Chapter 003

Inside the city hospital, a hurried stretcher was pulled in as nurses trod around in panic. Lying on top of the stretcher was a young woman who had been involved in an accident. There were beads of blood streaming down her head to her neck.

“Patient name, Miss Eliana Queens.” One of the nurses announced subtly as soon as the stretcher was pulled into the ICU room.

"A blood donor. She needs a blood donor! Where will we find someone with negative AB?" A nurse hurriedly ran out of the ICU room, her chest heaving heavily. She accidentally collided with a man whom she recognized instantly. He was a regular customer and not someone to be messed with.

“My apologies, Mr. Dickson.” She lowered her head and turned around to find a suitable match for the critical patient when the man’s deep, melodious voice halted her.

“I’m AB negative,” he said indifferently.

"Yes? Oh, yes! I completely forgot," the nurse muttered, sighing in relief. She looked at the man and realized he was in his business suit. He didn't bring the assistant that usually trailed around him, which was surprising. He also seemed lost yet intimidating.

Clearing her throat, she asked worriedly, “Are you sure?”

The man gave her a deadly look as if saying she was wasting his time, and she should get it done with.

Laughing nervously, the nurse obliged and took him to a room to draw blood from him. For a while after it happened, she noticed the strange expression on the man’s face. He looked heartbroken for some reason she couldn’t pinpoint, but decided to mind her business.

“All done, Mr. Dickson. You should take a rest… Wait! You can’t leave like this. You’ll feel weak and dizzy to moving around.” The nurse panicked when the man lifted himself from the bed, turning around to leave.

“I’m fine. Go and do your job.” Came the man’s cold response before disappearing.

The nurse gritted her teeth and went back to the ICU room.

The treatment lasted over an hour before Eliana was moved to another hospital room. Unfortunately, the impact of the accident resulted in the loss of her unborn child, and the doctors dared not tell her when she regained consciousness.

---

The next morning, 

Eliana blinked slowly, allowing her eyes to adjust to the brightness of the room. Confused, she wondered why she was lying in bed. Her head and legs hurt terribly, making it difficult for her to move. She unconsciously bit the insides of her mouth when she realized the pain was affecting her vision.

Where was she?

The last event she recollected was in front of the club. She had tried to force herself inside when all of a sudden she was hit heavily by something. Wait! Hold on. She left the club and walked mindlessly on the road when a car rushed towards her!

Was she inside the hospital then?

She searched for her surroundings and concluded she was, in fact, in the hospital. Her lips suddenly twitched at the thought of it. That’s when the reason she ended up here in the first place surged back into her memory. She bit her lips to suppress the tears. She had told herself never to cry for a man, not Reece of all people! Not him.

Distracted, she forgot the door opened, and the doctor entered the room.

“You must be feeling dizzy, Miss.”

Eliana turned her direction to the voice. She gazed at the older man with glasses standing before her in his medical uniform. She nodded her head to his question.

“You have to rest a bit more. I’m your doctor, Mr. Williams. You were in an accident the night before and were sent here by a gentleman.” He started slowly, not to pressure his patient.

“Yes, I remember.” Eliana felt guilty. She jeopardized not only her life but her unborn baby, too. She touched her stomach as if to feel the connection of the child in her. She unexpectedly paused in surprise. It was weird. Something was off.

Doctor William observed her movements and cleared his throat while adjusting his glasses.

“Fortunately, the same man helped with donating blood when your condition became critical. You lost a lot of blood and…”

“Where’s she? Where’s my daughter? Take me to her, right now!”

Eliana’s eyes widened in shock as soon as those familiar voices filled her ears. They were separated a long time ago. They shouldn’t be here.

“I’ll be back, Miss Eliana,” Doctor William informed her, and left for a minute before returning to the room after clearing the commotion.

“It seems like your family is here to see you.” Just when he finished his sentence, the door was opened again and two individuals sauntered in. Their eyes were filled with tears.

“Eliana.” One of them called. It was a carbon copy of the woman on the bed, but an older version. The woman was Eliana’s mother. She looked heartbroken to see her precious daughter after years in the hospital.

Doctor Williams excused himself to give them privacy.

“Where’s your husband?” Eliana’s father asked harshly. He was angry to see his daughter in the hospital with bandages around her head and legs. Not a single soul of her husband was present.

“Mother, Father, please leave. I don’t want to see either of you. I want to sleep.” Eliana blurted out, ashamed of her actions. She lay back on the bed and shifted her face to the other side of the bed, refusing to look at their disappointed expression.

Four years was a long time. She told herself she wasn’t part of their family anymore.

“My child, do not chide away from us, from me. Eliana, do you realize how hurt I am to find you in this place? We expect you to be happy. We expected you to be satisfied with your decision to marry that cheap man! Do not distance yourself from us.”

“Mother, I don’t want to talk to anybody now. I need a rest.” The couple exchanged glances with each other.

“Is this because of your baby? Are you hurt because you lost him? Eliana, we are here for you, your father, and me. We will…”

“My child is alive! You have no right to speak to my child! He is with me! Get out, you two! You disowned me four years ago. What else do you want from me? Are you happy now? To know that your intelligent daughter has finally been fooled by a man! Are you glad?” Eliana screamed, shocking her parents.

The Queens was a popular name in the business industry, and it was run by Mr. Gabriel Queens, and support from his wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Queens. Everything was going well for the wealthy family when their daughter, the only heiress, Eliana Adelaide Queens, brought a cowardly and unemployed man, claiming to have fallen in love at first sight. The parents refused such an alliance, but Eliana had foolishly married him behind their backs. Without a thought, she was thrown out of the house as a disgrace to their lineage.

Seeing them here again when she needed them back then, Eliana became furious. She didn’t know how to feel.

“Eliana, we are sorry. We didn’t mean it back then. I am so sorry.” Elizabeth cried. She tried to touch her daughter’s hand, but was withdrawn immediately. “My baby, we are so sorry.”

Looking at the state of his daughter, Gabriel felt heavy in his chest. If he hadn’t done what he did, would she have been better? If he had… All he was feeling presently was regret.

Eliana was tired. She was tired of their apologies. What had been done had been done! She can only face the future now with her child. Yes, her child. She didn’t believe anyone. Not the expression on the doctor’s face nor the words that came out of her parents’ mouths. She would believe her baby was still there.