Chapter 2

Summer’s POV

"Transferring clinics isn't something I can just grant on the spot," the female doctor said, pushing her glasses up her nose as she picked up my medical chart. "Your prenatal records and past test results all need to be transferred from your original clinic. We have to file a formal request, and they have to send the files over. It can't be completed in a single day."

Standing before the desk, I softened my tone. "My husband will be back in a few days. I'd like to switch to a clinic closer to home."

"Then come back another day once you have all the paperwork ready." The doctor didn't even look up as she signed off on the form. "Next patient."

My feet didn't move.

"Something else?" the doctor asked, glancing up.

"No."

I swallowed the words sitting on the tip of my tongue and backed out of the room.

I had wanted to say that if I delayed any longer, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to leave at all. But saying that aloud would only make me sound like an overdramatic hysteric.

The moment I stepped out of the room, I saw Sean leaning against the opposite wall. His white coat was unbuttoned, hands shoved casually into his pockets, looking as if he were waiting for someone.

My footsteps faltered. Going forward meant walking right past him; going backward meant returning to the clinic door.

Chloe popped out from behind his shoulder, her voice shrill and loud. "Wait, are you actually pregnant?"

Her sudden shout made several people in the hallway turn their heads to stare.

I pretended not to hear, trying to walk around them.

Neither of them could ever find out that I was carrying a child.

Sean kept his eyes glued to his phone, his thumb lazily scrolling across the screen, as if he hadn't heard a word.

Suddenly, a piercing scream erupted from the far end of the hallway.

"It's him—!"

A man burst around the corner, wielding a heavy red fire extinguisher, charging straight toward Sean.

Panic rippled through the hallway as people scattered in all directions. Someone slammed into a medical cart, sending bottles and vials shattering across the floor.

Sean lunged forward, throwing his arm out to shield Chloe firmly behind him.

I didn't want any part in this chaos. Turning around, I backed toward the clinic door, wanting nothing more than to shut myself inside where no one could reach me.

Suddenly, a violent shove struck my back.

I was thrown forward, stumbling dangerously. Looking back, I saw Chloe's hands still hovering in the air, standing right where I had just been.

The heavy fire extinguisher slammed violently into my shoulder. Unable to catch my balance, my stomach crashed hard against the sharp corner of the wall.

With a sickening thud, I collapsed to the floor.

The entire hallway descended into pandemonium. Two security guards bolted from the stairwell, quickly wrestling the man against the wall as the fire extinguisher rolled away across the linoleum.

"Why the hell did you fire me?!" the man screamed, thrashing as his arms were pinned behind his back. "I worked here for three years! Fired with zero notice—do you people have any humanity?!"

A bystander muttered quietly, "Heard he worked here for years, let go with just a snap of their fingers."

I sat on the icy floor, clutching my stomach desperately with one hand.

My shoulder burned with excruciating pain, and the side that slammed into the wall began throbbing in violent spasms.

I tried to stand, but my legs gave out beneath me, sending me tumbling back to the ground.

Sean knelt down, holding Chloe, whose face was completely drained of color. "Did you get hit? Where does it hurt?"

"I—I'm fine..." Chloe whimpered, burying herself in his chest as tears poured down her cheeks. "It was her—she threw herself in the way—"

"Don't be scared, I'm here." Sean rubbed her back gently, his voice incredibly tender. "Did he touch you? Are your hands okay?"

"No..." Chloe sobbed, shaking her head as she wept harder. "Dr. Sean, my legs are shaking..."

"I got hit," I gasped, looking up, my voice trembling violently. "Doctor, my stomach hit the wall."

Only then did Sean shift his gaze down toward me.

He crouched down, pressed his fingers against my shoulder twice, and then gave my lower abdomen a brief, careless press through my clothes.

The entire hallway gathered around, watching the scene unfold.

That single press on my stomach was the only shred of hope I had clung to all morning—those hands had examined patients for half a lifetime; I trusted he could feel it.

"Stop holding it like that," he said, standing up and brushing his hands off. His voice was as flat as someone reciting routine lab results. His eyes swept over the hand I had clamped desperately over my belly without pausing for even a fraction of a second. "I saw clearly what happened. It was nowhere near your belly, and no bones are broken. At most, you'll have a light bruise. No need for an exam."

He waved over a passing nurse. "Help her sit down for a bit."

From start to finish, he never once asked why I was clutching my stomach so desperately.

He turned back and helped Chloe to her feet. "Come on, I'll take you for a full examination."

Chloe leaned heavily into his arms. As she walked away, she cast a lingering look back at me, tears still clinging to her lashes, before turning her head away.

The nurse brought over a plastic chair for me to sit on.

"Can you walk on your own?" the nurse asked, bending down.

I nodded, then shook my head, bracing myself against the wall as I slowly sank onto the chair.

"No need for an exam"—he had spoken those words in front of the entire hallway.

With that single statement, if I cried out in pain anywhere in this building, nobody would ever take me seriously.

I only had one path left: protect myself, endure until Ethan returned, and wait until the transfer paperwork went through.

Nearby, bystanders whispered in hushed tones.

"Did you see that? Pulling a martyr act just to hold onto a man."

Another agreed, "Seriously, that was so dangerous. That woman is ruthless."

I opened my mouth, desperate to explain, but only a ragged gasp escaped my throat.

My chest tightened suffocatingly, my ears rang with a deafening buzz, and the hand shielding my belly began to go completely numb.

I wanted to scream for help, but no sound would come out.

Darkness flooded my vision, and my body tilted sideways, slipping off the chair.