Chapter 4
It took a day and a night of surgery to pull Emily back.
On the way into the operating room, she heard a conversation she wasn't meant to hear.
The doctor said, "The device has gone all the way through the uterine wall. There's widespread infection and adhesion. If you want her alive, the uterus comes out."
Then Anna made the decision for her. "Lucas, it's all right. Whatever children I have, Emily can raise them. What matters right now is keeping her alive."
Lucas agreed. "She's right. Do it."
*****
Emily's eyes came open. It had to be a nightmare.
Then she saw Lucas holding her with his eyes bloodshot, and she knew she would never carry a child of her own.
"Sweetheart, if you die, I'll take this whole hospital down with you.
"I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I should be the one on that table."
He hit himself across the face with the guilt written all over him.
Anna saw it and pushed the door open to stop him. "Mr. Carter, don't. It was an accident."
"I didn't protect her. I'm useless."
"Ms. Carter is safe now. You can't carry all of it by yourself."
Watching the two of them run the scene, Emily's stomach turned, and she doubled over, gagging.
Lucas panicked. "Sweetheart, are you all right?"
"Get out," Emily said through her teeth.
Her eyes went red as she shoved him off, and the force of it took her off the bed and onto the floor.
The IV needle tore out of her hand.
Blood ran down the back of her hand and left a bright smear behind.
Her eyes burned as she screamed at him. "Why did you let them take my uterus? Why?"
Lucas watched her fall apart and fought his own face down as he tried to get her off the floor. "Sweetheart, don't do this. A child doesn't matter. I need you alive.
"As long as you're all right, we'll adopt as many as you want."
Emily stared at him for a long time and understood, with nothing left in her, that she had never once seen him clearly.
Wanting a child that belonged to the two of them had only ever been her idea.
Off to the side, the jealousy came up in Anna.
Something shadowed her face; two tears fell, and she looked small and pitiable. "Ms. Carter, please don't blame Mr. Carter. He's hurting over this, too."
She lifted her eyes to him, shaking. "And we can all see how much he loves you. When you act like it's worth nothing, it cuts him."
Watching Anna shake and defend him anyway, something in Lucas ached.
He kept his hand off her face and said it evenly. "I love Sweetheart. That was my own choice."
Watching the pair of them run their routine, Emily laughed at it.
How stupid had she been that a trick this obvious got past her for two years?
Love really did take a person's eyes.
"Get out," Emily spat.
Lucas froze, and then he looked at her with all that tenderness. "Sweetheart, rest. I'm staying right here."
Once they were gone, Emily picked up a cup and threw it at the floor.