Reclaimed By My Ex-husband-Chapter 306: Nathaniel is in a coma

Two days had passed since the anniversary party. Nathaniel’s surgery had been successful, yet he still lay unconscious.

Zara’s heart ached as she sat beside his bed, watching his still form. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t erase the doctor’s words from her mind.

’The wound itself isn’t deep, but the blade was laced with poison. We administered the antidote, but the toxin had already spread through his system. He has slipped into a coma. His condition is critical. We’ve done everything medically possible. Now only prayer can help.’

Fear clawed at her chest. The thought of losing him was unbearable. Tears streamed down her face.

"Nathaniel... how long are you going to sleep like this?" she whispered. "Grandma is gone. She was shot. She died right there." Her voice trembled. "Today was her funeral. Everyone was there, except you..."

Her words broke apart, forcing her to pause.

"Everyone missed you," she continued, her voice barely audible. "People were asking about you." A sob tore from her chest. "I told them you would wake up soon. I believed it."

She clasped his hand tightly, pressing it against her cheek. "I missed you. I miss you so much. Please... wake up."

She hoped to feel a movement. But there was nothing. Nathaniel remained static. There was not even a flutter of his eyelashes.

Her heart began to pound wildly. She was afraid he wouldn’t wake up again.

"Nathaniel. Please don’t do this to me. Don’t scare me, okay?" she pleaded. "The baby is growing. I felt it move. Don’t you want to feel it?"

She searched his face for any sign of waking up. Yet, she could see no movement.

The doctor’s warning from that morning rang loudly in her head.

’If he doesn’t wake up in the next twenty-four hours, the coma may last a long time. Talk to him. He can hear you.’

She recalled the doctor’s warning this morning. ’If he doesn’t wake up in the next 24 hours, he may stay in the coma for a long time. So talk to him. Maybe he will wake up after listening to you.’

Fear tightened her chest. Cold sweat dampened her skin. She grew desperate.

"Are you even listening to me? You promised you’d never leave me. You said you loved me. Was that a lie?"

Nathaniel heard her.

Her voice reached him like a distant echo, pulling at him through thick, suffocating shadows. He wanted to respond. He tried to open his eyes. Tried to lift his hand. But his body felt heavy, unmovable, as if chained beneath deep water. The heaviness dragged him back into the darkness.

Her sobs cut through the darkness.

He wanted to tell her not to cry and assure her that he would always support her, protect her. Yet he couldn’t utter a word. He tried to fight the darkness, but it clung to him mercilessly.

The helplessness tightened his chest.

Zara fought to hold back her tears. "If you don’t open your eyes right now, I’ll leave," she said sternly. "I’ll end this marriage."

She hoped that her words would be enough to jolt him awake.

Nothing.

"I mean it, Nathaniel." Her voice rose in desperation. "If you keep lying there like this, I’ll go far away. I’ll take our children with me, and you’ll never find us. Never."

"Have you decided this already?" Another voice boomed inside the room.

Zara spun around, startled, and saw Liam standing at the doorway.

"Liam?" She quickly wiped at her tears, trying to compose herself.

"I heard you talking about leaving," he said calmly. "Are you serious?"

Zara’s gaze drifted back to Nathaniel. She had said those cruel words only to provoke him, to shake him awake. If she kept up the act, maybe it would stir something in him.

"Yes," she replied, forcing firmness into her voice. "I want to leave this place and start over somewhere else. I’ll take Zane with me."

"That’s perfect," Liam said with a faint grin. "Then I’ll make you the head of my overseas studio."

Zara silently begged for a reaction from Nathaniel, for any sign at all.

There was nothing.

Disappointment crashed over her, crushing what little strength she had left. She could no longer keep pretending. She stood up abruptly and went out.

Her words exploded inside Nathaniel’s head. The darkness that had wrapped around him shattered violently.

’Don’t leave,’ he screamed inside his head.

His chest felt as though it were tearing apart from the inside, breath trapped somewhere he couldn’t reach. He tried to shout her name, but no sound came. His body remained locked, heavy.

"Zara..." Liam called after her, intending to stop her, but she was already gone.

He didn’t follow right away.

Instead, he remained where he was, slowly turning toward Nathaniel. He knew Zara wouldn’t truly leave. She never could. Those words had been spoken to provoke Nathaniel, to drag him back from the edge.

