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Chapter 4

Author: First Snow
Lucas slept in the master bedroom while I moved into the guest room.

His reason was that he was already exhausted from working hard during the day and couldn't afford to have his sleep disturbed whenever I got up during the night.

“We split the rent fifty-fifty.”

He'd stood in the doorway of the guest room back then, thoughtfully helping me make the bed.

“But since you're staying in the guest room, I'll deduct two hundred dollars from your share of rent each month. Consider it a little accommodation for a pregnant woman.”

Today was my thirty-eighth-week prenatal appointment.

Outside, rain was pouring. I struggled into my raincoat and made my way into the living room, one hand against the wall for support.

Lucas was standing in front of the mirror in an impeccably tailored designer suit, adjusting his tie.

“Lucas.”

I held my lower back, breathing heavily.

“The rain is too bad. I can't get a ride. Can you take me to the hospital?”

Lucas glanced at me through the mirror. His brow furrowed ever so slightly.

“Not today.”

He straightened his cufflinks.

“Winny got caught in the rain yesterday and has a fever. She’s here alone, and there’s no one to take care of her if she gets sick. I need to take her to the hospital for an IV.”

I stared at him.

“But the doctor said I could go into labor at any time. I have to go in today for fetal monitoring.”

Lucas turned around. He walked over and gently straightened the collar of my raincoat.

“Nance, you're an adult. Stop acting like a child who's desperate for attention.

“Winny's fever is almost 103 degrees. You're only going in for a routine prenatal checkup.”

He pulled a fifty-dollar bill from his wallet and slipped it into my pocket.

“Take a cab. My treat.”

He then picked up his car keys and walked straight out into the rain without looking back.

I stood there, staring at the fifty-dollar bill.

Calmly, I took it out of my pocket and placed it on the shoe cabinet. I opened my umbrella and slowly made my way to the end of the street.

I waited for half an hour before I finally managed to flag down a cab.

The moment I stepped into the hospital lobby, a sudden, excruciating pain seized my lower abdomen. I doubled over as my body seemed to give way beneath me.

My legs buckled, and I collapsed onto the cold tile floor.

“Someone help! A pregnant woman is bleeding heavily!”

People nearby cried out in alarm. Doctors and nurses immediately rushed over with a stretcher. They lifted me onto it, and my vision began to blur.

“Fetal heart rate is down to sixty!”

“Possible uterine rupture. Prepare for an emergency C-section immediately!”

The doctor's urgent voice echoed in my ears.

“Where's her family? We need them to sign the consent forms and make the payment!”

A nurse searched through my bag.

I summoned what little strength I had left and grabbed her hand.

“My phone…”

With trembling fingers, I unlocked it and called Lucas.

Ring… ring…

The phone rang for what felt like forever. Every second I waited seemed to drain what little strength I had left.

Finally, he answered.

“Hello?”

His voice was still calm and gentle. In the background, I could hear the familiar announcements of a hospital infusion center.

“Lucas…” I gasped for breath, my throat dry and raw.

“I’m bleeding badly… The doctors say I need surgery right away… They need a family member to sign… and there’s a deposit…”

There was a brief silence on the other end.

Then I heard Winona's weak voice. “Lucas, am I getting in the way of your wife?”

Lucas murmured something reassuring to her. Then he spoke into the phone, a trace of impatience creeping into his voice.

“Nancy, what are you pulling now? I told you I'm here with Winny. I can't leave.”

The pain was so intense I could barely keep hold of the phone.

“I’m not… I’m really not… I think I’m dying…”

Lucas sighed. That detached, superior rationality of his had never sounded so cruel.

“Enough. Stop being dramatic. If you really need surgery…”

He paused.

Then he asked, enunciating every single word, “Did you bring enough money for your half?

“I'll transfer it to you first. You pay the whole bill. Give me the receipt afterward.”

Click.

The call ended. The phone slipped from my hand and struck the metal edge of the stretcher.

I stared up at the harsh white fluorescent lights rushing overhead.

Overwhelmed by pain and despair, I slowly closed my eyes.

