When My Ex's Worst Enemy Became My Sanctuary novel Chapter 299

Dorothea slid into the car, thumb hovering over her phone as she thought about texting Latham. That’s when she saw the battery icon flashing red, barely hanging on.

She was just about to switch to Do Not Disturb to save what little juice was left when her phone lit up with an incoming call.

“Hey, my phone’s about to die. Let’s talk when I get back, I’m already on my way...”

A deafening boom cut through the air.

Both Dorothea and Latham froze on either end of the line. The call cut out, her screen going black as the battery finally gave up.

Dorothea craned her neck to see what happened and caught sight of a fuel tanker in the distance, flames roaring sky-high. “Did that just... explode on its own?”

“Looks like it,” the driver replied.

“Let’s be careful. Go around.”

As soon as she finished, Dorothea realized her phone had shut off. She’d left her charger at the hotel, and carrying a power bank wasn’t really her thing. With nothing else to do, she leaned back and closed her eyes for a quick nap.

Meanwhile, Latham was completely freaking out.

“Dorothea? Babe? Hello?”

He kept calling her, over and over, but all he got was that robotic voice telling him her phone was unavailable. Panicking, he rushed to the parking garage, checked with the front desk, and found out Dorothea had gone on a business trip to Veridian. He didn’t hesitate—he got in his car and sped onto the highway.

The sound of the explosion replayed in his head, in sync with the pounding of his heart. He could feel the worry burning in his chest. “No, nothing happened,” he whispered, trying to convince himself. “You and the baby are both okay.”

But the only thing he could really hear was the wind rushing past his windows. Everything else faded out. Just a little while ago, he’d felt on top of the world. Now, it felt like the bottom had dropped out of his life.

Dorothea, on the other hand, had managed to fall asleep. When she woke up, the car was already pulling into a service area.

“Dorothea, do you want to take a break?” the driver asked.

She rubbed her eyes, not fully awake. “Yeah. Could you help me borrow a charger or a power bank? My phone’s completely dead.”

Once she got her hands on a charger, she plugged in her phone. It took a few minutes before it powered back on, crawling along at just 1% battery.

That’s when she saw it—a notification showing 99 missed calls. Her heart skipped a beat.

Was that even possible? Who would call her 99 times?

She tapped to check and saw Latham’s name on every single one. Her chest tightened, and before she could even think about calling him back, her phone started ringing again.

“Hey, babe, are you okay? Can you hear me?” Latham’s voice came through, frantic.

Dorothea pressed her lips together, a little overwhelmed. “I’m here. I’m fine. My phone died and shut off. I’m at a service area, just got it plugged in.”

Latham was silent for a beat, then snapped to attention. “Which service area? Stay there—I’m coming right now!”

Dorothea had so much she wanted to say, but in the end, she just managed a soft, “Okay.”

The 99 missed calls had left her rattled. He must’ve been terrified something happened to her. Thinking back, she remembered the explosion as they hung up, which probably made things even worse.

She checked the time. Her phone had only been off for a little over an hour, so he’d been calling her every thirty seconds or so. She could practically feel his panic through the screen.

Half an hour later, Latham’s familiar Bugatti pulled up at the gray, crowded service area. The sleek car looked completely out of place.

He got out, walked fast toward her, and pulled her into a tight hug.

“Latham...” she whispered.

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