I was the Lab Rat Bleeding in a Wedding Gown

Geoffrey Fontaine and I had five years of chemistry we called love. Marriage was supposed to be the formula for our forever, but the wedding was a failed trial—he left me at the altar.

That same day, his half-sister Elvira Carpenter took her own life and left behind her newborn.

In the chaos, I began having intense contractions that rushed me to the emergency room. My body was already weak, and I started bleeding heavily. I could barely stay conscious—my existing condition made things worse.

“The patient’s vitals are dropping! Where’s the family? We need blood now!” a doctor yelled.

“Hold on, Doctor. Hold on!” a voice interrupted.

It was my almost-husband. Geoffrey finally showed up.

“Hon,” he said, holding out a document, “this is a property transfer agreement. Sign this for me. Consider it your welcoming gift for my nephew.”

I could barely keep my eyes open, and my limbs were numb. But all he cared about was urging me to sign the damn papers and give up my assets for a child who wasn’t even mine.

Blood kept pouring from my body. The doctor was appalled and tried to shove him aside. “Where are the rest of the family? The patient’s going into shock! She needs blood now!”

“Elvira’s dead!” Geoffrey retorted. “Her poor baby is helpless! I’m his only family! It’s my responsibility to take care of him!”

It was unbelievable. I was dying. And yet he was fixated on his dead sister’s baby.

But I had no one else. No other match for blood. No time. With the last ounce of strength I had, I bit into my finger and pressed my blood-stained thumb against the document.

The birth was traumatic; I passed out after the operation.

The next thing I knew, ten hours had passed.

I woke up, overhearing a conversation between Geoffrey and his assistant.

“Sir, it might’ve been too soon to have Ma’am Alira sign that agreement. What if she finds out that the baby is your child with Ma’am Elvira? That’d be a disaster, sir.”

“Elvira’s gone. Our baby is all I have left. What if Alira finds out? I don’t care. Well, she won’t leave me. She’ll always be Elvira’s replacement.”

Suddenly, the room felt like it dropped ten degrees, freezing my heart.

Apparently, he never loved me. It had always been Elvira. If there was something about me that he wanted, it was to bleed me dry of all my property!

Five years of love… I gave it to the wrong guy.

‘If I’ve always been just a replacement for him, then he’s not worth holding on to!’

I made up my mind to leave—to go to Sydney and devote myself fully to biological research.

Chapter One

Alira’s POV

On my wedding day, I was veiled in ivory lace, standing before the crowd, waiting for Geoffrey to lift the veil and seal our vows with a kiss. The venue buzzed with excitement, all expectant eyes on the groom.

But then, a sudden ringtone shattered my fairytale.

Geoffrey looked shaken in an instant. Without an explanation, he turned and rushed out of the hall.

My groom had walked out mid-ceremony, and I stood frozen at the altar in disbelief. The guests too were confused, their gasps rippling.

“What’s happening? Is the groom running away?”

“Maybe he’s backing out… I heard this wedding was just a business deal anyway.”

As the murmurs grew louder and guests began to leave their seats, my head spun.

My vision blurred. My breathing quickened. I didn’t even realize right away—my water broke!

Soon, my knees buckled, and everything went black.

Geoffrey’s POV

Twenty minutes earlier, Cade, my assistant, had pushed past the officiant and handed me the phone.

What I heard made my vision blurry with tears, and without a second thought, I fled the wedding hall—never once looking back.

“Geoffrey… Please… take care of the baby,” the voice on the line pleaded. “I’m sorry—I won’t be around to raise him.”

It was Elvira, my half-sister.

The line went dead with her last sentence.

That scared the shit out of me. Thinking something worse might happen, I followed her phone’s GPS. It led me to a well-known maternity hospital in Denver.

But by the time I arrived, I watched in horror as a familiar body fell from above the building.

‘Elvira…?’

“Elvira!” I cried, running to her. I cradled her broken body, her blood pooling everywhere as she died in my arms.

I had never been heartbroken like this before. The pain was so excruciating that I was gasping for breath and my tears just wouldn’t stop.

Soon, the police secured the scene, and the doctors cooperated with the investigation. It was confirmed—Elvira had died on the spot from suicide by jumping from the 18th floor of the hospital.

I collapsed in anguish, weeping uncontrollably.

Just then, one of the doctors approached me. What he said next made me feel alive again even just for a little.

