Chapter One Hundred and Ninety-Five
The lights above her blurred as they rushed her down the hallway. She could not keep her eyes shut.
"Please," she kept saying, her fingers gripping the edge of the stretcher. "Please save my baby."
"We’re doing everything we can," another nurse replied firmly.
The doors swung open and voices overlapped. Soone was giving instructions and there were a lot of movents that only irritated her.
"Stay with us." "Ma’am, can you hear ?" "How far along are you?"
She didn’t know the answer. She wanted to ask how old her baby was. Asli tried to talk, but another wave of pain stole her breath. She forced herself not to black out. She refused.
"I’m not losing this child," she whispered through clenched teeth.
The words burned out of her, more like a vow than a plea. Her instincts scread to threaten them, to command, to make them know and understand who she was.
But her body wouldn’t obey.
Her limbs felt distant, heavy, like they no longer belonged to her. Her jaw locked, and her tongue felt useless. Even lifting her hand felt impossible. Panic flared, sharp and humiliating. Even bullets could never make her feel this way.
For the first ti in her life, she had no weapon. She couldn’t feel her voice. She felt like she had no power.
All she could do was lie there helpless, while strangers held her fate and her child’s in their hands. Their movent quickened.
Darkness crept in from the edges of her vision, slow and heavy. No. She couldn’t allow that. Her fingers twitched against the sheet, nails scraping weakly as if she could claw herself back into awareness.
She forced her eyes wider, trying to focus on the lights above her, on the voices, on anything. If she stayed awake, she could fight. If she fought, she could protect. That was how it had always worked. Going unconscious felt like surrender. Like letting go. And letting go felt too close to losing her child.
She fought it until she couldn’t tell if her eyes were open or closed anymore.
*****
When she opened them again, the lights were no longer moving, and the pain had dulled into a distant ache. The air slled cleaner and quieter. She realized she was staring at a ceiling she didn’t rember seeing before.
A doctor stepped closer, his expression calm.
"You ca in just in ti," he said. "There was heavy bleeding, but the pregnancy is still viable. We’ve stabilized you."
Asli blinked. Still viable. The words didn’t sink in imdiately. What did that even an?
"The baby?" she asked, barely above a breath.
"Your baby is alive."
Her entire body went weak in a different way this ti. Not from pain nor was it from fear.
Relief.
A shaky breath left her. Her hand moved slowly to her stomach.
"You’re strong," the doctor continued, as if holding himself from saying anything more. "But you need strict rest. Do not stress yourself. No physical strain. If you want this pregnancy to continue safely, you must slow down."
Slow down. Asli almost laughed at that.
But instead, her eyes closed briefly, and for the first ti since the pain started, her body stopped fighting.
"You hear that?" she whispered softly, her palm pressing gently against her abdon. "You’re still here."
A tear slipped down her temple into her hairline.
She didn’t wipe this one away. That must have moved sothing in the doctor. He spoke without holding back. "People do things and later regret it. So are fortunate enough to correct the mistakes while others do not get the chance. I didn’t want to say anything but... You really want this baby. Can I ask you sothing?" he said carefully.
Asli nodded.
"Were you trying to terminate the pregnancy?"
The words cut through her like a blade.
"What?" she rasped. "Why would you even ask that?" Why would she co to the hospital in the first place?
He hesitated, then answered honestly. "There were traces in your blood. Substances that can induce uterine contractions. Enough to put the baby at serious risk."
Her heart slamd hard against her ribs. "I would never do that," she said imdiately. There was no hesitation. "Never."
He studied her for a mont, then nodded. "I believe you. But whatever entered your system caused internal stress. You were very close to losing the pregnancy."
Her fingers curled into the sheets. Soone wanted her baby gone. Who the hell was that?
"It’s fortunate the baby is still alive," he continued, "but you’ll need strict rest as I said earlier. At least three months. And again, don’t stress yourself. No exertion. One mistake, and you may not be this lucky again."
Three months? She didn’t have that luxury.
"I can tell you’ll be a great mother," the doctor said gently. "You didn’t give up. Many won do when the pain gets that bad. But you fought. That determination is what pushed us to do everything possible to stabilize the pregnancy."
Asli only watched him. She didn’t trust her voice yet.
She wanted this baby. She had wanted it from the mont Aht told her she was. And sowhere deep inside, she knew part of that desire was selfish.
But hearing those words from the doctor... seeing that the baby was still alive...
Sothing settled in her chest.
Maybe Nature had looked at her, at everything she was, everything she had survived, and decided she was worthy after all.
She was worthy to be soone’s mother.
"And be careful with whatever you eat and drink," he added. As he stepped away, her mind replayed the hours before the pain.
Was it the fight? She was fine after the fight. She hadn’t even done too much.
The bottle of water. She reminded herself.
Her breath caught.
Aht.
No, he would never do that. Especially not to their child. His smile flashed in her mind as she rembered when he told her during the fight. He was happy about it, even though he panicked initially.
The thought didn’t even try to settle; it bounced right off her certainty.
So if not him... then who? Who else knew? Was it Markus? Markus would never hurt her. That, she knew perfectly well. If it wasn’t Markus, then who would harm their baby?
And how did they know?
Her pulse quickened. This wasn’t random. Soone had known she was pregnant and the person had acted fast and precisely.
A cold fear slid into her chest. It was sharper than the pain had been.
If they could reach her under the pretense of being sent by Aht, then Aht wasn’t safe either.
Her gaze hardened as she stared at the ceiling.
Who wanted to harm them and their baby?
#####
Just so you know, the baby surviving was not my idea. It was @Call mirror’s request. I am not wicked, I swear. Lol.
Reviews
All reviews (0)