Chapter 3
Maybe it was the blood loss, or maybe it was my racing heart. Either way, I spent the whole night wide awake, unable to get any rest.
The next morning, as soon as I stepped into the office, waves of darkness washed over my vision. The words on the paperwork swam before my eyes, all twisted and blurry.
Eventually, with my coworkers shouting in panic, I completely blacked out.
When I woke up again, the smell of disinfectant lingered around me, filling my senses.
"You already have severe anemia, and with all the blood loss you've had lately, your body's at its limit," the doctor said, pushing up his glasses with a serious look.
"If you want to keep this baby, you need to stop the transfusions right away and start taking better care of yourself, eat well, and get your strength back.
"Otherwise, you won't just lose the baby, and you'll be putting your own life in danger," he added.
I listened numbly, my hands and feet icy cold.
As I stepped out of the exam room, I leaned against the cold wall, my heart a whirlwind of emotions.
Thank God the baby was safe, at least.
But what really weighed on me was what Marcus would choose to do.
I knew Marcus all too well.
Between our child and Lillian, he'd choose her without a second thought.
I spent the entire afternoon sitting on that hospital bench, watching as daylight slowly slipped away outside the window.
Driven by a lingering unwillingness to let go, I finally picked up my phone and called Marcus.
My throat felt parched, and it took everything I had just to get the words out.
"Mr. Vale, the doctor said my body's really weak. If I keep going like this, I might lose the baby. Can I just not donate blood to Ms. Cross for a while?" I pleaded, my voice barely holding together.
There was a brief silence on the other end, then his cold, mocking laugh cut through the line.
"Ophelia, what made you think being pregnant gives you a free pass?" Marcus sneered.
"You'd better remember your place. If you weren't still useful to me, you and that thing you're carrying would've been out of the picture ages ago," he said, his voice icy with contempt.
Then the line went dead, the dial tone buzzing in my ear.
I sat there, completely numb, like my blood had turned to ice.
After a long time, I reached up to wipe my face, only to realize my skin was cold and damp, and tears, of course.
It was almost funny.
It was not like I didn't know this all along.
Just as I was about to head back to the Vale residence, I spotted a familiar figure at the end of the hospital corridor.
It was Lillian.
This was the hospital where she'd been recovering for ages, so seeing her here was no surprise.
But today, she was totally different from the weak, pale girl I'd seen lying in her hospital bed.
She wore a body-hugging mini skirt that showed off her curves, and her face was flawlessly done up with heavy makeup.
She practically bounced with every step, radiating energy.
A strong sense of unease compelled me to quietly follow her.
"I've had enough," Lillian snapped at the guy in the white coat next to her, her voice full of bratty frustration.
She said, "I've been faking being sick for ages, and all Marcus ever did was get me a blood donor. What else has he given me?
"You said he could help pay off our family's debts, but what did we get? Just some supplements that don't even scratch the surface of what we owe."
She was getting more and more fired up as she ranted.
"Stuck in that hospital room every single day, pretending to be some weakling, I'm losing my mind. If someone wants to keep faking, let them. I'm leaving. I'm going to Losviage, and I'm going right now," she pressed.
The doctor lowered his voice, trying to calm her down.
"You're killing me here, Lillian. The Cross Group's gone under, and creditors are lining up out there just waiting for you. If Marcus wasn't watching your back, you wouldn't last a minute outside this hospital," he warned.
He paused, his tone turning meaningful. "I've told you before. You need to make him fall for you. Once he's truly hooked, the whole Vale Group will be in the palm of your hand. Money will be the least of your worries."
Lillian let out a mocking laugh.
She sneered, "You think I haven't tried? I've thrown every hint at him, obvious and subtle, but he's totally clueless. I say my chest hurts, and he just calls the doctor.
"I tell him I had a nightmare and I'm scared, and he just hauls that bitch over to give me a transfusion. Honestly, I have no clue what's going on in that guy's head."
Just then, she suddenly spotted me out of the corner of her eye.
I instinctively stepped back, only to realize that in my panic, I'd ended up at a secluded stairwell with them.
Lillian's expression instantly darkened.
"It's her, that bitch who's always hanging around Marcus. How much did she hear?" she snapped.
The doctor gave me a cool once-over, then broke into a sly grin.
He said, "Isn't it all about the money for you, hanging around Marcus? Tell you what. I'll slip you 3 grand if you keep today to yourself, never breathe a word.
"And next time Lillian needs a transfusion, I'll just fake it. No real blood, just for show."
I shook my head hard and turned to run for it, but he grabbed me before I could escape.
He snatched the hospital report out of my hand, rough as ever.
He took one look at it, and his face instantly darkened. "She's pregnant."
Lillian shrieked, "What? That baby has to be Marcus's.
"No wonder he never responded to any of my flirting, you conniving little bitch. You've been seducing him behind my back. No way, I won't just sit by and let her get away with this. I didn't spend all these years scheming for nothing."
The doctor's gaze turned cold and sinister as he jerked his thumb toward the stairwell behind us.
He said to Lillian, his voice low and scheming, "Why not kill two birds with one stone? No cameras here. Take a tumble down those stairs and pin it all on her."