Reclaimed By My Ex-husband-Chapter 290: You saved her?

Chapter 290: You saved her?
Nathaniel stared at her, speechless. He had been trying to confess his mistakes, to explain his regrets, not accuse her of anything. Why was everything coming out so wrong?
"I’m not blaming you," he insisted softly but urgently. "Yes, I’m upset with Nora. She shouldn’t have lied. She should’ve told me the truth. But I can’t hold anger toward someone who has gone. She gave me a beautiful life while she lived. She gave me a son. How could I hate her? Still... learning the truth hurt. I can’t pretend it didn’t."
He drew a shaky breath. "We have been through so much already—misunderstandings, fights, danger... what has not happened? But somehow, we are still standing together. That’s what matters. Let’s leave the bitterness behind, Zara. Let’s begin again."
Zara looked away, conflicted. This was everything she had secretly hoped for—the truth finally coming out. But the pain he had caused her, especially when he handed her those divorce papers, still felt like a deep wound. Even if it had been a part of his plan, the heartbreak had been real.
"Things that break don’t just fix themselves overnight," she murmured.
Nathaniel’s chest tightened. "Please, Zara... don’t shut me out. Give me one more chance. I swear I won’t hurt you again."
Before Zara could respond, a sharp voice cut through the air.
"You? What are you doing here?" Bree barked as she marched into the room, glaring at Nathaniel. "You are not welcome here. Get out."
Nathaniel’s expression darkened instantly. He wasn’t someone who tolerated disrespect. "I’m here to talk to my wife," he said coldly. "You don’t have the authority to throw me out."
"She isn’t your wife anymore," Bree shot back. "You are the one who divorced her. Did you forget?"
Nathaniel’s jaw tightened, irritation flashing across his face. He refused to justify himself to her. "You’ve always been a terrible influence on her," he said sharply. "You act like her friend, but you constantly push her in the wrong direction. You kept fueling her anger and encouraging her to break our marriage."
"You—" Bree’s face flushed with fury, ready to explode, but Nathaniel cut her off again.
"A real friend would guide her, not mislead her. But you don’t want her happy. You want her miserable. That’s why you kept poisoning her mind against me."
Bree sucked in a harsh breath. "I turned her against you?" she fired back. "You pushed her away. You shattered her heart. You are the reason she had to walk away. I was there every time she fell apart. If you loved her so much, why didn’t you show up at the hospital? Where were you when she was trapped in that fire?"
"I was—" Nathaniel began, ready to reveal that he was the one who had rescued Zara from the flames. But before he could finish, Zara’s strained voice broke between them.
"Stop..." she gasped, clutching her chest. "Stop arguing..."
Her chest tightened painfully, taking her breath away. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead as her complexion turned ghostly pale.
Nathaniel panicked. "Zara!" He rushed to her and wrapped his arms around her. "What’s wrong? Talk to me."
Zara could barely manage a whisper. "I... can’t breathe..."
"Stay with me. I’m taking you to the hospital." Without wasting a second, Nathaniel swept her into his arms and bolted toward the door.
"I’m coming too," Bree yelled, hurrying after them.
The drive to the hospital passed in a frantic haze. The moment they arrived, the staff rushed Zara into the emergency unit.
Nathaniel paced the corridor relentlessly, his hands trembling with anxiety. Bree sat nearby, restless and fuming. Each time her eyes landed on him, her anger only grew.
"Why did you keep her in the dark?" she snapped. "Do you have any idea how badly it broke her when she learned everything was just part of your plan?"
Nathaniel stopped pacing, disbelief flickering across his face. "She knew?"
"Yes," Bree shot back. "Liam told her everything. After that, she was even more devastated. She felt you never trusted her, never truly cared."
"That’s not true," Nathaniel retorted. "I love her. Everything I did was for her safety."
Bree let out a harsh, mocking laugh. "Love? If that’s love, then God save her. You nearly destroyed her career. You let Riya humiliate her, threaten her... that woman even locked her in a burning office and tried to kill her. And all of it happened because you backed Riya. You weren’t there for Zara when she needed you."
"I was always there," he pressed.
