Chapter 2

I stopped struggling, staring blankly at the harsh white light on the ceiling as the light in my eyes slowly died out.

The puncture needle pierced through my skin and into the bone marrow. Cold sweat soaked through the sterile sheet.

But worse than the physical pain was the heavy, dragging sensation in my lower abdomen.

"No... stop... please..." I bit down until I tasted blood, my voice barely a whisper. "The baby... my baby..."

"Hold her down! Don't let her move!" the doctor barked.

James's assistant stood nearby, glancing at his watch. "Hurry it up. Mr. Anderson is waiting outside for the results."

The monitoring equipment started beeping alarms.

"Blood pressure dropping fast!"

"Heart rate's racing!"

"Oh no! The patient's hemorrhaging!"

A nurse screamed.

I felt warmth spreading beneath me as fluid gushed out, staining the sheets red.

"What's happening?" The assistant's face went pale.

"She's miscarrying! It's a hemorrhage!" the surgeon yelled. "She really was pregnant! The stress triggered it! Stop the bleeding now!"

My consciousness fading, I turned my head and watched the blood drip down the edge of the bed.

That was the baby I'd hoped for over three years. The hope of saving this marriage.

Now, it was slipping away.

"James..." I murmured his name as a bloody tear rolled down my cheek.

The operating room doors burst open. James rushed in, his pupils contracting at the sight of all the blood.

"What happened? I told you to do the compatibility test—what's this shitshow?" James's voice trembled slightly.

The doctor answered, "Mr. Anderson... your wife... she really was pregnant, about two months along. The forced puncture combined with severe emotional distress caused... caused a miscarriage and hemorrhaging..."

James froze in place, staring at my face.

The woman who had always stood beside him, silently enduring everything, now lay in a pool of blood.

"The baby... is gone?" James's voice was hoarse.

"We couldn't save it." The doctor lowered his head. "And her uterus is trashed. She'll probably... never be able to have kids again."

James stumbled.

He walked to the operating table, reaching out to touch my face, then stopped when he saw the blood on his hand.

It was the baby's blood.

"Elizabeth..." he called out.

I slowly opened my eyes.

Those eyes were now hollow, empty of everything.

"James," my voice was soft. "Are you satisfied now?"

James felt a sharp pain in his chest and instinctively tried to explain. "I didn't know... why didn't you show me the test results before? If you'd shown me proof earlier..."

"Proof?" I pulled my lips into something like a smile. "My words have never been proof to you. They've always been lies."

"Just stop talking!" James roared. "Doctor! What are you standing around for! Save her! If anything happens to her, I'll make this entire hospital pay!"

"No need." I closed my eyes as tears fell. "James, this kidney, this blood, and this life—take it all. Give it to your precious Mandy."

"What nonsense are you talking!" James exploded in anger.

"From now on," my voice was quiet, "I don't owe you anything. That debt you owed me for saving your life, and these three years as husband and wife... it all just died in there. Along with our baby."

In that moment, something completely broke away.

"Mr. Anderson! Miss Jones's condition is critical—she needs a blood transfusion immediately!" came an urgent voice from the doorway.

James turned to look at the nurse, then back at me lying in the pool of blood. This was a choice.

I didn't look at him. I just waited.

A few seconds later, James said through gritted teeth, "Draw the blood. As long as it won't kill her, draw as much as needed."

The doctor was shocked. "Mr. Anderson, your wife just had a miscarriage. Her body is extremely weak. Drawing blood now will..."

"I said, save Mandy!" James roared, not daring to look at me again as he fled the operating room.

I felt the blood being drawn from my body.

I didn't cry. I didn't moan.

I just thought carefully.

Which was more painful—death or living?