The One Left Behind
1228 Words
Mara’s POV
The world didn’t come back in a soft blur this time.
It slammed into me.
Voices. Footsteps. The sharp sting of disinfectant. The cold metal of the bed under my palms.
But none of that mattered.
Only one sentence burned through my skull.
“We could only save one.”
My breathing broke and My lips trembled. My fingers clawed at the sheet and as much as I wanted to cry, tears were lost from me.
“No… no,” I whispered, shaking my head over and over. “Please. Not my baby… Please no…”
The doctor’s hand touched my shoulder. “Mara—listen to me. Your baby is alive.”
My entire body froze.
I stared at him, barely breathing.
Alive?
He nodded gently. “You were fading fast. Your blood pressure dropped. We could only stabilize one patient at a time. That’s all I meant.”
My chest caved with a sob. My vision blurred.
Alive.
He’s alive.
“Is he okay?” My voice cracked. “Is my son okay? Please—I need to see him. I need—”
“He’s in the NICU,” the doctor said softly. “He’s very fragile, but he’s fighting.”
I pressed my palm over my mouth to keep from screaming. My shoulders shook uncontrollably.
“Where’s my husband?” I whispered. “Did he come? Is Adrian waiting outside?”
The doctor hesitated.
“There’s no husband here. In fact there’s no one here. You arrived alone. A driver dropped you off and left before we got his name.”
He truly left me alone.
Even at the hospital.
That was when tears rolled down from my cheeks.
A cold shiver crawled down my spine.
Adrian was the only one who stood beside me when everyone referred to me as a witch after my parents death. I remembered how overjoyed he was when I first broke the news to him that I was pregnant after trying for about five years.
Adrian didn’t come. Not even after I collapsed outside his gate.
My heart cracked. I tasted metal.
Before I could drown in it, the door burst open hard enough to slam against the wall.
“Mara!”
Elias stumbled inside, rain dripping off his jacket, hair plastered to his forehead.
He looked wild—terrified—like someone had ripped out a piece of his soul.
He rushed to my bedside and grabbed my face between his hands.
“Jesus Christ, Mara—are you okay? Are you hurt? Why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t you tell me you were in labor?!”
I let out a weak, broken laugh. “Elias… I tried. You blocked me.”
He froze and furrowed his brows.
“What?”
“You… blocked me,” I whispered again. “Your number. Your messages. Everything.”
His jaw hardened. His eyes darkened with something dangerous.
“I didn’t,” he said, voice low. “I would never block you. Not even for a second.”
I looked away. My chest tightened. Why would he lie about something like that?
“Mara—look at me.” He gently lifted my chin. “I swear on my life, I didn’t block you.”
My throat closed. “I thought you didn’t want to be bothered.”
“No, Mara. No.” He pulled me into his chest. “I should’ve been here. I should’ve been the one driving you to the hospital. I should’ve—”
He held me tighter when my shoulders shook.
“You almost died,” he whispered, voice breaking. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”
Tears slid down my cheeks. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”
“I know.” He pressed his cheek to my hair. “But you’re not alone anymore. By the way where is Adrian? Is he not supposed to be here with you?”
My breath caught in my throat at the sound of Adrian’s name but before I could answer, the doctor saved me.
The doctor cleared his throat carefully. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but we need to discuss your baby’s initial results.”
I pulled away, wiping my face. “What results?”
“There were irregularities in his blood work,” the doctor said. “We need to repeat the test.”
My heartbeat stuttered. “Irregularities? What kind?”
“We’re not sure,” he said. “It may be a rare genetic marker.”
I grabbed the bed rail to steady myself. “Is he… is he sick?”
“We don’t know yet. That’s why we need a second test.”
Elias stepped forward aggressively. “Then run it. But stop scaring her without answers.”
The doctor looked uneasy. “There’s something else.”
A cold pit formed in my stomach. “What?”
He held out a printed form.
“This was filed earlier today.”
I stared at the words:
Request for Neonatal Paternity Confirmation
Filed by: Black Estate Representative
My fingers went numb.
“I haven’t—even given birth yet,” I whispered. “How… how could a paternity test be filed?”
Elias snatched the paper. “What the hell is this?!”
The doctor sighed. “All it takes is someone with power, money, and access.”
A tear fell. “Who filed it?”
He hesitated. “The representative used Adrian Black’s credentials.”
I felt my world tilt.
No.
No, he wouldn’t—
Would he?
Elias threw the paper onto the bed. “He humiliated you. Abandoned you. And now this? A test was filed even before birth? What kind of psycho—”
I pressed my hands to my face. “Please stop…”
Elias took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “Mara, listen to me. Something is going on. I just can’t place my hand around it but that fool Adrian is up to something!”
“I just want my baby,” I whispered. “I just want my baby…”
As if summoned, the doctor stepped out momentarily—and almost immediately a nurse rushed in, panicked.
“Doctor! We need you! Something’s wrong in the NICU!”
My heart exploded in my chest. “My baby?! What happened? Is he—”
“He’s breathing,” she said quickly. “He’s okay. But someone came asking for him.”
Elias stiffened. “Who?”
The nurse swallowed. “A man in a suit. He showed official documentation.”
My pulse hammered in my ears.
“What kind of documentation?” I demanded. “Who sent him?!”
She hesitated, looking almost afraid to speak.
“It was filed under Adrian’s family name.”
The room swayed.
I gripped the sheets as darkness rushed in from the edges.
I was totally confused. Adrian rejected me and allowed me to faint in the rain with the allegations that the baby isn’t his and now all of a sudden he wants something to do with the same baby? It all wasn’t making sense to me.
“No… no, he wouldn’t… he wouldn’t take my baby…”
Elias grabbed my arm. “Mara! Stay awake! Mara—look at me!”
But it was too late.
The world collapsed into black again.
- Writer