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    The next morning, Lucas stormed into Harris’s law firm.Desperate for even one chance to see me, he did something almost insane. He willingly signed a property transfer agreement that left him with nothing.He signed over every property, every penny of savings, and every stock in his name to me—completely no strings attached.“Give it all to her… I don’t want anything. I just want her to let me apologize to her in person. I just want her to let me be a father to our daughter…”He sat on the law firm’s floor, covering his face as he sobbed.After signing away everything, however, the only response he got from Harris was cold and final.“Ms. Shore has received everything. She says she still doesn’t want to see you.”Lucas had destroyed his entire life, along with the love he had once taken for granted.Half a month later, Lucas had nothing left. Like a homeless vagrant, he waited outside the recovery retreat with nowhere else to go.He didn’t dare make a scene. He was afraid of

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    With a deafening bang, the hospital room door was suddenly flung open.I was leaning against the headboard, drinking the bone broth my caregiver was feeding me.Lucas rushed inside with his crooked tie and disheveled hair. He had even lost one of his shoes somewhere along the way.The polished, superior image of the elite professional he usually carried was completely gone.“Nance!”He lunged to the side of the bed, his eyes bloodshot, clutching the insurance policy and medical report tightly in his hands.“Why didn’t you tell me?!” His voice trembled with unmistakable fear.“Why didn’t you tell me something this serious was happening?!”I swallowed the mouthful of broth and waved for the caregiver to step aside. Then I looked at him with complete calm.“I did tell you.” My voice was flat.“Three months ago, I called you and told you I needed to buy medication to keep the pregnancy going. You said I was exaggerating and that I was only trying to break our going Dutch agreemen

  • Going Dutch Was A Farce   Chapter 7

    By the time Lucas got home, it was already noon. The house was eerily quiet, stripped of its usual liveliness.He changed his shoes and walked into the living room and, out of habit, was about to call out for me to bring him a glass of water.The words caught in his throat when he remembered that I was still in the hospital. He shook his head, thinking that I had really let this argument drag on far too long this time.“When she gets discharged, I’ll take her somewhere nice to eat.”He muttered to himself as he walked toward the master bedroom and pulled open the bottom drawer of the nightstand.There was no hospital bag inside. Only a brown paper envelope lying quietly in the otherwise empty drawer.Lucas frowned. He picked up the envelope and casually unwound the string.The contents slipped out, scattering across the carpet. The top item was an ultrasound report and a medical diagnosis from three months ago.Lucas picked them up without much thought, and his eyes skimmed o

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    The next morning, sunlight streamed through the blinds into the hospital room.The first thing I did after opening my eyes was press the call button beside my bed, and a nurse came in shortly after.“How are you feeling? Does the incision still hurt?”“I’m okay.” My voice was hoarse.“Could you raise the head of the bed a little for me?”I leaned against the headboard, picked up my phone, and opened my banking app. I transferred the few hundred dollars I had left in my account, along with the twenty thousand dollars I'd secretly saved over the past few months for the baby's birth, all into Lucas's account.[Transfer amount: $20,500.00. Note: Half of the surgery bill, plus the divorce fee. No need to give me anything back.]I tapped Confirm.When the words [Transfer successful] appeared on the screen, I let out a long breath, as though I'd finally shed the shackles I'd been carrying for the past three years.Half an hour later, the hospital room door was suddenly pushed open.

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    The surgical lights were so bright I could barely keep my eyes open.Cold, a bone-deep cold. My entire body felt as if I were lying in a freezer. Blood was pouring out of me, completely beyond my control.“Her blood pressure is still dropping! Systolic is down to sixty!”There was an unmistakable panic in the anesthesiologist's voice.“The front wall of the uterus has completely ruptured. She's already lost more than fifty ounces of blood!”The surgeon's hands were covered in blood.“Quick! Get blood from the blood bank! Start a rapid transfusion!”I lay strapped to the operating table, my limbs secured in place. My consciousness wavered between wakefulness and oblivion.With every heartbeat came the hollow sensation that my life was slowly draining away.“Ma'am! Stay with us! Don't fall asleep!”The nurse gently but firmly tapped my cheek. “Think about your baby! You have to keep fighting!”My baby. My fingers twitched slightly. In this entire world, the only thing I st

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    Lucas slept in the master bedroom while I moved into the guest room.His reason was that he was already exhausted from working hard during the day and couldn't afford to have his sleep disturbed whenever I got up during the night.“We split the rent fifty-fifty.”He'd stood in the doorway of the guest room back then, thoughtfully helping me make the bed.“But since you're staying in the guest room, I'll deduct two hundred dollars from your share of rent each month. Consider it a little accommodation for a pregnant woman.”Today was my thirty-eighth-week prenatal appointment.Outside, rain was pouring. I struggled into my raincoat and made my way into the living room, one hand against the wall for support.Lucas was standing in front of the mirror in an impeccably tailored designer suit, adjusting his tie.“Lucas.”I held my lower back, breathing heavily.“The rain is too bad. I can't get a ride. Can you take me to the hospital?”Lucas glanced at me through the mirror. His br

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