, voice trembling with urgency. "I got a call... my father—he was brought into the ICU."

The nurse gave her a quick, assessing look. "Mr. Paule’s family?"

"Yes, I’m his daughter," Anne confirmed, barely holding herself together. "How is he?"

"He is stable now," the nurse said calmly. "The doctor is with him. Please have a seat and wait here." She walked away.

With a heavy breath, Anne sank into one of the nearby chairs, the adrenaline draining from her body. Her shoulders slumped, and a small wave of relief passed through her, though the worry hadn’t left her eyes.

"Don’t stress too much," Denis said gently, taking the seat beside her. "Your dad is going to be alright."

Anne turned to him, her expression softening slightly. "Thank you, Denis. If you hadn’t brought me here so fast..." She trailed off, then added firmly, "You should go now. I’ll be fine."

"We are family now," Denis replied earnestly. "I’m not going to leave you alone here." He pulled out his phone. "I’ll call Augustine—"

"No," Anne interrupted quickly. "He is probably in the middle of his meeting. Let’s not disturb him."

Her quick response made Denis pause. He quietly slipped his phone back into his pocket, clearly pleased. With no Augustine around, he would be able to spend more time with her.

"Then what about your stepmother? Are you going to let her know?"

"I’ll call her later," Anne murmured, her gaze fixed anxiously on the ICU doors. "I want to hear from the doctor first."

She clasped her hands together tightly, trying to keep her fear from spilling out again.

They waited in a thick, uneasy silence. Anne sat tensely, her fingers twisting with anxiety. Beside her, Denis kept stealing glances, itching to pick up their earlier conversation. But something about her expression—the raw worry in her eyes—kept him quiet. For now, just being by her side was enough. It gave him hope. She wasn’t pushing him away.

To Denis, this moment felt like an opening—a chance to be her support. He told himself he would wait patiently, play the role she needed now, and then slowly make space for himself in her heart again, replacing Augustine.

Anne’s focus remained solely on her father. Every passing second felt like an eternity. Finally, the ICU door opened, and the doctor stepped out.

Anne jumped to her feet. "Doctor!" she called, hurrying to him. "What happened? I thought his condition was stable. Did something go wrong?"

The doctor gave a reassuring nod. "He likely experienced a nightmare. This is a good sign. It means his brain is responding. If everything continues progressing, he might wake up within a day or two."

Relief broke across her face. "Thank you... Thank you so much, Doctor."

He gave a polite nod. "We’ll keep monitoring him closely. Any changes, we’ll inform you."

As the doctor walked away, Anne pressed her hand against her chest and exhaled deeply, her whole body loosening from its tightly wound state. "I can’t wait to see him open his eyes," she whispered.

"He will," Denis said gently, rising beside her. "You need to keep your strength up for him. Come on, let’s get you something to eat. I know you haven’t had lunch."

"I’m not hungry," Anne replied quietly.

"Anne, you won’t help him by starving yourself. You need energy to take care of him." He reached out and gently took her hand. "There is a café nearby. Let’s just grab something small."

But she pulled her hand away. "I don’t want to go anywhere."

He held his hands up in surrender. "Alright. Stay here then. I’ll go and bring something back for you."

Without waiting for her response, Denis turned and strode off purposefully down the corridor.

Anne slumped back into the chair, her body heavy with exhaustion. After a moment, she pulled out her phone, hesitated, then dialed Patricia.

"You ungrateful brat." The voice on the other end exploded before Anne could even speak. "After destroying your sister’s life, you have the nerve to call me? Do you even know what kind of misery Lorie is in? She lost her job because of you. She can’t even afford basic things now. Is that what you wanted? Are you happy now?"

Anne’s fingers trembled, but her voice turned sharp, icy. "You know nothing but how to point fingers. It’s you and Lorie who tried to ruin me. You both tried to push me into marrying Robert. If I hadn’t been smart that day, I would’ve ended up in a nightmare I might never have escaped. And you would have stood there smiling, mocking me."

Her voice cracked, but she held steady. "But your plan backfired, and now that I turned the game on you, you are playing the victim."

"You... you—" Patricia boiled with rage, yet unable to form words. She sputtered in disbelief.

Anne cut her off, "I didn’t call to argue. I’m calling to tell you—Papa is in the ICU. He had an episode. The doctors said he might wake up soon. Come if you want to see him."

Without giving Patricia a chance to respond, she hung up. Her arm dropped to her lap as the phone slipped from her fingers. The anger dissolved, leaving only a crushing weight in her chest. Tears rolled down her cheeks silently. Her heart throbbed with grief.