She Woke Up Caught off guard, Nicole stumbled backward when Jarrod shoved her.
Her heel got stuck in the emergency exit door, causing her to fall hard onto the concrete.
The sound of her falling was a muffled thud, making it clear she'd taken a heavy fall.
Just as Nicole was gearing up to unleash a string of curses, a soft feminine voice wafted in from the outside.
"Jarrod, what brings you here?” It was unmistakably Jamie's voice.
Switching his attention from the door to Jamie, Jarrod answered softly, "I’m visiting a friend.
What's got you in the hospital?” Jamie caught a faint whiff of shower gel, and for a fleeting moment, her eyes flashed with barely
noticeable malice.
"I'm a bit lightheaded, so I came to get checked out.” Jamie leaned against Jarrod's chest.
Jarrod gave her a quick look and asked, "Feeling worn out?" Without waiting for her response, he scooped her up into his arms.
"Hey, there are so many people coming and going here..." Jarrod's eyes settled on the now-shut emergency exit door, and a dark
feeling began to stir within him.
"What's there to be scared of? I'm just holding my girl.
Who's going to object?" Blushing, Jamie wrapped her arms around his neck.
“You have no shame, do youe" With a grin, Jarrod patted her rear.
"I've seen you unfazed in far more brazen scenarios." Their conversation dwindled as they walked away, leaving Nicole alone,
curled up behind the exit passage.
The back of her head and her elbow bore the brunt of her fall, both now pulsating with pain, making standing up a real struggle.
Only a few days had elapsed in their supposed three- year arrangement, and Nicole had already found it hard to endure.
Though Jarrod had vowed not to marry within their agreement, she still couldn't hold her head high.
She knew that, especially in front of Jamie, she could be cast aside at any moment.
Suddenly, the exit door swung open.
Nicole thought it was Jarrod and blurted out, “Aren't you supposed to be with her?" It fell quiet on the other end.
Lifting her gaze, she found not Jarrod, but a young doctor in a white coat, holding a cigarette and regarding her with a perplexed
look.
Nicole hastily apologized.
"I'm sorry." "It's fine." The doctor glanced at his cigarette and then back at her, putting it out without a word.
Hearing footsteps approaching, Nicole knew she couldn't remain seated.
Leaning on the rail, she mustered the strength to stand and limped toward the door to leave.
Just a few paces away, she tripped.
The young doctor steadied her, releasing her hand once she was balanced.
Noticing her scrapes and cuts, likely from her fall, he offered, "Would you like me to fetch a wheelchair for you?" Nicole waved
against a wall, eyeing the duo before him, his face a mask of disdain.
How audacious! She's flirting with another man not long after he left.
A gentle arm looped through his, as Jamie cooed, "We can leave now, Jarrod." Breaking his stare, Jarrod turned around and
exited the scene with Jamie.
Raegan found herself trapped in an endless dream.
In this dream, a small silhouette stood with its back to her amid a seemingly endless snowfield.
As if by some psychic connection, Raegan knew it was her child.
Though she strained to close the gap, her feet felt as though they were cemented to the ground.
She attempted to call out, but her vocal cords were as if sealed shut.
A wave of absolute despair washed over her as she collapsed to her knees, inching her way toward the child.
But the farther she reached, the more distant the child became.
Frozen in her spot, she beseechingly implored the child to stay.
The young figure paused in the limitless white, and through the infinity of snow, Raegan heard a youthful voice murmur, "Mom...
Mom...” Desperate to reply, Raegan found she still couldn't utter a word.
Her plea was only a silent scream.
"Please...
don't go..." She observed the small form recede further into the distance until it was swallowed by the snowy abyss.
Then the chilling clink of surgical instruments broke through, accompanied by distant conversations.
"We can't save the child.
We need to perform a hysterectomy, then deal with the other injuries..." Frantically, she shook her head, her silent pleas echoing,
"No...
Don't take my baby away...” But her voice fell on deaf ears.
She felt the icy grip of forceps removing the child from her womb.
Her heart was as if cleaved open by a dull blade, as she was overcome by frigid tears.
The blanket of snow faded, replaced by a shroud of darkness consuming her awareness.
Raegan had been comatose for four days.
Within her dream, she would sometimes mutter incomprehensibly, at times feverish, and at others, in tears.
As Luis relayed the doctor's diagnosis to Mitchel, the latter's already fragile heart was freshly wounded.
Mitchel looked as though he had been dealt a crushing blow, his face marked by visible exhaustion.
Noticing his state, Luis hesitated briefly before passing Mitchel the paternity test Raegan had entrusted him to monitor the
accessing process before the result came out.
Luis said, "Raegan went through another test.
I'm not sure what's gone wrong between you two, but I think you should trust her.
His once-steadfast heart felt like it had splintered into fragments in that single moment.
Learning later that the child was indeed his own didn't surprise him as much as those plain words on the paper had.
What had he been doing all this time! He had questioned her, lost faith in her, confined her, and demeaned her...
When she needed him most, he had cast her into a pit of despair.
His eyes tinged with a reddish hue, teetering on the edge of tears.
What a bastard he was! In the days that Raegan lay unconscious, Mitchel found himself sitting alone on a bench outside the
ICU, consumed by guilt every ticking second.
Besides tending to her father, Nicole waited here for the rest of the time.
Observing Mitchel's depressed face, she couldn't help but sniff.
Now he wanted to play the loving partner? Where was he when he was needed the most? At this moment, Matteo approached to
update Mitchel, "Mr.
Dixon, Miss Murray has developed an infected wound and a fever.
She's been asking to see you.” Mitchel parted his lips to speak but was cut off by a snide comment.
Nicole, sitting across from Mitchel, remarked sarcastically, "Mr.
Dixon, you better hurry.
If you don't, your darling might be on the verge of death once again now." Mitchel's expression turned icy, deliberately
overlooking Nicole.
He directed Matteo, "Send a doctor..
I'm not qualified to help.
And don't waste your time watching her.
Assign someone else for that.
Find out what’s going on with Raegan and Lauren.
Report back with any updates." Matteo nodded, relieved to distance himself from that volatile Lauren.
Because Mitchel hadn't visited, Lauren's ward had been a cacophony of breaking objects and flying pillows.
Now freed from that duty, Matteo's spirits lifted.
On the afternoon of the fourth day after the operation, Raegan finally regained consciousness.
After a night of monitoring, she was moved to a general ward.
Hearing this, Mitchel's initial reaction wasn't to rush to her side.
Instead, he hesitated.
He feared he might not be able to mend what was broken.
Seeing Mitchel’s plight, Luis tried to offer some comfort, "Maybe let someone Raegan is comfortable with visit her first.
Give her some time to recuperate before you go in.
She is...” Luis wanted to say Raegan was too fragile for more shocks right now, but the look in Mitchel's bloodshot eyes stopped
him.
Luis patted Mitchel's hand.
“Trust me.
Give it a bit more time before you go see her."