Chapter 314
Dr. Reid placed a firm hand on her shoulder, pressing her gently but firmly back against the pillows. “Andrea, you’re not going anywhere.”
Her heart pounded. “Please, Doctor. If something happens–if even a single plant goes missing–I’ll lose my job! I need that job!” Her breath came fast and shallow. “Just let me go for a few minutes–I’ll lock up and come right back. Please-”
“You’re still not getting it.” His voice was firm now, cutting through her frantic words like a blade. “Andrea, your blood pressure is dangerously high. 180
over 120.”
The numbers meant nothing to her. All she knew was that he looked afraid.
“There are complications,” he continued, his voice grave. “You and your baby-” He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his graying hair before finally saying it. “Andrea, you could both die.”
The words struck her like a physical blow.
Everything around her- the murmur of voices behind hospital curtains, the distant footsteps of nurses, the hum of machines–faded into a deafening
silence.
Die.
She and her baby.
No. No. No.
Her mind screamed, but no sound left her lips.
Her arms fell limp at her sides.
Her chest rose and fell in uneven breaths as she stared at the ceiling, unblinking, numb.
“You collapsed this time,” Dr. Reid went on, his voice softer now, as if he were breaking terrible news to a child. “Tomorrow, it could be a seizure. And if that happens…” He didn’t finish the sentence. He didn’t have to.
HELLP syndrome. Hemolysis, Elevated Liver Enzymes, Low Platelets. Words she barely understood but knew were a death sentence for her baby.
After everything.
After fighting so hard, after clawing her way through every hardship, life was still finding a way to push her back down.
Her fingers curled into the thin hospital sheets, but she couldn’t move, couldn’t even cry.
She wanted to scream. To rage. To ask why life kept breaking her, over and over again.
But she didn’t.
She just lay there, staring at the ceiling, silently pleading with a God she wasn’t sure even existed–please, not my baby
She wished she could cry. She wished she could scream–pull her fists to her chest and beat against it or venene, anyone, listened, Until the universe
7/2
3:30 pm p p p p.
Chapter 314
understood how unfair this was. How it kept pushing her toward the edge of ruin, over and over again, never letting her breathe.
But she couldn’t cry. She couldn’t even speak. The weight of Dr. Reid’s words had crushed the air from her lungs.
He had been so clear, so gentle and careful–and yet the truth of his diagnosis hit like a wrecking ball.
Apart from antihypertensive medications and strict orders for bed rest, there was nothing more he could do for her.
“If your blood pressure spikes again, Andrea–if you seize–we’ll have no choice but to deliver the baby early,” he said quietly. “And at seven months, the baby’s lungs aren’t fully developed. Our hospital doesn’t have the resources for that kind of care. We’d have to transfer the baby to a city hospital…
somewhere with a proper NICU.”
“Manhattan Public,” he added after a long pause. “I have a friend there. I’ll give you his contact information. Stay in touch with him. And if… if the worst happens, you’ll need to be prepared to get the baby there immediately.”
Manhattan?
NICU?
She didn’t even have money for the taxi ride across town, let alone the thousands it would cost to keep her baby alive in a city hospital. She didn’t have anyone who would take her. Anyone who would help.
Her job–God, her job. It was gone now. She knew it, Two days of absence without notice? Mrs. Abigail wouldn’t care about the reason. She’d find someone
else.
But worse–far worse–was the one thing Dr. Reid didn’t know.
She couldn’t go to Manhattan. She couldn’t. The father of this child–the dangerous, powerful man she’d run from–was still out there. And if he found out where she was… if he found the baby…
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
