chapter 2
Jake couldn't take it anymore and tried to speak up for me again.
I shook my head, cutting him off. "Never mind. Save her."
Clutching my intensely throbbing stomach, I wanted to stand up and leave. The moment I put weight on my legs, the pain forced me to my knees again. Gritting my teeth, I crawled out of the ICU sideways, one agonizing step at a time.
Behind me trailed a long, dark line of blood.
Ben watched it all coldly, unmoved.
"Harriet, stop acting. Go home, change into clean clothes, and come back to apologize to Marina. She's only hurt because of your nonsense."
In the past, I'd have desperately tried to explain myself in light of the misunderstanding and bias toward Marina.
But this time, I wouldn't.
Collapsing at the ward door, I looked back and saw Ben's and Marina's hands intertwined. I took off my wedding ring and threw it into the trash.
When the police arrived and subdued the attacker, they found me collapsed in a pool of blood just outside the consultation room.
One officer shouted in panic, "Where's the doctor? A pregnant woman is bleeding out here. Why isn't anyone helping her?"
At that moment, I was freezing cold and teetering on the edge of death.
Hearing the commotion, Ben stepped out of the room and declared self-righteously, "Officer, don't bother with her. She's just faking it to gain sympathy. Otherwise, why would she collapse just in front of me?"
The police officer's eyes widened in disbelief, as if looking at an idiot.
"I'm a professional detective. She's bleeding greatly. Do you really think I can't tell the difference between real blood and fake blood?"
His voice was loud. More people started gathering in the corridor.
Ben hated being the center of gossip. He lifted his foot and kicked my stomach, which had long since gone numb from pain.
"Harriet, the police are here! Aren't you embarrassed? How long are you going to keep up this act?"
I had no strength left from the blood loss. But the moment someone touched my stomach, I instinctively wrapped my arms around it to protect it.
In my blurred consciousness, I could no longer remember that I'd taken that knife for Marina, and the baby was surely already gone. I slumped to one side and fell to the ground.
Someone helped me up, covering their mouth in disbelief. "Oh my! Isn't this Dr. Steele? Someone help her! Dr. Nicholas, she's your wife!"
Ben remained unmoved and scoffed. "Harriet, you've hired quite a few extras, haven't you? Do you think you can waste the Nicholas family's money just like that?"
Leaning against the cold wall, I closed my eyes in despair.