Chapter 9 Blood
669 Words
"What happened?"
"Julian…" Elara immediately ran into his arms, clinging to him with teary eyes.
"I was feeding Sera some porridge, and she suddenly lost her temper and knocked the bowl over. Look, my hand is red from the burn…"
Julian glanced at her hand and frowned at once.
"Seraphina, what are you doing now?" he demanded. "Why are you taking your anger out on Elara? You were unconscious. Do you know how worried she was? She worried about you all day. And this is how you repay her? Bullying her like this? Is this how you act as a sister?"
When pain reached its peak, it turned into numbness. Seraphina said nothing.
Enduring the burning pain on her thigh, she rose slowly and walked toward the bathroom step by step.
Julian stared at her indifferent back. "Seraphina, you…"
"Julian." She stopped walking. Her eyes reddened where he could not see, yet her voice remained calm. "The last person I want to see is you. Please leave."
A furious slam of the door echoed behind her. Seraphina turned and looked in the direction he had gone.
In the end, tears fell. She remained in the hospital for another week before being discharged. Before leaving, she went to see her attending physician.
Vincent Gray looked at her with quiet pity. "Ms. Vale, regarding the organ donation agreement, you may cancel it anytime if you change your mind."
Seraphina shook her head calmly. "Dr. Gray, may I ask you for one favor?"
"Go ahead."
"Could you please make sure no one knows that I am donating my heart?"
Vincent hesitated. "That may be difficult to keep entirely secret, but I will do my best."
"Thank you, Dr. Gray." After leaving the hospital, Seraphina walked slowly down the street.
At the corner stood a bridal boutique. The reflection in the display window showed her pale, exhausted face.
What surfaced in her mind, however, was a memory from years ago, when she had passed by this very shop with Julian.
Back then, the elegant wedding gowns inside had seemed like unreachable luxuries. Yet Julian had possessed a heart that loved her more than anything in the world.
He had held her hand and promised that one day, when he earned enough money, he would give her the grandest wedding. He would let her wear the most expensive gown and become his most beautiful bride under the envy of everyone.
Seraphina smiled at the memory. But the smile slowly faded, and her eyes turned red.
She had eventually married him. There had been no wedding. There had not even been a simple white veil. She had become the most humiliated bride in the world.
On their wedding night, he had brought another woman into their bridal room. He had made love to that woman while forcing Seraphina to kneel outside the door and listen. Afterward, he had ordered her to clean up for the woman.
For three years, he had humiliated her in endless ways.
Her phone suddenly rang, pulling her back to reality. She glanced at the screen. It was an unfamiliar number.
"Is this Ms. Seraphina?"
"Yes."
"Is Julian your husband?"
"Yes. What happened?"
"He was in a car accident and has been taken to Central Hospital by ambulance."
For a brief moment, her mind went blank. Her phone slipped from her hand.
She did not bother picking it up. She rushed to the roadside and flagged down a taxi.
"Central Hospital. Please hurry."
Outside the emergency room, Seraphina saw Vincent.
"How is Julian?" she asked breathlessly.
"Mr. Croft has lost a significant amount of blood. We are waiting for a compatible blood type."
"Use mine," she said immediately. "My blood type matches his."
"That is not advisable, Ms. Vale. Given your condition, donating blood would be dangerous for you."
"Dr. Gray, I'm begging you." She almost dropped to her knees. "I do not have many days left anyway. But I cannot let anything happen to him. Dr. Gray, please save him."
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