Withered Yet Freed

Sarah was dazed from the impact, her vision darkening as she found herself curled up in an awkward position inside the car. When she tried to move, she realized she was pinned against the seat by the deployed airbag, completely stuck.

Lucy had fainted from fear beside her.

Nelson struggled out of the driver's seat, stumbling a few steps. Seeing that Lucy was unconscious, he pulled her out of the car.

He glanced at Sarah still trapped inside, and before she could speak, he picked up Lucy and said, "Sarah, Lucy's passed out. I need to get her to the hospital first. I'll call someone to rescue you right away."

With that, he hurriedly left with Lucy, so anxious that he stumbled as he went.

Sarah froze, the words for help caught in her throat. She heard a dripping sound—gasoline was leaking.

Before she could process the pain in her chest, Sarah desperately struggled to get out of the car as flames appeared on the hood.

A wave of despair washed over her. She didn't want to die here.

She frantically called for help while struggling with all her might.

Fortunately, some passersby spotted her. They punctured the airbag and helped her escape the burning car.

"BOOM!"

Just after she reached safety, a massive explosion rocked the area. Looking back, she saw the car engulfed in flames, shattered into pieces.

Her face turned deathly pale as her entire body trembled.

Finally unable to hold back her tears, Sarah crouched on the ground sobbing, her whole body shaking.

The bystanders assumed she was just in shock and patiently comforted her.

After nearly dying and crying uncontrollably, Sarah unexpectedly passed out.

When Sarah woke up, she was in the hospital, traumatized and emotionally unstable.

Her mind kept replaying the moment of the explosion after she'd escaped. She couldn't bear to think what might have happened if the passersby hadn't appeared.

And through it all, Nelson had never once cared whether she lived or died. Sarah's heart sank to rock bottom, instantly turning cold.

"That Miss Leedon is so lucky. She just fainted from fright, but that rich Mr. Jackson rented an entire VIP floor for her recovery and brought in hospital specialists to examine her from head to toe. He's been running around personally taking care of everything. I've never seen such a devoted man."

She overheard nurses gossiping admiringly nearby, obviously talking about Nelson and Lucy.

Sarah lowered her eyes and deleted all contact information related to Nelson from her phone.

After resting briefly, she went to the obstetrics department and scheduled her procedure for early the next morning.

The next day, Sarah woke up early. After washing up, she prepared to go to the surgical room for pre-operation preparations.

But just as she stepped out of her room, she ran straight into Nelson. Seeing him, Sarah was startled—how did he know she was hospitalized?

Before Sarah could speak, Nelson said, "Lucy was unconscious all day yesterday, so I couldn't come check on you earlier. The car exploded—are you and the baby okay?"

So he knew about the explosion, knew she was trapped in the car, and knew she was pregnant.

Yet he still left with Lucy, leaving her to fend for herself.

Looking at him calmly, all love gone from her eyes, Sarah replied, "We're fine."

Seeing that she really was unharmed, Nelson sighed with relief. "That's good. Once Lucy's feeling better, I'll make it up to you and the baby properly."

"No—" need.

Before Sarah could finish, Nelson's phone rang. It was Lucy calling.

Something must have happened, because after taking the call, Nelson hurried away.

Watching his retreating figure, Sarah's eyes were as still as dead water as she walked calmly toward the obstetrics department.

Meanwhile, just as Nelson rushed into Lucy's hospital room, he suddenly collapsed without warning.

The doctors frantically took him to the emergency room, and after a thorough examination, discovered his fainting was due to complications from the previous accident.

Learning this news while lying in the hospital bed, Nelson wasn't particularly concerned and tried to get up to see Lucy.

But the hospital staff stopped him, suddenly turning serious. "Also, we found something else in your test results. Mr. Jackson, due to your previous accident, your reproductive system has suffered irreversible damage. According to the report, you are now completely unable to father children."

"Unable to father children?" Nelson froze, as if he'd heard some ridiculous joke, and turned to look at the doctor in disbelief.

The doctor understood what a devastating blow this news was for a man. He silently and solemnly handed the report to Nelson.

As Nelson held the report, still unable to accept that he couldn't have children, two nurses chatting outside his room were suddenly overheard.

"That poor Miss Paterson in Room 601 downstairs is in such a sad situation. After being in that car accident and experiencing such trauma, she's all alone. I tried to contact her family yesterday, but couldn't reach anyone. This morning she scheduled an abortion, and she's going through that all by herself too."

"I know, hospitalized alone, surgery alone—her family must be really heartless. Though maybe she didn't notify them about the abortion because she doesn't want them to know."

Nelson's mind suddenly exploded with realization.

Room 601!

Paterson!

Abortion!