He Said the Divorce Was Temporary, So I Made It Permanent

Chapter 4

It lasted only a second.

Then I went down the stairs.

My shoulder, my back, my stomach slammed into one hard step after another. The dull sound of bone hitting the edges filled my ears. I curled up on the landing, in too much pain to make a sound. The veil landed beside me, smeared with shoe prints and rainwater.

Adrian stood above me with Sophie in his arms. 

His face was deathly pale, and he seemed about to come down.

But Sophie started coughing hard against his chest and asked, her face pale, "Does this mean… the wedding has to be called off?"

Adrian tightened his arms around her at once. "No."

Before he turned away, he finally looked at me. There was hesitation in his eyes, then struggle, and finally, nothing but guilt.

"I'll send the hotel doctor. Don't go wandering off again."

I tried to call him back. A sudden stab of pain tore through my stomach and made it hard to even breathe. I watched, helpless, as he carried Sophie away.

In the distance, the chapel doors opened and the piano started. The same piece that had played at our wedding.

As I lay on the cold floor, warm blood slowly spread beneath the hem of my dress.

No hotel doctor came.

With a shaking hand, I called 911. "I'm eight weeks pregnant. I fell down the stairs, and I'm bleeding."

The dispatcher told me to stay awake. She asked whether a family member was with me.

The officiant's voice carried from the chapel. "Adrian, do you take Sophie to be your wife?"

A moment later, he answered, "I do."

I closed my eyes. "No."

By the time the ambulance arrived, the wedding had reached the ring exchange.

The siren cut through the lobby. Through the chapel's glass doors, Adrian glanced outside. An uneasiness he couldn't explain settled over him. 'Could that be for Elena?'

Sophie took his hand and said gently, "She only fell a few steps. She was perfectly fine when she left. There are so many people in this hotel—maybe one of the older guests isn't feeling well."

Adrian looked at her. "You saw her leave?"

Sophie met his eyes without flinching. "I did. She took the veil with her."

The guests began calling for the groom to kiss the bride. Adrian pushed down his unease and bent to kiss Sophie's forehead. Their applause drowned out the fading siren.

In the emergency room, I was rushed into the trauma bay. The attending physician's face was grim after examining me. "The fetal heartbeat is very weak, and the bleeding hasn't stopped. In a case like this, Adrian is the only specialist with a real chance of saving the baby."

Adrian was the hospital's youngest maternal-fetal medicine specialist. My condition was rare. The team on duty could stabilize me, but they weren't confident they could stop the bleeding and save the baby at the same time. Adrian had done emergency surgery on cases like mine.

Even then—I'm ashamed to say it—I held on to one last thread of hope. Maybe if he knew I was pregnant, he'd come back.

The first call was declined after two rings. So was the second. The third rang a long time before going to voicemail.

I didn't know why the calls kept getting rejected. I could only watch the nurse dial again and again.

The wedding ended, and the guests started to leave. Adrian finally picked up his phone.

Seventeen missed calls filled the screen.

He stared at it. He hadn't heard the phone ring once during the whole wedding. He pressed a volume button and found it had somehow been switched to silent.

The screen lit up again—his department head.

"Adrian, get back to the hospital now. A woman eight weeks pregnant fell down a flight of stairs. She's still bleeding, and the fetal heartbeat's dropped to a critical level. We need you in the OR. She's already been waiting two hours!"

Adrian gripped the phone. "I'm sorry—someone silenced my phone, I didn't hear it. I'm on my way!"

He grabbed his coat without another thought and headed for the door.

Sophie hugged him from behind. "It's our wedding day. Won't you stay and spend our wedding night with me?"

"There's an emergency at the hospital." He pried her hands apart and strode toward the exit. The force sent her stumbling.

The guests who hadn't left all turned to look. Minutes ago she'd been the bride at the center of everyone's attention. Now Adrian had walked out on her at their own reception and gone off into the rain without a backward glance.

"Adrian!" Sophie called after him. He didn't turn around once.

Forty minutes later, he rushed into the OR in scrubs. The patient was already under. A sterile drape covered her face, leaving only one pale wrist exposed. The monitors were alarming fast.

An assistant gave him a quick rundown. "We just lost the fetal heartbeat, and the mother's bleeding still isn't under control."

Adrian stopped halfway through pulling on his gloves. The exposed hand wore a vine-shaped wedding ring. Made to match his.

He went rigid. Even his breathing stopped. Then he lunged forward and turned over the patient's wristband.