"You heard her, didn’t you?" Liam tilted his head slightly. "She is leaving you. And honestly, I understand her. She is young. Talented. Why should she waste her life waiting for a man trapped in a coma?"

He took a few steps closer to the bed. "She has a future to think about, children to raise. She can’t stay beside someone who might never wake up. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of her. I’ll marry her and raise your children as my own."

He leaned down, his voice dropping to a near whisper. "You handed her to me yourself. I’m just seizing the opportunity. Zara will finally be mine."

Straightening, he glanced toward the door. "Zara—wait for me. I’m coming."

With that, he walked out.

The door closed.

Nathaniel’s fingers twitched. His lashes fluttered faintly, his once-steady breathing turning uneven, rushed.

The thought of Zara leaving him, of Liam stepping into his place, sent a violent surge through him. Something inside him snapped.

His pulse spiked as fear crushed him from within.

’No...She can’t be his. I have to wake up.’

"Zara..." His lips trembled as he tried to call her name. The sound was trapped in his throat. His brow furrowed, jaw tightening as though he were trying hard to speak.

’Come back. Don’t walk away.’

His eyeballs shifted beneath closed lids. He struggled to break free, to reach her, to beg her to come back. But the darkness tightened its grip, an invisible force dragging him down, refusing to let him escape.

He could see a door at the end, bright light flooding that side. He knew he had to cross the distance and walk through the door to the brightness. But the moment he wanted to move forward, something pulled him back. His legs felt heavy. They wouldn’t move.

’Zara... I’m trapped here. Can you hear me? Don’t go.’

Nathaniel strained against the invisible force holding him down. Summoning every shred of strength he had left, he forced himself forward. His legs felt heavy, dragging through thick darkness as he struggled toward the door.

’I’m coming. Wait for me. Please, don’t leave.’

Suddenly, voices broke through the haze.

"The patient’s heart rate is spiking," someone said urgently. "He is convulsing. Call the doctor."

Nathaniel didn’t know who was speaking. He didn’t care. His entire focus was fixed on the door ahead. He had to reach it. He had to break free from this darkness, no matter the cost.

Outside, the sudden burst of activity sent a chill through Zara.

Her heart clenched as she saw doctors rushing into the room.

’What is happening?’ Fear clawed at her chest.

The moment a nurse hurried out, Zara rushed forward. "What happened?" she asked breathlessly. "Is my husband alright?"

"Excuse me, ma’am—please step aside," the nurse said briskly, already moving away.

Zara’s fear deepened. ’Why does she look so shaken? Why won’t anyone answer me?’

She took a step toward the room, determined to see for herself. Just then, another nurse rushed out and stopped her.

"You can’t go in. Please stay back."

"I need to know how my husband is," Zara pleaded.

"Ma’am, please let us do our job. You are blocking the way," the nurse hurried off.

Zara stood frozen, dread and frustration twisting together inside her.

"What’s going on?" she cried. "Why won’t anyone tell me how he’s doing?"

"Calm down." Liam appeared beside her, his hand guiding her toward a chair. "Come. Sit here."

She allowed herself to be led away, but her eyes never left the door. Her anxiety only intensified as she watched doctors and nurses hurry in and out of the room.

"I was just there with him," she whispered shakily. "He was sleeping so peacefully. What happened all of a sudden?"

Liam’s face had gone pale. He knew this was his fault. He had crossed a line by saying those words. Shame weighed heavily on his chest as he watched Zara cry. He had never meant to hurt Nathaniel. He had only wanted to shake him awake.

Who could have imagined it would turn this dangerous?

If anything happened to Nathaniel, he would never forgive himself, nor would he know how to face Zara again.

"Hey... Don’t lose hope. He might just be struggling to wake up." The words were meant as much for himself as for her.

Zara looked at him hopefully. "Really?"

He forced a smile. "Yes. That has to be it." He clung to the thought, needing it to be true.

Zara fell silent, thinking it over. ’Maybe he heard me,’ she thought. ’Maybe he panicked when I said I’d leave.’

If that were true, then her cruel words had worked. He might wake up soon.

Still, fear lingered.

"I hope so," she murmured. "But what if his condition gets worse?"

Liam swallowed hard, dread tightening his throat. "No—no. That won’t happen. He is strong. He’ll pull through."