“I feel heartbroken, too, but there’s no other way. Be good, close your eyes… it’ll be over soon, and then you won’t be afraid anymore.”
His hand reached out to stroke my hair.
I stared at him for a few seconds and, in the end, obediently nodded.
“Okay.”
Relief and satisfaction immediately spread across his face. Everything was unfolding just as he wanted; it seemed I was still the same well-behaved, compliant woman.
The doctor beside us could no longer hold back and interjected.
“Mr. Bernard, a pregnant woman isn’t suitable for bone marrow donation. Why don’t we try looking for Zara’s family members instead?”
With the words “family members,” Zara broke down and started crying even harder. After all, her parents had long since passed away.
Tatum turned back to her with heartache, tightened his grip on my arm, and said firmly to the doctor, “Adeline is her family. She can do it. She will donate!”
The doctor looked helplessly at me. I met his eyes and nodded with calm resolve.
“Go ahead. I agree.”
The surgery was long and unbearably cold.
When I finally woke, Tatum was nowhere in sight. I knew, of course, he must have been with Zara.
I called softly for the doctor.
“Doctor, please… also, help me with the abortion while you’re at it. So I won’t… have to come again later.”
Afterward, I lay on the hospital bed, drained, unwilling to move.
Suddenly, my phone vibrated; it was his mother, Violeta Bernard, calling.
“Adeline! What’s wrong with you? You couldn’t even keep the child! Do you know how long we’ve been waiting for this?”
Her words were sharp with blame, without even pausing to ask why. I opened my mouth, but no words came.
At that moment, Tatum snatched the phone from my hand, his tone suddenly soft.
“Mom, don’t get worked up. Adeline just had surgery; her body is still weak. She needs rest. Don’t scare her.”
As he spoke, he strolled toward the balcony outside the ward, casually pulling the glass door shut behind him.
Through the faint barrier, fragments of words drifted in.
“…it wasn’t on purpose… maybe she was just too tired from the wedding preparations, didn’t rest enough… her body has always been weak… don’t blame her…”
He shifted all responsibility onto me, brushing himself clean of everything.
Just then, the wind pushed the glass door ajar, and Tatum’s voice mingled clearly with his mother’s.