The assistant swallowed nervously, trying to find the right words. “Should we—”
“Are you the expert now?” Peter’s eyes flashed. “I’ve delivered hundreds of babies without making a single wrong call.”
The sound of the guardrail snapping interrupted his words. The assistant’s face paled as he glanced toward the delivery room, where my broken cries still filled the air. “She’s been laboring for over a day. If this goes on, the baby could be starved of oxygen…”
“It’s already been that long?” Peter muttered, looking briefly at the hallway banner proclaiming, “First, Do No Harm.”
A fleeting trace of concern crossed his face.
But as he reached for the delivery room door, Millie intercepted him with a cup of warm sweet tea.
“Doctor Peter, Gia has been crying for so long. She must be thirsty. Should I go in with you to give her some tea?”
Peter’s expression darkened. “Did she order you to do that again? And you still serve her? What makes her think she deserves it?”
Millie’s lips quivered, her eyes brimming with hurt. “No, I’m just happy to help her.”
“Don’t make excuses for her,” he muttered, his face hardening. “Let her endure it for a few more hours.”
Then, without a backward glance, he strode down the hallway, Millie trailing close behind, her steps quick to match his.
The last strands of hope that had kept me fighting dissolved, leaving me in a haze of agony. In the emptiness, I tore at my own fingers, breaking each one, my hands grotesquely twisted and mangled. Blood streamed from my lower body, staining the cold bed in a crimson river, pooling beneath my shattered pelvis and battered uterus.
But now, at least, the pain was gone. The final scream I had managed moments ago had been my last, fading to nothing as my soul slipped free, gazing at the shell of the woman on the bed—a woman who looked more like a doll shattered beyond repair.
As I watched, a laugh of bitter sorrow rose from my spirit. Would Peter ever feel a flicker of regret or grief?
Perhaps he might, I thought… but no.
Peter stood by Millie, his fingers delicately tending to the blister on her hand, carefully applying ointment and wrapping her injured skin. “Millie, Gia must know how gentle you are, that you would injure yourself for her and still let her order you around.”
Millie offered a soft, almost embarrassed smile. “It’s no trouble, Doctor Peter.”