A Love Long Gone

When the police arrived and subdued the attacker, they found me collapsed in a pool of blood just outside the consultation room.

One officer shouted in panic, "Where's the doctor? A pregnant woman is bleeding out here. Why isn't anyone helping her?"

At that moment, I was freezing cold and teetering on the edge of death.

Hearing the commotion, Maxwell stepped out of the room and declared self-righteously, "Officer, don't bother with her. She's just faking it to gain sympathy. Otherwise, why would she collapse just in front of me?"

The police officer's eyes widened in disbelief, as if looking at an idiot.

"I'm a professional detective. She's bleeding greatly. Do you really think I can't tell the difference between real blood and fake blood?"

His voice was loud. More people started gathering in the corridor.

Maxwell hated being the center of gossip. He lifted his foot and kicked my stomach, which had long since gone numb from pain.

"Natalie, the police are here! Aren't you embarrassed? How long are you going to keep up this act?"

I had no strength left from the blood loss. But the moment someone touched my stomach, I instinctively wrapped my arms around it to protect it.

In my blurred consciousness, I could no longer remember that I'd taken that knife for Karina, and the baby was surely already gone. I slumped to one side and fell to the ground.

Someone helped me up, covering their mouth in disbelief. "Oh my! Isn't this Dr. Shepard? Someone help her! Dr. Conner, she's your wife!"

Maxwell remained unmoved and scoffed. "Natalie, you've hired quite a few extras, haven't you? Do you think you can waste the Conner family's money just like that?"

Leaning against the cold wall, I closed my eyes in despair.

Did Maxwell even realize that our baby was gone?

If I survived this, I'd never want to see him again in this lifetime.

The police kept urging him to save me, but Maxwell continued to refuse. He even mocked the police, saying I'd bribed them too.

Infuriated, the officer pulled out his phone to call another hospital for an ambulance.

Just then, Karina walked out.

"Natalie, you're wasting medical resources and police manpower. Aren't you even a little ashamed? Just get up. I won't hold you responsible anymore.

Maxwell's gaze softened with affection. "Karina, you're still too kind. You don't need to reason with someone like her."

Then his face darkened as he barked an order, "Security, drag this troublemaker to the storage room. No one opens that door without my permission!"

The officer was shocked. "You can't do that! That's illegal detention!"

Maxwell didn't care. "She's my wife. How is it detention? She's gotten too out of hand. It's time she learned a lesson."

At his command, two security guards came over and roughly yanked me up.

The pain from the gaping wound made me scream.

That was when Molly Kent, my best friend, rushed in after getting the police call. The moment she saw the knife stuck in my abdomen, tears instantly streamed down her face.

"Maxwell, are you out of your damn mind? You're just going to watch her die? Are you trying to kill her?'"

Molly was also a doctor and worked at a different hospital.

After quickly assessing my condition, she immediately signaled others to lift me onto a gurney. As I finally let out a sigh of relief, Maxwell blocked our path again.

"You're not taking her anywhere. She hasn't even apologized to Karina for hurting her."

Molly glanced at Karina, whose cheeks were rosy and looked completely unharmed.

She immediately lost her temper. The two started shouting at each other.

Lying on the gurney, I found that my heart was already too numb from pain.

Maxwell, we'd been married for seven years. Couldn't we just part peacefully? Did I have to lose our child and my life too?

Suddenly, his shadow loomed over me.

He strode forward and said, "Alright, since none of you believe me, let's find out whether the knife pierced her stomach or a fake blood pack!"

He gave me a mocking smile. "Natalie, I gave you plenty of chances. You're the one who threw them away."

With that, he reached out, gripped the knife handle, and prepared to pull it out.