Chapter 5
5
By my third day in the hospital, Alexander had taken a leave of absence. He didn't leave my bedside for a second, catering to my every need.
As if doing this could erase everything that had already happened.
"Grace, I'm so sorry. The second I completely resolve things with Sophie, we're getting married."
"We'll fix every crack. I promise."
He squeezed my hand tightly.
"You, me, and the baby. This is my family."
He said it loudly, as if volume alone could make those words come true.
I closed my eyes, saying nothing. I didn't have the energy to respond.
While Alexander stepped out to speak with my attending physician, my phone lit up.
A text from an unknown number.
"Let's make a bet, Grace."
"If I step to the edge of the roof, do you think Alexander will stay with you, or will he drop everything and run to me?"
Attached was a photo: her wrist wrapped in bandages, the background unmistakably the hospital roof.
My hand instinctively flew to my stomach.
This wasn't a desperate cry for help. It was naked extortion.
Almost simultaneously, Alexander burst back into the room, panic written all over his face. He was already dialing the crisis line.
"Grace, I have to go. Sophie cut her wrists and climbed onto the roof. Security and the crisis intervention team are on site, and they're specifically requesting her primary attending."
He turned toward the door. I reached out and grabbed his wrist in a dead grip.
"Don't go, Alexander."
He looked at me in shock. I stared straight into his eyes.
"She's manipulating you."
"She just texted me this. She's forcing you to make a choice. Can't you see that?"
I shoved the phone in his face.
He read it. A flicker of shock crossed his features.
"Grace, this isn't a game to see who wins."
"Even if she's extorting us, I can't gamble with her life."
My fingers dug into my palms so hard my nails pierced the skin. My breath caught in my throat.
"But every time you run to her, you gamble with my life. You gamble with the safety of our baby."
He slowly pulled his arm out of my grasp. His voice was low, but it trembled.
"Grace."
"I am a doctor. I cannot bet a human life on a hunch. This is a real crisis, not a game."
All the grievances I had silently swallowed over the past few months suddenly sank to the bottom of my stomach, turning cold and hard.
I glared at him.
"If you walk out that door, Alexander... we are completely done."
He looked back at me, and whatever hesitation he had vanished completely.
"I can't believe you're forcing me to choose at a time like this. We'll talk when I get back."
With that, he turned and walked out.
The exact second he stepped through the doorway, a violent, tearing sensation ripped through my abdomen.
When I regained consciousness, the hospital room was dead silent.
No one needed to say a word. I already knew. It was all over.
The nurse's voice was gentle, laced with deep pity.
"Grace... I'm so sorry. We couldn't save the baby."
I stared blankly at the ceiling. A long time passed before I finally spoke, my voice barely a whisper.
"You chose her."
I closed my eyes.
"So I choose myself."
Three days later, I checked myself out of the hospital alone. I blocked Alexander on every platform, and booked a one-way ticket to Los Angeles.
As I boarded, I thought of the one-way ticket I had bought five years ago to run to Alexander.
Back then, I believed love made everything worth it.
The final boarding call echoed through the terminal.
I took one last look in the direction of New York, gripped my one-way ticket tight, turned, and walked through the gate.