Chapter Three
1185 Words
CAMILLE.
The emergency room doors burst open and I was wheeled inside, my gut-wrenching cries echoing off of the sterile white corridors. A team of medics surrounded me, their voices sharp and purposeful as they barked orders to one another. Hudgton kept pace with the stretcher, his face a mask of composure despite the fear flickering in his eyes.
"Mrs. Calloway," he said resolutely, running beside me, "you're in good hands now. Everything will be fine."
I reached out a shaking hand and grasped his sleeve. "Hudgton," I sobbed out, "call Kian. Tell him—tell him to come. Please."
Hudgton nodded shortly. "I will. For now, think about yourself and the baby."
I tried holding onto a fatherly presence, but they whisked me away before I could say anymore. The last thing I saw, before the swinging doors closed, was Hudgton standing frozen, his hand tightly gripping his phone.
---
Inside the room, the medical team worked quickly. I was placed onto a sterile examination table, my legs propped up as a doctor moved between them. Nurses surrounded me, attaching monitors and IV lines; their movements were almost synchronized, like a well-rehearsed dance.
"BP's dropping," a nurse called out.
"Start fluids and get me an ultrasound," the doctor replied.
I whimpered through the haze of pain, my hands clutching the sides of the table. "Save my baby," I pleaded-my voice cracking. "Please, just save my baby."
"We're doing everything we can," the doctor assured, though his voice carried a grim edge.
The ultrasound sprang to life, and he ran the transducer across my abdomen. The screen drew everyone's gaze, and the room fell into strained silence.
"There's placental abruption," he said finally, his voice short. "We need to move fast."
I barely knew what they said. I knew every second seemed to be an eternity, and with each surge of pain, my hope slipped further away. Then, I felt something warm and thick come out of my body, and I gasped sharply.
"What was that?" I cried, my panicked eyes darting to the nearest nurse.
The team faltered; there was a brief stop in movements as they looked at one another. I felt another clot pass, followed by a gush, and I screamed, "No! No! Tell me what's happening!"
The nurse beside me stammered before taking a step closer, her face taut with sadness. "Ma'am.”
"Don't say it!" I pleaded, my voice shrill with desperation. Tears streamed down my face as I gripped the nurse's arm. "Don't say it! Save my baby, I'm begging you!"
Before the nurse could utter a word, another wave of pain tore through me, and a mask was clamped over my face. "Sedate her," the doctor instructed.
"No! Please!" I screamed once more before the drug kicked in, dragging me into a forced dark oblivion.
---
My eyes opened to a darkened room. The hum of machinery softly filled the space as I felt my body weighted down, my brain muddled. The clean hospital air was choking. Slowly, I blinked, my eyes adjusting to the dull lighting.
Hudgton was pacing near the window, his usually impeccable suit looking wrinkled, his face uncharacteristically weary. Mike sat in a chair nearby, his head resting in his hands.
I tried speaking, but my throat was dry, and the words came out as a croak. Hudgton noticed instantly and hastened to my bedside, offering me water that I gulped.
"Mrs. Calloway," he said softly, his voice gentle but strained. "You're awake."
My lips parted, voice weak. "The baby… how's my baby?"
Hudgton's expression faltered, and he pressed his lips together tightly. He didn't need to say it; his silence spoke volumes. And a part of me. A part of me knew.
My heart sank.
"No," I whispered, my voice shaking. "No, please don't tell me."
Hudgton looked down, his eyes brimming with regret and pain. "I'm so sorry, ma'am."
My world had come apart in that very instant. A broken sob escaped my lips as my hands instinctively clasped my abdomen, as if to protect the life I had once carried. Tears streamed down my face, and I shook my head in disbelief.
"No," I whimpered, time and again. "No, no, no."
I turned to Hudgton, my face streaked with tears, my voice laced with desperation. "Where's Kian? Did you call him? Is he on his way?"
Hudgton's face darkened, and he hesitated. "I've been trying to reach him, ma'am," he said carefully. "He's not answering his phone, and he hasn't been at Calloway Corps HQ. I'm still looking into it."
I stared hard at him, my chest heaving with grief and anger. "He's not here?"
Hudgton shook his head slowly. "No, ma'am. I'm afraid not."
My heart felt as though it had been torn from my chest. I turned my head to the nightstand, catching sight of my phone. I reached for it, my hands shaking wildly, and swiped at the screen, freezing on the date.
My breath caught. "Wednesday," I whispered, my voice empty.
Hudgton came forward tentatively. "Ma'am, you've been in the hospital for four days," he said, his voice soft though insistent. "The doctors kept you sedated. You were becoming too hysterical, and the doctors had to— well…”
His words faded as I stopped listening, the weight of what he was saying crashing down on me. Four days. I'd lain here for four days, and Kian was still nowhere to be found.
I gripped my phone tightly, my vision blurring once again with fresh tears. My husband had abandoned me, left me to face the loss of our child all by myself.
My chest heaved as the tidal wave of grief hit me full-force. I closed my eyes, hot tears slipping down my cheeks, and my body wracked with sobs. The heart and soul were in so much pain.
Hudgton took a step closer to me; his hand hovered around me as if he wanted to comfort me but didn't know how. Mike was silent but somber.
But I couldn't feel anything but this overwhelming sense of loss that drowned me. Kian.Kian had finally done his big one. This was the last straw.
But no longer. No longer with a man who placed everything above me, above the child we lost. No longer in this sterile world, living with a cold man. I knew just what I had to do: cold determination and anger rose in me, mixing with the pain and the grief.
I met Hudgton's eyes and said calmly but firmly, "Get the doctor, please. If he gives his assent, we check out and go home. And…" I paused and took a steady breath. "And when we go home, you call Attorney Richard and tell him to draw up some divorce papers immediately. Do you understand?"
Hudgton's eyes flickered and he started, "Ma'am…”
I cut him off. "Do you understand me, Hudgton?" I asked firmly.
Hudgton stared into my eyes, into the fire burning within them. He pursed his lips and angled his head in submission and quietly said, "Yes, Ma'am. "
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