Chapter 4

4: 4

The ER corridor was loud with voices. I lay on the gurney, blood dripping off the edge of it, dragging a raw red streak across the white tile.

The nurse was about to wheel me into the trauma room when Burton hurried in with Zara on his arm.

At the sight of me covered in blood, his steps stalled, and something like shock crossed his eyes.

But Zara spoke first.

"Iris, why did you come chasing after us too?"

"She was perfectly fine at home a moment ago. How does she lose this much blood the second she gets to the hospital? She isn't still blaming you for bringing me in for tests first, is she? Blowing this up on purpose?"

Whatever hesitation had flickered in Burton's eyes vanished at once.

He looked down at me, his expression frighteningly cold.

"Iris, do you have any idea this is the emergency room?"

"You'll pull a stunt like this, hurting yourself just to fight Zara for the front of the line. Aren't you afraid of holding up someone who actually needs saving?"

I was shaking all over from the pain, without even the strength to explain.

The nurse couldn't hold back.

"The patient is losing a lot of blood, and her pressure is dropping. She has to be treated right now."

The head of the ER recognized Burton and came over quickly.

But Burton planted himself in front of the gurney and said, low and hard,

"She only hit her lower back, and she's fully conscious. Follow protocol and run the triage assessment first."

"Zara has a record of abnormal cardiac enzymes. Give her the cardiac monitor first."

The head physician glanced at the blood spreading wider beneath me, and his face tightened.

"Dr. James, this patient's condition is clearly more urgent."

"Whether it's urgent is decided by test results, not by who makes the bigger scene."

Burton's brow drew tight, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Just because she's my wife doesn't mean she gets to jump the normal process."

Leaning against his side, Zara added softly,

"Iris has never liked me. If I tie up the machine, she'll just accuse Burton of playing favorites again."

Burton's face went colder still, and he steered her straight to the exam bed.

"We go by the rules. No one has any right to make a scene."

I curled up against the pain and opened my mouth, but I didn't have the strength to speak.

So in his eyes, even bleeding was just another play for his attention.

At that moment, the blood-pressure monitor let out a shrill alarm.

"Patient's pressure keeps dropping. Get her in now!"

The on-call doctor shoved Burton away from the gurney and rushed me into the trauma room.

The OB doctor hurried over with the results in hand.

"Pregnant patient, massive hemorrhage. No fetal heartbeat. We have to do a D&C to stop the bleeding immediately, or the mother is in danger too!"

The nurse held out the surgical consent form.

"Ms. Cooley, you're conscious, so you can sign for yourself. Is there family we should notify?"

White-faced, I pulled up a smile worse than crying.

"No need."

"I don't have any family."

As the pen dragged across the paper, a part of my own body was carved out of me for good.

At the same time, the funeral home still couldn't reach me, so they had no choice but to call the backup number on file.

Burton was sitting outside the private ward, waiting on Zara's results.

The call connected, and the staff member asked in a flat, businesslike tone,

"Hello, Mr. James. The cold-storage period for your mother-in-law's body expires tonight. When will the family come in to handle the cremation?"

Burton shot to his feet, his face darkening fast.

"Iris put you up to this call?"

"Tell her a lie like that only makes me despise her more."

The staff member paused, caught off guard.

"Mr. James, this is the city funeral home—"

"Enough."

Burton hung up on the spot and blocked the number.

After the D&C, I lay on the cold hospital bed, staring at the ceiling without moving.

The nurse wiped the blood off my body, her eyes reddening as she turned her face away.

Elsewhere, Burton got up to go to the water station for hot water.

Passing the ER nurses' station, he caught the night-shift handoff.

A few nurses had dropped their voices.

"That patient earlier, Iris Cooley, she's got it so hard. Her own mother died two days ago after they couldn't save her, and today she miscarries and hemorrhages herself."

"I heard she signed the consent form alone. Didn't even fill in an emergency contact."

Another nurse frowned.

"Isn't her husband at the hospital too?"

"He is. That's the same Dr. James from earlier who said she didn't meet the criteria for emergency care."

"His own wife is eight weeks pregnant and he doesn't even know, and he nearly held up her treatment. What kind of husband is that?"

"He's just a cheater too busy keeping his little mistress happy!"

Every drop of blood in Burton's body froze in an instant.

His thermos hit the floor with a bang, scalding water splashing over the top of his foot, but he didn't seem to feel the burn.

He turned stiffly, eyes bloodshot, staring at those few nurses, his voice shaking to pieces.

"What did you just say, who died?"

"Who miscarried?"