Two Lives Lost"

While waiting for my prenatal scan, a girl bumped into me, sending me to the floor.

A faint but clear red stain spread across my pants. Sharp pain shot through my stomach. I reached for my phone to call the police, but the girl, trembling like a frightened rabbit, begged, Please, don't call the police.

I stared at her, voice icy. "If something happens to my baby, who will take responsibility?"

She hesitated, then said, "My boyfriend is a famous obstetrician here. He'll take care of you. Let me call him."

The call connected immediately. From afar, I heard a man's panicked, scolding voice.

"I told you to use the family lane, but you refused. Don't you know you're fragile? The first trimester is critical."

"You can be mad at me, but not about our baby, okay? I'm coming now. Don't cry. I'm here."

When the man in the white coat rushed toward us, full of worry, I realizedhe was my own husband. The same one who had banned me from the family lane, calling it "causing trouble."

The moment Marcus appeared, the pain in my stomach seemed to intensify, a dense, searing ache that brought tears to my eyes. Through a watery haze, I watched the man who had given me a tender good-morning kiss just hours ago. Now, his eyes saw no one but the girl on the floor, Laura.

"Are you scared? Are you feeling sick? I told you to use the family access lane, but you wouldn't listen. Now you see," Marcus said, his tone sharp but his voice trembling with a thick undercurrent of worry. The hand he used to wipe away Laura's tears was white-knuckled with tension.

Laura looked up at him, her voice a soft whisper. "I didn't want to cause you any trouble."

Marcus's jaw clenched. "There's nothing I want more than for you to rely on me, Laura. I fought to get to this position so that you could depend on me, so that I would be the first person you think of when you're scared."

"I want to solve all your problems, you understand?"

His words sucked the air from my lungs. I couldn't even find the strength to prop myself up. Amid the gasps of the onlookers, my body went limp, and I slumped to the floor.

I had heard Marcus say those things before, but they had been the exact opposite of what he was saying now.

Early in my pregnancy, it was a high-risk situation. I was spotting every day, and getting an appointment with a good obstetrician was nearly impossible. One evening, I tried to coax Marcus, who had just gotten home.

"I remember that senior doctors and professors have special access for their families. Honey, the check-ups are so exhausting. Could you apply for a spot for me?"

At the time, Marcus had paused, his hands still on his scarf. He looked at me, his face a blank mask.

"Vivienne, please, don't make my life harder than it already is."

My hand, resting on his arm, froze. I looked up at him in disbelief, unable to comprehend how the loving husband I knew could say something so cruel.

"I'm a senior consultant, yes," he continued, "but if I make an exception for you, do you have any idea what the other patients, the ones you're cutting in front of, will say? What my overworked colleagues will whisper behind my back?"

"I'm up for a major promotion next year. Your casual request for 'special treatment' creates huge problems for me. I'm already exhausted from dealing with work and hospital politics."

"Vivienne, you used to be so understanding. How has being pregnant made you so selfish?"

It felt like a physical blow to my heart. "I'm sorry," I managed to say, my voice dry. "I was just so scared something would happen to the baby we've waited so long for."

Marcus and I had been married for five years. We'd gone through countless medications, endless tests, and finally conceived through IVF. After all that struggle, to finally have our baby, only to see blood every day a deep, gnawing fear had taken root inside me. Now, Marcus's words had made it bloom into full-blown terror.

My breath hitched, and for a moment, I could barely see his face. He was still talking.

"I'm an obstetrician, Vivienne. I know better than anyone if there's a problem with the baby. Don't be so dramatic."

It was only when he noticed how pale I'd become that he sighed, his voice softening into a placating tone. "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to our child. Don't you trust me? There, there, don't cry."

So I swallowed my hurt. For every check-up, I obediently waited in line for two hours. I never even asked Marcus to come with me, afraid I would be a distraction from his important work.

And this was my reward. To see him practically begging another woman to be a "trouble" to him. The family access he refused to get for me he had been saving it for someone else all along.

The man still fussing over Laura finally turned, his expression impatient. But the moment he saw the blood pooling beneath me, his pupils contracted. He reached out for me by pure reflex.

With the last of my strength, I slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me!" I hissed.

Then, my head lolled to the side, and the world went dark.

Through the fog, I could hear Marcus's frantic voice. "Vivienne, hold on! I'm going to save you, I promise."

"Massive hemorrhaging, high-risk miscarriage! Prep an operating room, now!"

A nurse spoke up hesitantly. "Dr. Reid, you have that national medical conference to present at soon"

Marcus cut her off. "No one else can save this baby. I have to do the surgery myself. I'll take full responsibility for missing the lecture."

My hands clenched together unconsciously. Tears streamed from my closed eyes, but a small part of me felt a sliver of relief. I let go, surrendering to the blackness.

