Chapter 3
After the staff clocked out, Fred was still nowhere to be seen.
I dialed his number, but it was that familiar voice, Vanessa, who picked up.
"Hey, Laura, Fred's here with me. He's drunk and won't be coming home tonight," Vanessa said.
It was Vanessa again. I shivered in the cold, my lips growing even paler.
"Does he even know what day it is today?" I asked.
Vanessa just turned on the camera and pointed it right at Fred's handsome face.
On the screen, Fred's cheeks were flushed, his head tilted to one side, and a few buttons of his crisp shirt undone.
Vanessa pinched his cheek, and Fred opened his eyes, his gaze hazy and unfocused as he stared at the camera.
He looked absolutely irresistible, and the whole scene was thick with tension.
If only he weren't my husband, this would be one hell of a scene.
"Fred, do you even know what day it is?" Vanessa pressed.
Seeing that Fred couldn't say a word, she just muttered under her breath, "Look at you. I told you not to take drinks for me.
"The more you try to help, the more they push it. Now you're so wasted you can't even talk straight."
I gripped my phone so tightly my knuckles turned white, forcing myself not to cry.
Fred let out a couple of groans, and for a moment, I swore I heard my name.
"Laura... Laura..." Fred mumbled.
But Vanessa just hung up on me.
I shook my head, a bitter smile tugging at my lips. It must be my imagination.
Three years. No matter how much I tried to numb myself, I couldn't deny it anymore. Vanessa was always the number one in his heart.
I kept waiting for a divorce from Fred, but it never happened.
Instead, I finally got the baby I'd been hoping for all this time, but by then, it didn't feel like a miracle anymore.
*****
At the hospital, I sat numbly on a bench in the hallway. Of all times, why did I have to get pregnant now?
Just then, a commotion broke out up ahead.
Through the crowd, I caught sight of a familiar face.
Why was Fred here? Did he somehow find out I was pregnant?
Suddenly, I was hit with a rush of complicated emotions.
I got to my feet, locking eyes with Fred from across the sea of people.
His face was tight with worry, and when he spotted me, it was like he'd found his last hope.
He made a beeline straight for me, not hesitating for a second.
Just as a flicker of hope started to rise in my chest, Fred's words snuffed it out in an instant.
"Vanessa's caught up with some people causing a scene at the hospital. Go help her," Fred said.
He didn't even wait for my answer, just grabbed my arm and dragged me off after him.
"Fred, let go of me. I can't go..." I tried to protest.
But before I could even get the word "pregnant" out, Fred cut me off, his voice icy. "Laura! Come on, be sensible.
"Vanessa's got a critical surgery next; her whole promotion depends on it. She can't afford any delays."
What did that have to do with me?
Feeling completely helpless and wronged, I fought to break free, but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't shake him off.
Fred didn't give a damn. He pushed me straight toward the troublemakers, yelling for everyone to hear.
"She's the surgeon who operated on your family member. If you've got complaints, go talk to her!" he barked.
One of the enraged family members lunged at me, hands clamping tight around my throat.
I felt my eyes nearly pop out from the lack of air, helpless as I watched Fred rush to Vanessa, pulling her into his arms and comforting her while I was left struggling to breathe.
"No..." I gasped, barely able to force the word out.
Suddenly, the furious family member stabbed a knife right into the back of my hand.
He hated the doctor who failed the surgery, and with that stab, he wanted to make sure the doctor would never hold a scalpel again.
But I wasn't a doctor. I was just an innocent person caught up in all this, all because Fred wanted to help Vanessa out.
It wasn't until blood was spilled that security finally showed up, way too late, and intervened to stop the attack.
Even as they struggled to restrain him, he still managed to slam his foot into my stomach.
I collapsed in a pool of blood, and as my vision faded, the last thing I saw was Fred leaving with Vanessa, their figures vanishing into the crowd.
My heart was frozen solid; there wasn't a shred of warmth left in me.
Vanessa's surgery was a total success.