Chapter two

Laura

I rushed into the hospital, my heels clicking against the floor as I ran toward the doctor’s office. The moment he saw me, his brow furrowed.

“Mrs. Wilson, this is unlike you,” he said, concern lacing his voice. “I have been trying to reach you and your husband. But your husband has been ignoring my calls.”

Lucien hadn’t mentioned a single thing about the doctor’s calls while I was at that humiliating party. My chest tightened with a mix of fear and fury. I would have left that nightmare of a celebration if I had known my son’s life was at risk.

“I am so sorry,” I stammered. “Is  he okay?”

The doctor shook his head gravely. “Your son is in critical condition. He needs a blood transfusion immediately, and we don’t have the supply here. We will need you to get your husband here as soon as possible, I need to have a conversation with him.”

“What about mine?” I asked frantically, my heart hammering in my chest, I knew all he needed Lucian for is for the blood transfusion . “You can take mine,” I added, my voice trembling.

The doctor shook his head firmly. “We already ran the tests. You blood doesn’t match his, please get Mr Lucien here right away.”

Of course I remembered, the  last time our son had needed a transfusion, Lucien had rushed down from his office to donate and told me he would handle it.  And now, with him nowhere in sight, I felt panic clawing at me like never before.

I yanked my phone from my purse and dialed Lucien’s number, once, twice, countless times. Each time, the call dropped. My teeth sank into my lip so hard it stung, and my leg bounced uncontrollably, the anxiety making it impossible to stay still. Please just pick up, I begged silently, my chest tightening with every passing second.

“Excuse me, please, let me make a call outside,” I said to the doctor, my voice tight with urgency.

“Fine,” he replied, worry etched on his face, “but please, find a way to get him here fast. We could lose him if we waste any more time.”

I bolted outside, heart racing, and tried Lucien’s number again. This time, he cut the call. My hands shook as I fumbled to call his mother instead. On any normal day, I would never reach out to that woman but now, I had no choice. I needed her to tell Lucien that his son was fighting for his life while he played house with another woman.

After the third ring, Jenna finally picked up. “Why are you buzzing my phone? Thought you had gone home to lick your wounds, foolish gold digger,” she sneered, her voice dripping with contempt.

“I am  at the hospital,” I said, my voice shaking but firm. “The doctor said Lucien needs to come here right now. It’s a matter of life and death.”

 She laughed. “Oh, it’s about your invalid son. Let him die in peace,” she said casually, as if she were talking about nothing important. Rage surged through me so violently I wished she were standing in front of me.

“Our legacy is not known for birthing weak or defective children,” she continued coldly. “Let him die and save us the money. No matter what you do, he will still end up dead.”

Then she dropped the call. I  stood there, frozen, my phone pressed to my ear, my entire body shaking. I had thought Lucien’s betrayal was the worst pain I could ever feel but her words shattered me completely.

It wasn’t Ryan’s fault that he was born with a heart condition. Yet from the moment I gave birth to him, his entire family had blamed me for it. They never once blamed Lucien.

And Lucien,  he had never loved our son the way a father should. He had never lifted Ryan into his arms the way he did with Aria. He had never looked at him with pride or affection. Tonight, I watched him smile, laugh, and show warmth to another man’s child while his own son fought for his life in a hospital bed.

It had always been me,praying, stressing, hoping that Ryan would survive and bounce back healthy. My hands shook as I called Lucien again, and this time, relief surged when he actually picked up.

“Lucien, I’m at the hospital and the doctor said——” I barely got the words out before he barked at me.

“Laura, I know this is just your antics to get me home,” he snapped. “He’s your fucking son too, handle whatever the doctor said.”

I froze, hearing Aria’s laughter in the background. Then the line went dead.

My chest tightened, and panic set in again. I tried calling him back, but the number wasn’t going through. I called everyone at the party venue who might be able to reach him, desperate to tell him that his son was dying but no one answered. Not one person.

Thirty minutes had passed, and I had been outside, calling nonstop. No one picked up, Just then, the doctor came running out of his office, his face pale and tight with urgency.

“Ryan is having an episode again!” he shouted as he sprinted past me toward the ward.

I ran after him, my legs barely keeping up. “Your husband is he on his way?” the doctor asked between breaths as we hurried down the hall.

I swallowed my tears, my voice shaking. “No.” The doctor came to an abrupt stop and turned to me, shaking his head in frustration. “I told you we need him if you want your son to survive! Get him here right now.”

I followed him into the ward, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might burst. The door closed behind him, and I saw nurses already working frantically around Ryan. I rushed forward, but the doctor quickly asked one of the nurses to escort me outside.

I stood there, gasping for breath, dialing Lucien again and again, but his number still wouldn’t go through.

I stayed by the door, barely able to breathe, my eyes fixed on the flurry of movement inside as the doctor and nurses tried desperately to revive him. Minutes dragged by like hours. Then, suddenly, the noise stopped. The doctor walked out, his face grim.

“This could have been avoided if your husband had been here,” he said quietly. “I am so sorry,” he continued, his voice heavy. “We lost him.”

I didn’t bother to hear the rest, I shoved past the doctor and ran into the ward. There he was lying on the bed, completely still. My chest tightened as I raced toward him, shaking him violently, willing him to wake. But he didn’t move.

I ran my hands through his hair, the way he always loved, hoping for any sign of life still nothing. 

My heart broke in a way I didn’t think was possible. I collapsed to the floor, unable to bear the pain, and the world around me went black.