Thank God. Marcus still cared about our baby. With him here, I wouldn't lose our little life.

I don't know how much time passed. My eyelids fluttered open. I was still in the operating room, the surgical light blinding me.

I've always had a low tolerance for anesthesia. Marcus knew this; he would never have let me wake up mid-procedure. A sharp, slicing pain radiated from my lower abdomen. A terrible premonition washed over me. I forced myself to sit up, my eyes falling on a stranger's face.

He was making the first incision on my belly. My world narrowed to a single point of terror. "Who are you?" I shrieked. "Why aren't you Marcus? Where is he?"

"Marcus said he would save my baby! He was going to skip his lecture to operate on me! Why is it you? You're in the wrong room, right?"

The other doctor, a Dr. Peterson, was startled by my sudden awakening. "Ms. Scott," he said, recovering quickly, "your condition is critical. If we don't operate now, we might not be able to save your uterus."

"Right before you were brought in, a patient named Laura collapsed from shock. Dr. Reid is with her, stabilizing her pregnancy."

"Dr. Reid said her appointment was scheduled before yours. Even though you're his wife, he can't break the rules. But he's been very responsible," Dr. Peterson added quickly. "He specifically asked me to handle your surgery. I'm the only one here who can guarantee we save your uterus."

But I didn't want my uterus. I wanted my baby. I could still feel a faint, fluttering heartbeat inside me.

My baby hadn't even had a chance to see the world. He had fought so hard to grow this big. I hadn't even had the chance to call him by his nickname, Kicker.

I couldn't just let him die.

Gritting my teeth, I shoved the doctor away. Clutching my bleeding abdomen, I ignored the searing pain and stumbled off the operating table. I staggered through the hallway, screaming Marcus's name.

"Marcus, come out! I'm begging you, save our baby! You promised you would protect him!"

"Marcus, I'm not angry anymore! If you just save our baby, I'll pretend today never happened! We waited so long for him! Last night, he kicked your hand, don't you remember?"

"Please, don't be so cruel! I'm begging you, save him!"

Staff and patients stared at me, whispering amongst themselves.

"Is that woman crazy? Dr. Reid is in the middle of surgery."

"I think that's his wife. But even so, she can't just demand he abandon another patient to save her. So selfish."

I didn't care about their scornful words. I just kept crying his name, a desperate, wounded sound. The bleeding, which had never really stopped, now flowed freely down my legs, leaving a gruesome trail of red in my wake.

Dr. Peterson caught up to me, trying to support my swaying body. "Are you trying to kill yourself? It's just a baby! You and Dr. Reid can have another one later!"

I shoved him away with a stubborn fury. As long as there was a sliver of hope for my baby, I wouldn't give up. Finally, I found him. He was in another operating room.

He was focused, his expression grim as he worked. A spark of hope ignited in me. I pressed myself against the viewing window.

"Marcus! Our baby is still alive! He's still alive! Please, just this once, make an exception for me!"

"I can't lose him, Marcus. I really can't."

When my hands grew too weak, I resorted to banging my head against the glass, praying he would see me.

Marcus's steady hand trembled. He slowly looked up, and his eyes met mine. I saw his body stiffen. I didn't care. I poured all my remaining energy into my plea, begging him to choose me, just this once.

But then, Laura, on the operating table, moaned and frowned in discomfort. Marcus's gaze immediately snapped back to her. I saw the mask move as he spoke. A nurse came out and, without a word, injected a syringe into my arm.

The last of my strength drained away, and I collapsed to the floor.

The nurse spoke to Dr. Peterson, who was still standing behind me.

"Dr. Reid said she has a low tolerance for anesthesia, so you need to increase the dosage. He said if the baby can't be saved, it can't be saved. Just make sure you save the uterus."

"His procedure is at a critical stage. If you can't control your patient and she disturbs him again, he'll make sure you fail your next performance review."

The operating room doors swung shut again. My eyes were wide open, tears streaming silently down my face as I was pushed back inside, utterly defeated.

I was conscious enough to feel the scalpel slice open my belly. I felt them remove the child, the one who was part of my own flesh and blood, from my womb. I saw them toss his tiny, silent body into a waste bin. My eyes followed that bin until it was wheeled away, disappearing from my sight forever.

A wave of dizziness washed over me. The pain in my abdomen spread to my heart, a crushing agony that made it impossible to breathe.

The stitching was quick. Dr. Peterson wiped the sweat from his brow.

"We saved the uterus."

"Ms. Scott, don't blame Dr. Reid. For him, the patient's needs always come first."

"Besides, he's never pulled strings at the hospital before, never asked for a VIP room. This time, he was very firm about getting one for his family. He does care about you. As his wife, you need to support his work."

