Chapter 5
The doctor's words were cold and merciless.
Vernon stumbled, his legs nearly giving out beneath him.
He wasn't ready to let go.
He moved closer and wrapped Britney in his arms, but her skin was utterly cold, her neck, once warm, now chilling him to the bone.
Now, he could no longer deny that Britney was dead.
The weight in his arms felt unbearably heavy, making it almost impossible to breathe.
He tried to steady himself.
But it was like an invisible hand clenched around his heart, the agony so sharp it made his vision swim.
Vernon whispered, his voice breaking, "Britney, I'm sorry.
"I thought nothing would happen."
Vernon's voice was barely more than a broken whisper.
He said, "The first time went so smoothly, and you were always so strong. I really thought this would be just like before. Why couldn't you pull through this time?"
He was speaking to Britney, but every word felt like he was tearing his own heart apart, over and over.
Endless regret crashed over him like a tidal wave.
He remembered the choice he'd made.
He remembered how he'd overstepped boundaries, indulging someone he should have let go.
He remembered the day Page knelt before him, crying heartbreakingly, pleading with him for help because she couldn't have a child.
Almost against his will, he'd agreed to her ridiculous request, betraying the woman he loved most and his cousin.
At that moment, he thought he should have said no.
But for some reason, whenever he saw Page crying, he just couldn't think straight.
By the time he finally snapped out of it, everything was already set in stone.
He thought that he should just let the mistake run its course.
He felt that maybe this was how he could finally fix what he once regretted.
But he never imagined that his decision would end up sending Britney to her grave.
"Britney, I'm sorry..." Vernon was consumed by regret.
He buried his face in the crook of Britney's neck, scalding tears streaming down, one after another.
His voice was so hoarse it was barely audible.
He said, "Please, wake up. I was wrong. I never should've agreed to Page's request. I never should've let you go through all this.
"Please, open your eyes and look at me, just once, okay?"
He held Britney's lifeless body in his arms.
He sat there, completely lost, slumped beside the hospital bed.
Over and over, he shook her shoulders, his movements desperate and almost frantic, as if he could somehow bring her back.
No matter how desperately he called her name or shook her, Britney just lay there, her eyes shut tight, never to open again.
Her pale lips stayed silent, never to respond to him again.
*****
Meanwhile, Page's eyes were filled with anxious anticipation.
But after waiting half an hour without seeing the baby brought out, she finally stepped out to see what was happening.
When she saw Britney lying lifeless on the bed, and Vernon clutching her, sobbing in utter despair, her face went rigid with shock.
Her expression froze instantly.
A person wrote: [What the heck? Why is she dead?]
Another wrote: [Seriously? She died at the worst possible moment.]
Someone wrote: [Come on, have Vernon cut her open. Maybe the baby's still alive.]
All those comments snapped Page out of her daze.
As Page's eyes flicked over Britney's rounded belly, a cold, ruthless glint flashed deep in her gaze.
She quickly put on a helpless, innocent look and walked over to Vernon, gently tugging at his sleeve.
Page said, "Vernon, please don't be so heartbroken.
"Even though Britney's gone, maybe the baby inside her is still alive, you know?
"Hurry and ask the doctor to get the baby out. Britney was such a good mom. If she knew there was a chance for her child to survive, she'd definitely want you to try."
Vernon froze, his movements coming to an abrupt halt.
A wave of suffocating emotion crashed in his chest as he whipped around.
He caught Page with her scheming and coldness still written all over her face, unable to hide it in time.
That look pierced Vernon's heart like a needle, chilling him to the core.
He used to believe Page was still that sweet girl who'd go out of her way to save stray cats, even in the freezing cold.
He thought she only plotted against Britney out of desperation, with nowhere else to turn.
But then he remembered how his aunt from the Kinsman family was already considering someone else to marry into the family, just because Page couldn't have children.
That was when it finally dawned on him. Page had been manipulating him from the very beginning.
Her worry was all for show.
She was only worried about herself.
If her fake pregnancy ever got out, the Kinsman family wouldn't hesitate to throw her out. Dustin would dump her without a second thought. All her carefully laid plans would crumble to dust.
Their eyes locked, tension crackling in the air.
Page played the helpless damsel. She was certain Vernon would come to her rescue just like he always had.
But this time, Vernon acted as if she didn't exist. He just hugged Britney even tighter, refusing to let go.
"Get out," Vernon spat.
He was as cold as ice, his fury so intense it seemed to freeze the air.
Page's smile vanished in an instant, disbelief written all over her face as she stared at him.
She said, "Vernon, you..."
"Get out!" Vernon thundered, his voice shaking with rage.
Vernon jerked his head up, his eyes bloodshot and wild, like a beast driven mad with fury.
He said, "It's all because of you. If you hadn't begged me, Britney wouldn't be dead!"
His voice was hoarse, every word dripping with pain and rage.
Page was so freaked out by the cold fury in his eyes that she kept stumbling backward, her face going ghostly pale. Her helpless act fell apart completely.
Desperate for sympathy, she threw herself to the floor and let out a dramatic cry of pain.
But Vernon, who used to worry about her all the time, didn't even look her way.
He kept kissing Britney's cold forehead again and again, like he'd lost his mind, begging for forgiveness with every desperate touch.
He said, "Britney, I'm sorry. I messed up, I really messed up.
"If I'd known it would take your life, I swear I'd have died before ever helping Page.
"Please, just wake up, okay?
"I'll do whatever you say from now on. If you want to see the ocean, I'll take you there right this second.
"If you want soup, I'll make it for you myself.
"If you want anyone gone, I'll make it happen, whatever it takes, as long as you're happy..."
Vernon refused to accept reality, pleading desperately, humbled and broken.
But Britney had slipped away forever, lost to a sleep she'd never wake from.
She would never respond to him, never open her eyes again.
No matter how much it tore him apart inside, she was gone for good.