The Crown of Donna

Staring at Bella, my breath hitched.

But it wasn’t disgust I felt—it was the cold, sharp relief of a survivor.

Bella had tested positive for a severe infectious disease, the grim receipt for her reckless lifestyle. Throughout my seven years with Lorenzo, I had stood my ground, saving myself for our wedding night. No matter how many times he hinted or pressured me, I never buckled.

That "conservatism" he had mocked so often had just become my life-saving shield.

I looked at the festering skin near the crook of Bella’s neck and spoke coldly. "Does Lorenzo know about your condition? What the two of you are doing is slow-motion murder for that child."

"Shut up!" Bella snapped, her face twisting into a feral snarl as if I’d stepped on a raw nerve.

"Of course Lorenzo knows! He doesn't care about my past, and he doesn't care about my illness. He insisted that I carry his heir!"

Looking at her delusional frenzy, I found it almost pathetic. Lorenzo was a cold-blooded egoist. If he knew Bella was a walking biohazard, he’d be the first to dispose of her himself.

To shatter my doubts, Bella sneered and tapped a secret recording on her phone.

The audio filled the room—a nauseating exchange of heavy flirting. Bella’s cloying voice crawled out like a snake.

"Lorenzo, what if one day... someone hurt me and I got sick? Would you still want me?"

"Of course, baby. You’re the purest thing I know. Even if something happened, I’d only love you more. Now, come here..."

Then, Bella let out a calculated, pathetic sob. "But if that high-and-dry fiancée of yours found out, she’d look down on you forever."

On the recording, Lorenzo let out a cold, sharp bark of mockery.

"Why bring up that frozen block of wood? Seven years and she won't even let me touch her. If you ask me, she’s the one with the problem—a miserable, repressed freak."

"Let her die with her pathetic little 'sanctity' for all I care. Just touching her makes my stomach turn."

"Don't mention that dead fish while we’re in bed, baby. Let's see what other surprises you've got for me..."

Bella cut the recording, a vicious, arrogant smirk plastered on her face.

"Hear that? if you were that fiancée, you’d probably want to find a cemetery and bury yourself right now."

"Living such a failed life... honestly, she’s a disgrace to women."

Slap!

I stepped forward, my hand connecting with her arrogant face in a stinging backhand.

"Trash like you and Lorenzo don't even deserve to be parents to this child!"

"Are you insane?"

"Who do you think you are, judging me?"

Bella shrieked, her voice so sharp it nearly pierced the ceiling.

"A doctor assaulting a patient in postpartum? Is this your 'upbringing'? I'll make sure every media outlet in the city sees your ugly, malicious face!"

She slammed the emergency call button on her headboard, the piercing alarm instantly drawing the medical staff from the entire floor.

Bella clutched her cheek, her expression distorted. "This woman attacked me! Look at what she did! Call the police immediately—I want her to rot in prison!"

I let out a dismissive sneer, not even bothering to hide the contempt in my eyes.

"When the police get here, the first person they’re taking away is you—the walking infection."

"Knowing you have a communicable disease and maliciously spreading it... that slap was me educating you on behalf of your innocent victims. Go ahead, call them. Let’s see whose side the law takes."

I made a show of pulling out my phone, my thumb hovering over the dial pad.

The surrounding nurses exchanged uneasy glances. Bella’s lab reports were an open secret among the staff; they just hadn't encountered a patient this brazenly shameless before.

Seeing that no one was backing her up, Bella grew even more hysterical.

"So what? Lorenzo already knows! He actually gets off on the 'thrill' of it!"

She glared at me again, looking at me like I was a common cockroach.

"Regardless, you laid hands on me. You just ruined your career. I’ll have Lorenzo call the Chief of Medicine personally. You’ll never hold a scalpel again as long as you live!"