Chapter 4

"Ma'am, you've just woken up. Try not to get too excited," the nurse cautioned.

Ignoring the IV in the back of my hand, I grabbed the nurse and asked about Jack.

"Where's my husband?"

"His condition was more serious than yours. He's been transferred to a hospital in the city for treatment."

The nurse reassured me that someone would be taking care of Jack, but she hesitated before leaving.

"Ma'am, there's something else. You need to prepare yourself."

"What is it?" I asked anxiously, worried that Jack's injuries might be worse than I thought.

"You were pregnant, but... we couldn't save the baby."

"You were in the snow for too long, and it damaged your body, so..."

"It might affect your ability to conceive in the future..."

What?

My mind went blank. My hand instinctively moved to my stomach.

The flat abdomen showed no sign that a child had ever been there. Only a vague pain reminded me that what the nurse said was true.

"How can this be..." I mumbled. It was our seventh year of marriage, our careers had stabilized, and we had just started talking about having a child.

The nurse's words hit me like a thunderbolt.

Thinking of Jack still in the hospital fighting for his life, a dull pain spread from my heart throughout my body.

"You're still young. It's not impossible," the nurse tried to comfort me.

I shook my head, silently suppressing my emotions and refusing to let the tears fall.

In my twenty-some years of life, I had experienced countless setbacks and hardships, but never had I felt pain so intense that I couldn't express it.

Like a wooden doll, I quietly accepted treatment, took medicine, received IVs, until the doctor informed me I could be discharged.

The hospital where Jack was staying had called me a few days ago to say he was out of danger and conscious. I didn't go to see him immediately.

Only after I had chewed and digested the pain alone did I walk into Jack's hospital room with a bouquet of flowers.

Lily was feeding him, the two of them sitting close together.

Jack didn't know I had also been in the hospital, but he didn't reproach me for not coming to see him right away.

"Emma, you're here."

"Mm, are you feeling better?"

"Don't worry, sis-in-law. I'm taking good care of Jack," Lily chimed in.

At that time, I was too distracted to face Jack and was almost grateful for Lily's presence.

Later, I locked the hospital's test results in a safe. I couldn't bear to throw them away.

I might never be able to have my own child again. That was my first and last child.

No one else knew about it except me.