Toxic Compassion

I was so terrified that my survival instinct made me grab Wyatt's arm tightly and drag him down with me.

With a loud crash, the truck hit us both and knocked us to the ground.

Agonizing pain swept through my entire body. As my consciousness began drifting away, I seemed to see Wyatt's face contort with pain and rage…

-

When I regained consciousness, I was already lying in a hospital bed, covered in bandages from head to toe. The slightest movement sent sharp pain through me.

Hannah rushed over. When she saw Wyatt and me both lying in hospital beds, tears rolled down her face.

The doctor said, "Both patients are seriously injured, but the operating theaters are backed up right now. We can only operate on one of them first. Please discuss it with the family."

Wyatt spoke weakly. "Hannah, let Nathan have surgery first. He must have hated me because you treat me too well, so he pushed me into traffic on purpose. He probably didn't expect to lose his footing, too, and then we both got hit.

"I'm afraid that if you let me have surgery first, he'll hate me even more and do even worse things to hurt me later. So, let Nathan have surgery first."

After Hannah heard that, she immediately glared at me. "Nathan! When did you become so vicious?!"

I desperately wanted to deny it, but I did not even have the strength to speak.

Hannah seemed to feel that scolding me was not enough to vent her anger, so she raised her hand and slapped me.

Then, she said to the doctor, "Doctor, operate on Wyatt first. You can't let anything happen to him."

I lay on the hospital bed and listened to them talk, and my heart went completely cold.

After nearly ten years of marriage, Hannah believed Wyatt's words without even thinking, all because of a few baseless words. But she did not know that because of my illness, my body could no longer make blood the way it should. I could not afford any delay at all.

Despite that, she told the doctor to operate on Wyatt first, leaving me without even my last chance to survive.

By the time the nurse finally pushed me into the operating room, I could no longer feel pain. Only endless despair remained in my heart.

As my consciousness gradually faded away, I seemed to see my bare ring finger and the cemetery plot I would never be able to afford.

'Hannah, if there's another life, I'll never marry you again...'

-

Hannah was holding Wyatt's hand after his surgery outside the operating room, comforting him softly. "Wyatt, don't be scared. When Nathan's surgery is over, I'll make him apologize to you."

Although she said that, a strange panic rose in her heart, as if something had left her completely. She clutched her chest, only for her phone to ring. "Hello, is this Ms. Hannah Smith? Your divorce paperwork with Mr. Nathan Peters has been processed. Please come collect the divorce certificate soon."

Hannah froze. What divorce certificate?

She was certain the caller was a scammer and hung up without thinking, but the panic in her heart grew even stronger.

Before long, the doctor pushed the door open and came out. "I'm sorry, Madam. We were unable to save Mr. Peters. He has passed away."

The phone slipped from Hannah's hand and hit the floor.