Faced with Adrian's questioning, Julian remained composed. Without drawing attention to it, he stepped slightly in front of me, shielding me as he explained calmly.
"Nina's leukemia flared up. She couldn't stop bleeding. Nora couldn't reach you, so she had no choice but to ask me to bring them here."
Hearing the reproach in his friend's tone, Adrian finally noticed the glaring words above the emergency room—In Surgery.
Being called out for failing as a husband in front of others made him feel a flicker of shame. For a moment, he even forgot the irritation he had felt seeing his wife standing beside his friend.
"I was just here with Sophia to check on Mia. I was about to head back soon." Adrian added, a hint of unease in his voice, "Nora just panics when she's worried. It was nothing serious—sorry you had to make the trip."
"Nothing serious? Adrian, do you even have a heart?!"
That careless remark shattered everything I had been suppressing—grief, despair, anger. Thinking of my daughter still fighting for her life, I lost control completely and rushed forward, slapping Adrian hard across the face.
Adrian's head snapped to the side, shock written all over his face.
He had never imagined that his obedient wife would lay a hand on him in public.
"Nora, have you lost your mind?"
"I have lost my mind! I should've gone crazy a long time ago!"
I met Adrian's disbelieving gaze, tears spilling over.
"Do you even realize this? Our daughter almost died! When she asked me where her father was—where were you? I was wondering—how did a perfectly scheduled bone marrow suddenly get taken by an emergency case? So it was you—you took your own daughter's life-saving bone marrow and gave it to someone else's child!"
I stared at him, every word deliberate. "Adrian, you knew Nina didn't have time—and you still did this. You also knew my body couldn't handle another pregnancy—it could be dangerous. And yet, you still chose Sophia! For the past week, while you were taking care of that child after her surgery… you probably didn't spare even a single second to think about our daughter."
Adrian froze, turning his head away to hide his guilt.
Sophia stepped forward, gently inspecting the red mark on his face.
"Mrs. Foster, no matter what, you can't just hit him! Adrian, he—"
"This is between me and my husband. Since when does a mistress get to speak?"
My gaze swept over her, cold and sharp.
Sophia shifted uncomfortably, finally stepping away instead of clinging to Adrian.
"Calm down." Julian stepped forward, gently patting my shoulder. "Your child needs you."
Those simple words snapped me back to my senses.
Nina… my poor girl.
If I had found the courage sooner—if I hadn't held onto even the slightest hope for Adrian—would she have been spared all this?
My whole body trembled uncontrollably. I could barely catch my breath.
I was furious at myself, furious at Adrian—and terrified of losing my daughter.
At that moment, the emergency room doors opened.
The doctor stepped out, exhaustion written all over his face.
I was so panicked I could barely stand. Someone steadied me, and I staggered forward, trembling as I rushed to the doctor to ask about my daughter.
"The child is out of danger. It's fortunate she was brought in on time. If you had arrived any later, the consequences could have been devastating."
Hearing that Nina was out of danger, I finally let out a breath. Wiping away my tears, I walked over to her bedside.
Adrian's expression grew complicated. Just as he was about to follow me to Nina's room, Sophia grabbed his arm.
"Adrian, Mia is still in the emergency room. She barely made it through the surgery. What if the rejection causes the transplant to fail? What am I supposed to do?"
Sophia broke down in tears, her face streaked with them. Adrian couldn't bring himself to leave her.
He comforted Sophia in a gentle voice, yet his eyes followed the retreating figures of Nina and me, caught in hesitation.
At that moment, he caught sight of Julian still standing nearby and had no choice but to ask him for help.
"Julian, I can't leave Sophia alone. I'll have to trouble you to look after Nora and Nina tonight."
Even he felt a flicker of embarrassment after saying that.
Julian frowned, his gaze passing over the two of them before he finally turned and walked toward Nina's room.
"Mr. Lane, you've already done so much today. You should go back and rest. I can handle the rest on my own."
I had already expected that Adrian wouldn't follow.
That last trace of hope I once held dissolved completely into the storm outside.
"No rush. I don't have anything pressing today. I'll leave once Nina is stable."
I said nothing more, my mind focused entirely on Nina.
In the room, once Nina was settled, I stayed by her side, not daring to step away for even a moment.
"You should go change your clothes first. I noted everything the nurse said just now. I'll watch over her for you."
Julian handed me a bag. Seeing my surprise, he added, "I had my assistant pick this up based on your size. It should fit. You'll catch a cold staying in wet clothes."
Only then did I realize I was still wearing his coat. I didn't refuse this time.
After changing into dry clothes, Julian brought me a bowl of hot porridge.
"I got you some porridge to warm you up. Eat it while it's hot."
After everything that had happened that night, I was starving. I didn't bother being polite anymore.
After finishing the bowl, I felt a little more like myself again.
