Chapter 3
1272 Words
The accident happened on a Wednesday.
That morning, I went to the hospital for a prenatal checkup. The doctor said everything looked fine, and the baby was healthy.
I held the ultrasound printout and looked at the tiny outline on it, warmth filling my chest.
I wanted to send Adrian a photo, but after a moment, I gave up.
Lately, he had been with Isabella every day, in meetings, on business trips, or at dinner engagements, as if there was no room left for me in his life.
At 3:00 p.m., cramps started low in my abdomen.
At first, it was only a dull ache, but it grew sharper and sharper.
It felt as if someone were twisting a knife in my stomach.
I curled up on the sofa, cold sweat soaking through my clothes.
I picked up my phone and called Adrian, but he didn't answer. I tried again, only to get the same silence.
It was the same after more than 20 calls.
Gritting my teeth, I found his assistant's number.
The assistant answered, "Mr. Delorme is in a video conference with Miss Montclair. He can't take calls right now."
"My stomach... it hurts..." My voice shook. "Can you ask him to take the call?"
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Delorme. The meeting is very important. Should I call an ambulance for you instead?"
"No... forget it."
I hung up and dialed 911.
While I waited for the ambulance, the pain nearly knocked me unconscious.
Blood ran down my thighs and soaked into the sofa cushion.
I clutched my phone and kept calling Adrian, over and over, but every call went unanswered until the ambulance finally arrived.
I was rushed into the emergency room. After the examination, the doctor said my condition was critical and that surgery had to begin immediately.
"We need a surgical consent form signed by a family member," the doctor said. "Where is your husband?"
"He's... he's in a meeting..."
"Call him and get him here ASAP!"
I called Adrian once again.
This time, someone finally answered.
But it wasn't him.
"Serena?" Isabella's voice came through the receiver. "Adrian is in a meeting. What do you need?"
"I'm... I'm at the hospital..." My voice was so weak I could barely hear myself. "I'm having a severe hemorrhage... Put him on the phone..."
"A hemorrhage? Is it that serious? Serena, calm down first. Don't scare him. Adrian is terrified of things like this. Can you wait until his meeting is over?"
"No... Let me talk to him... Please..."
"Serena, don't get worked up. How about this? I'll contact the Delorme family's private doctor and ask him to come take a look. Don't panic. You'll be fine."
The call ended.
I stared at the words Call Ended on the screen, and my tears finally fell.
The doctor urged me from beside the bed. "Is your family here? Someone has to sign it now, or it'll be too late!"
I picked up the pen and signed the form myself.
My hand shook, and my signature came out crooked and shaky.
When I was pushed into the operating room, the clock in the corridor read 4:20 p.m.
By the time I woke again, night had fallen.
The room was quiet except for the steady beeping of the heart monitor.
By instinct, I reached for my lower abdomen.
It was flat.
There was nothing there.
"Where is my baby?" I asked.
The nurse lowered her head. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Delorme. We did everything we could."
I closed my eyes.
Tears slipped from the corners of my eyes and soaked into the pillow.
"Where is my husband?"
"Mr. Delorme hasn't arrived yet. We've already notified him."
I nodded and said nothing.
Another two hours passed before Adrian finally came.
When he pushed the door open, he was still wearing the suit from his meeting.
His tie was loose, and his hair was slightly messy.
"Serena!" He came to the bedside and took my hand. "What happened? How did you suddenly start hemorrhaging?"
I looked at his face and suddenly felt as if I were looking at a stranger.
"Why didn't you answer my calls?"
"I was in a meeting. Isabella said she would handle it..."
"She did handle it," I cut in. "She told me not to scare you."
Adrian's expression froze.
"Serena, I know you're upset. But Isabella meant well."
"Meant well?" I stared at him. "Our baby is gone, and she told me not to scare you!"
"Calm down."
"I am calm," I said. "The doctor said I won't be able to have another child."
Adrian went still. "What?"
"I won't be able to have another child," I repeated. "Your child is gone. And I can't have another one."
He was silent for a long time.
Then he said, "It's all right. We can still try. I'll ask Isabella to help you contact a specialist. She has connections in the medical field."
I looked at him and suddenly laughed.
"Isabella, Isabella, Isabella!"
"Serena, don't be like this. Isabella genuinely wants to help you."
"Enough!"
I closed my eyes. I didn't want to look at him anymore.
"Leave. I want to be alone."
Adrian stood there for a while.
In the end, he left.
The moment the door closed, I opened my eyes.
The room was quiet except for the heart monitor.
I picked up my phone and scrolled to the very bottom of my contacts.
I found the number I hadn't dialed in three years.
I pressed Call.
It rang twice before the other side picked up.
"Serena?" My father's voice was low and steady.
"Dad..." My voice trembled. "I was wrong."
There were a few seconds of silence on the other end.
"Where are you?"
"The hospital."
"I'll come get you."
"Okay."
After hanging up, I stared at the ceiling. My tears finally stopped.
I had pretended for three years.
I had endured for three years.
For a man who wasn't worth it, I had turned myself into a joke.
But now, it was over.
I picked up the wedding ring on the nightstand and turned it between my fingers.
Then I tossed it into the trash.
At 3:00 a.m., a black sedan pulled up quietly at the hospital's rear entrance.
It had no badge or license plate.
But the car alone was worth as much as a villa.
The door opened, and a middle-aged man stepped out.
He wore a dark gray handmade suit, and every strand of his hair was combed perfectly into place.
His face was stern, his eyes hawk-sharp.
He was Lucian Blackwell, the current head of Asteria's oldest underworld dynasty, and my father.
When he walked into the room, I was sitting on the bed.
I was wearing a hospital gown, my face paper-white.
He looked at me once and said nothing.
He only took off his suit jacket and draped it over my shoulders.
"Let's go."
I followed him out of the room, down the empty corridor, and out the rear entrance.
The night wind was cold. I shivered.
My father opened the car door, and I got in.
The car was warm, filled with a faint scent of leather and cedar.
After he got in, he said to the driver, "Go home."
The car started, then slipped silently into the night.
I watched the streetlights slip past outside the window. For a moment, everything felt like a dream.
"Your room is exactly as you left it," my father said suddenly. "Your clothes, your jewelry, your personal staff. Everything has been left untouched for three years."
I nodded.
"Adrian will learn who I really am."
- Writer
