He Ignored My Pleas, I Ended Our Marriage

Chapter 3

The guest room was clearly empty, but Clara had slept in my bedroom instead. Callum said she had a fever and needed a private bathroom. I sat in the living room all night.

Every time I tried to push the door open to get my documents, he stopped me. "Clara just fell asleep. Don't go in there and disturb her."

"The property deed is in the nightstand. Get it tomorrow."

"The hospital only gave me until tomorrow afternoon."

Callum rubbed the space between his brows and draped his jacket over my shoulders. "Vivian, I promise you the money will get sorted out."

"How?"

"I'll give you my paycheck as soon as it comes in, and borrow the rest from friends."

He brought me a glass of warm water and set down two painkillers. These small, considerate gestures were like a fig leaf—they couldn't hide the fact that he was driving me into a corner.

At 6 a.m., the hospital called. Yvonne's condition had worsened, and she'd been rushed to the ICU. I shoved Callum aside and rushed into the bedroom to grab my documents. Clara was lying in our bed, clutching the pillow he usually used. The jade bracelet was gone.

"Where's the bracelet?"

She sat up, bleary-eyed. "Callum took it off for me last night. I don't know where he put it."

The nightstand drawer had been emptied out. The property deed and both of my bank cards were gone. Callum followed me in and blocked my path. "I'm keeping them safe for you, so you don't do something impulsive like sell the house."

"That's my premarital property."

"Precisely because it's yours, I can't stand by and watch you make a stupid mistake. Your mom's getting on in years. The surgery success rate isn't high to begin with. If you really sell the house, where will you live afterward?" He lowered his voice and explained patiently.

"What if it were your mom lying in that hospital?"

"What is that supposed to mean? Are you wishing my mom dead?" Callum's face went cold instantly.

Clara hurriedly grabbed his arm. "Callum, don't blame Vivian. It's all my fault... Please don't be unhappy because of me, okay?"

I ignored her, fixed my gaze on Callum, and said, "The person in the ICU is named Yvonne Bennett."

His phone rang right at that moment. Clara threw herself at him, crying and screaming. "Callum, the hospital said my dad passed out from the pain again!"

Callum didn't catch what I'd said. He turned and led her away. When I caught up to them at the elevator, I held up a photo of Yvonne's hospital wristband right in front of his face. "Look carefully, whose name is this?"

The elevator doors slid shut. Callum barely glanced at it before hurriedly pressing the button. "Stop making a scene. I have to go save someone first."

"Your own mother is waiting for you to save her life!"

"Vivian, there's a limit to how far you'd go with your lies."

The elevator doors closed completely. When I got back to the hospital, Dr. Reed told me that she had developed acute kidney failure. The scheduled surgery couldn't be delayed any longer. "Where's her next of kin?"

"She only has one son."

"Tell him to come here immediately and sign the consent forms."

I called him 17 times, every single one went unanswered. Dr. Reed called from the hospital's landline, and it finally went through. "Mr. Bennett, this is a doctor from City Central Hospital. Mrs. Yvonne Bennett is in critical condition. We need you here immediately."

Callum cut him off impatiently. "Can't you scammers come up with some new tricks for once?"

The line went dead. Yvonne regained consciousness for a brief moment and asked the nurse to record a voice message for her. "Callum, I've been burdening Vivian. Don't blame her..." Before she could finish recording, the cardiac monitor suddenly blared a sharp alarm.

Dr. Reed spun around and rushed into the room. Yvonne's hand slipped from the edge of the bed and fell heavily in front of me.