Dr. Peterson chattered on, defending Marcus. I stared at the white light on the ceiling, my hands pressing down on my now-flat stomach in a gesture of self-punishment. A cold laugh escaped my lips.

"So I should thank him?"

Dr. Peterson fell silent and pushed open the door to a VIP room.

"You should get some rest. Dr. Reid will be here to see you soon"

He didn't finish his sentence. I turned my head and looked into the room.

Marcus was there, cradling a sleeping Laura in his arms, gently wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

"I know you're a light sleeper," he murmured. "I specifically requested this room for you. Don't worry about anything else. I'm here. Our baby is going to be born healthy and strong."

Noticing the movement at the door, Marcus looked up and saw my ashen face. His lips tightened into a thin line. Dr. Peterson quickly pulled my gurney back, stammering an apology to Marcus.

"I'm so sorry, Dr. Reid. I heard you requested a room for family, so I brought Ms. Scott here"

Even then, Marcus carefully settled Laura back onto the bed before he came out to face me. He even had the presence of mind to gently close the door, so she wouldn't be disturbed.

He rubbed his temples and dismissed Dr. Peterson. Then, he finally met my gaze.

"Vivienne, Laura just had a major scare. She needs quiet to rest and keep the baby safe. I've already lost one child today. I can't lose another."

"I know I've wronged you in this Vivienne, the most important thing now is for you to recover"

SLAP!

I struck him across the face with all my might. The extreme grief had paradoxically calmed me, freezing my emotions into a shard of ice.

"How did you two meet?"

Marcus turned his head to the side, closing his eyes for a moment before answering. "She was my student. Laura is a good girl. She knows we're married, and she didn't want me to hurt you by divorcing you. She was willing to be with me without any official status."

"When she found out you were pregnant, she kept telling me to go home and take care of you. She wouldn't even let me accompany her to her own check-ups. I gave her the family access pass to make it up to her, but she never even used it."

"Laura has already been through enough. Take your anger out on me. She has nothing to do with this."

"Hahahaha."

I started laughing, a wild, broken sound that brought fresh tears to my eyes.

So he had already considered divorcing me. The only reason my marriage was still intact was thanks to Laura's "pity." The way Marcus defended her, so openly and without shame, was another sharp, twisting knife in my already bleeding heart.

I lunged at him like a wild animal, scratching and clawing. "Marcus, you bastard! I hope you rot in hell! You're going to pay for what you did to my Kicker!"

Marcus stepped forward, clamping a hand over my mouth. Then, he actually injected me with a sedative.

"Vivienne, I will make this up to you. But the hospital can't know about this. I'm up for promotion, remember?"

"The hospital is short on beds. I've already requested one VIP room, I can't break the rules and ask for another. Please, for my sake, just put up with a temporary bed in the hallway."

"Don't worry," he added, his voice a low murmur. "I'll come check on you constantly."

My body went limp on the gurney. I watched, helpless, as Marcus pushed me to a solitary, temporary bed at the end of the corridor. Passersby stared, pointing and whispering.

"That's the crazy woman from before. Screaming like she owns the place."

"Dr. Reid has the patience of a saint. He isn't even angry, he's taking care of her himself."

Despair washed over me, a tidal wave that drowned out everything else. The tears wouldn't stop.

Just as Marcus finished settling me in, the hospital director came rushing over.

"Professor Reid, I've been looking everywhere for you! The officials from the national health board heard you missed the lecture to save a patient. They were incredibly impressed! They've agreed to wait for you to finish your surgery before you present."

"It's going to be live-streamed nationwide. Never mind these patients, you need to come with me right now."

The man who had just promised to care for me dropped my hand without a second thought and hurried away. I dug my nails into my palm, using the sharp pain to claw back a sliver of strength. Leaning against the wall, I staggered after them.

The lecture was clearly a major event. Several top figures in the medical community, faces I recognized from television, sat in the front row, looking at Marcus with approval.

Marcus gave a solemn bow and spoke into the microphone, his image projected onto the live-stream feed.

"My sincerest apologies. An emergency surgery delayed my presentation. But I have no regrets. A doctor's duty is, first and foremost, to his patients."

A wave of applause and murmurs of praise filled the hall. "A true physician's heart," someone whispered. Marcus pushed his glasses up, hiding the smug smile that touched his lips, before clicking open his presentation.

"The topic of my lecture today is the promotion of the extraperitoneal cesarean section."

But the image that appeared on the giant screen was not a medical diagram. It was a photo of him and Laura, naked in bed together. The color drained from Marcus's face. I stood in the back, in the shadows, holding up my phone, which was playing a recording. My voice, amplified, rang through the hall.

"Excuse me, Dr. Reid, but is your 'physician's heart' reserved only for your mistress, Laura?"