"Oh, please," Bree scoffed. "You didn’t save her from the fire. You didn’t show up at the hospital when she was critical."
"I did save her," Nathaniel exploded, his voice booming through the hallway. "I pulled her out of that burning building."
Bree stared at him, stunned. Her mouth fell open in shock. ’He saved Zara?’
She remembered Zara saying Nathaniel breaking into the office and carrying her out. Bree had assumed Zara was hallucinating from the smoke and trauma.
But she had been wrong. Nathaniel had been there.
Then why had he vanished afterward? Why didn’t he take her to the hospital?
"At that moment, I couldn’t stay with her," Nathaniel said tightly. "I had to deal with Zachary first. That’s why I left. But I made sure the best doctors were assigned to her case."
Bree’s eyes widened even more. She hadn’t expected that. "So... you already know she is pregnant."
Nathaniel froze. The words hit him like a blow. He didn’t know. A sickening wave of guilt swept over him, hollowing him out from the inside.
After saving her from the fire, he left her alone. He hadn’t taken her to the hospital. He hadn’t checked on her condition.
Without realizing it, he had endangered both her life and their unborn child.
The door to the emergency room clicked open, snapping him from his spiraling thoughts. He turned instantly as the doctor walked out, and he rushed forward.
"How is she?" he asked, voice trembling with panic.
The doctor let out a weary sigh. "I advised her to remain admitted for a few days," she said. "She is weak, and the fetus is delicate. But she insisted on being discharged earlier."
Her next words sent a chill down his spine.
"You brought her in just in time. If you had been even a few minutes later, we might not have been able to save the baby."
Nathaniel felt a cold shiver crawl through him. The mere possibility of losing their child again left him terrified.
"Both the mother and the fetus are stable now," the doctor continued. "But she is physically fragile and emotionally distressed. She needs careful handling."
Nathaniel nodded quickly. "Thank you... thank you for saving them. I’ll take care of her."
"She’ll be shifted to her room shortly. You can visit her then."
With that, the doctor walked away, leaving Nathaniel standing there, shaken to the core.
Nathaniel’s knees buckled, and he collapsed into the nearest chair as if every ounce of strength had drained out of him.
’Zara could have miscarried again. We could have lost our baby.’
His hands trembled against his thighs. A cold sweat clung to his skin.
Bree watched him quietly. She had never seen him this shaken, this pale, this devastated. Her anger gradually ebbed, replaced by reluctant sympathy.
"She is going to be alright," she said gently.
Nathaniel lifted his head, disbelief flickering in his eyes. She was being kind to him? A moment ago, she was tearing him apart for hurting Zara. Now she was offering comfort. The sudden shift caught him off guard.
"I can’t believe it," he muttered. "You are comforting me?"
Bree huffed in annoyance. "I’m not your enemy, Nathaniel. I only argue with you because of how you treat Zara. She is my best friend. If she is hurting, I hurt with her. And most of the time, you are the reason behind her tears. Obviously, I’d resent you."
She looked aside, slightly embarrassed, before continuing, "But I didn’t know you were the one who saved her. If you treat her right, I have no issue with you. Hurt her again..." She shot him a fierce glare, "and I’ll be the first one you’ll have to face."
"Then stop poisoning my wife’s mind against me, and I’ll stop being hostile toward you."
"You—" Bree started, ready to argue, but she forced herself to calm down. "Whatever. I’m not fighting with you now. I’m letting this slide because you saved her. But upset her again, and we are going to have a problem."
"As if I’m afraid," Nathaniel muttered under his breath.
Bree squinted at him. "Did you say something?"
Nathaniel let out an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes. "The air here has turned toxic. I can’t breathe." He pushed himself to his feet and started to walk away.
But he only managed a few steps before his phone buzzed. He stopped and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Jaxon has been caught," Roberto ed grimly on the other end. "During interrogation, he confessed. He admitted he set Madam Zara’s office on fire to take revenge."
Nathaniel’s jaw clenched. He wanted nothing more than to tear Jaxon apart with his own hands, but leaving Zara alone wasn’t an option. He wouldn’t.
"Hand him over to the police," he ordered coldly. "But make sure he regrets his choices first."
"Understood."