Breaking Free, Loving Again -The Flash Marriage with Mr. CEO - Chapter 703

Chapter 703: Was this because of her?

On the other side —

Arwen was behind the wheel, driving the car herself. She hadn’t had the time to ask Alfred to get the car ready. She had only grabbed the key in a rush and bolted out of the door.

The engine roared as the car tore down the street. It wasn’t late, and the city was still bustling with people and traffic. But none mattered. Whenever she saw an opening, she pressed harder on the accelerator, waving her way through.

Her chest was tight, her breathing uneven. Her eyes burned —not with tears yet, but with something heavier, something she couldn’t stop or control. She didn’t have it in her to slow down, to think, or to calm herself.

Red.

Yellow.

Green.

It didn’t matter. She broke every signal without hesitation, ignoring the blaring horns, the flashing lights, the screech of the tires as the drivers slammed their brakes to avoid her. Her grip on the steering wheel was so tight that her knuckles had gone stark white.

Her phone rang on the seat next to her, vibrating insistently. But she didn’t care to spare it even a simple glance.

All she cared about was reaching her destination as soon as she could. As fast as she could.

Her foot pressed down again, pushing the Mercedes to its limits, as if speed alone could quiet the fear gnawing inside her.

And soon, in what felt like a blur, she pulled up in front of a bright white building.

Cralens City Hospital.

Her breath caught as her eyes locked on the entrance, worry etched into her every feature. Hastily, she unbuckled her seatbelt with her fingers trembling and shoved the door open to rush out.

Inside the hospital, the sterile scent of disinfectant hit her immediately, but she didn’t pause. She looked around quickly before hurrying to the reception desk.

“Excuse me,” she said, her voice strained as she tried to get the nurse’s attention. “I am here for Mr. Idris Quinn. Could you please tell me which floor and room he has been brought into?”

The nurse glanced up, then nodded before turning to check the records. “Mr. Idris Quinn was first brought to the emergency room,” she informed after a moment. “But he is currently being shifted to the ICU. That’s on the seventh floor, to the left.”

Arwen’s heart dropped the moment she heard the word “ICU”. Her throat felt constricted. She gave a quick nod of thanks before turning and rushing towards the elevator.

The ride up felt excruciatingly slow. Each floor number lit up like a heavy reminder of how little control she had over things.

The elevator finally chimed open at the seventh floor, she stepped out, her pulse hammering in her ears.

“Ms. Quinn!”

The voice made her pause mid-step. She turned and found Robin, her father’s secretary, hurrying towards her.

She moved quickly in his direction. “How is he now?” she asked at once, her brows knitted tightly in worry, skipping all formalities.

Robin’s expression was grim. He shook his head. “His situation isn’t very favourable. He has just been shifted to the ICU, and the specialists are monitoring him closely.” He gestured towards the corridor leading to Idris’s room.

Arwen’s chest tightened painfully, a heavy blame settling over her like a shadow.

Was this because of her?”

She had told herself she no longer cared, that severing ties had freed her. But the moment she heard her father had suffered a heart attack, she had dropped everything and rushed here. And that made the truth undeniable —she still cared.

“How did it all happen?” Her voice trembled, despite her effort to keep steady. “Wasn’t he doing fine earlier?”

She just wanted to hear that it wasn’t because of her. Not because she wanted to skip the blame, but because she couldn’t bear to carry it on her.

Robin hesitated, his eyes flickering with uncertainty. It was as if he were struggling to decide whether he should tell her everything or not.

“Tell me,” Arwen pressed, reading his hesitation too well.

He exhaled slowly, lowering his gaze. “Sir hasn’t been doing well for a long time,” he admitted quietly. “Since the day you left the house, he has been … struggling. Blaming himself. Every day, every minute, every second. He has been relying heavily on medicines that weakened his body. His condition only worsened further when he suffered his first heart attack abroad, about a week ago.”

Arwen froze momentarily as she turned to look at him as if to reconfirm.

A week ago?

Robin nodded, confirming her disbelief. “Yes, Miss. Today wasn’t the first time. The doctors abroad had advised him to rest, to recover properly, but … he insisted on early discharge. He wanted to come back home as soon as possible to stop whatever was happening, but …”

The rest, Arwen could imagine. It wasn’t difficult.

He wanted to come back the very day he would have come to know about all. But the first attack hit him, and he was delayed. And when he appeared, there was nothing left to recover.

All of it must have only added to his guilt, leading to his situation today.

“Ms. Quinn, sir has been blaming himself a lot in the past days. He wanted to meet you, but he didn’t have enough courage to face you.” Robin hesitated a little, but couldn’t keep himself from telling it all. “Even today, he wanted to call you. To apologize for everything that happened at the party. But then … he couldn’t bring himself to. And that’s when he collapsed.”

Arwen’s fingers clenched, and she couldn’t hold back the tears that had been there all the while.

“I called you here because I thought Sir would want to see you. I am sorry if I have overstepped or bothered you.” Robin said quietly, his tone laced with regret.

She heard him, but didn’t respond. Instead, she walked towards the ICU. Her steps slowed as she reached the glass doors, her heart pounding painfully against her ribs.