“She gave birth to a boy five minutes before she jumped. She also left this for you.” The doctor handed me a letter with my name on the envelope. “The baby’s in the nursery on the tenth floor. If—”

I didn’t hear the rest. I clutched the envelope and raced upstairs.

Alira’s POV

Geoffrey wasn’t there to notice me being wheeled into the ER.

My face must’ve looked so pale. The contractions were unbearable. I wasn’t supposed to be in labor yet. I was supposed to get married, but my ivory wedding gown was stained with crimson.

Inside the delivery room, a team of doctors worked frantically. But I was too shocked, too weak to push. I was bleeding out fast each second that passed.

They couldn’t stop the bleeding. The bed and the floor beneath it turned red. The monitors started beeping wildly—I was slipping under.

I’d code any second, so they frantically searched my phone. As soon as they found a contact saved under [Honey], they dialed the number repeatedly.

Geoffrey’s POV

In the nursery, I was still standing by the glass window, gazing at the infant in the incubator.

Elvira’s final letter stayed unopened in my hand. I couldn’t bear to open it yet. My mind was a mess. ‘Why did she take her own life after giving birth?’

My phone rang again after dozens of times. I just let it ring—until I received a text.

[Your wife’s in danger, sir! Come help save her!]

Snapping out of my daze, I raced upstream with the agreement Cade had prepared a month ago.

“Are you the patient’s husband? Hurry up, come with me now! She’s lost too much blood, and the baby hasn’t come out yet! If we wait any longer, she’ll go into shock!” the doctor urged, pulling me to donate blood.

“Hold on, Doctor. Hold on. Let me see her first,” I insisted, tucking the document behind me as I hurried into the delivery room.

Alira’s POV

Seeing him gave me a burst of hope. Though I couldn’t speak, I clenched my jaw and tried to push—but I had no strength.

“Honey, this is a property transfer agreement. Sign it now while you still can. Once you sign, I’ll go give blood,” he said, shoving some documents in my face like it was more ugent.

I didn’t know how to react. Even the doctors next to me were stunned. They tried to push him out, but he stood firm.

“My sister just died. Her baby is my only nephew. This document is for him.”

I blinked, and tears streamed down my face. I couldn’t believe he was this heartless. I was dying, and he cared more about a baby that wasn’t even mine.

“Come on, we’re out of time! She’s lost so much blood! Her pupils are dilating! She’s going into shock!” the doctor shouted, dragging Geoffrey away.

Still… he wouldn’t leave until I signed.

And so, for my own survival, I bit my finger and stamped my bloody print on the page reluctantly.

He smiled, nodded, and walked out with the document.

Five minutes later, the doctor returned with five bags of blood. But the delay had done its damage. After three hours of struggling, they had to perform a C-section.

The baby was delivered. But he was still born while I passed out from the blood loss.

By the time I finally woke up, ten hours had passed. When I tried to sit up, I realized I was alone in that hospital room.

But I heard voices from just outside the door. It was Geoffrey having a conversation with his assistant.

“He’s a beautiful baby—looks just like her. So fair.”

“Yeah. A spitting image of Elvira.”

“Without due respect, sir, wasn’t it a little… harsh? Making Ma’am Alira sign that agreement when she hadn’t even delivered her baby yet? I heard the child didn’t make it.”

“I lost Elvira. Whatever happens to Alira after that doesn’t matter anymore. Elvira’s the only one I ever cared about.”

I felt like I fell into a freezing lake, my whole body was cold, and I couldn’t cry.

‘So it’s not just a rumor. The guy I almost married has always loved his half-sister. And my baby—our baby—had died because he’s too obsessed with someone else’s! And he doesn’t care at all!’

“If she finds out the baby is yours and Ma’am Elvira’s, it’ll be a disaster, sir,” Cade warned. “She’s a renowned biologist. If she decides to investigate…”

My whole world collapsed.

‘The baby Elvira left… It’s his child with her?!’

It all made sense now—the late-night parties, the way he cared for her, even when she had morning sickness. Apparently, the signs had always been there.

That shattered whatever guard I built to protect my feelings. I couldn’t hold my tears back anymore. I curled into myself and sobbed until I couldn’t breathe.

I curled into myself and sobbed until I could barely breathe.

Moments later, Geoffrey burst in and wrapped his arms around me.

“Honey, I’m here. Hush now.”

He caressed my hair, his eyes red with affection.

“It’s my fault. But don’t worry. Once you’re ready again, we’ll have more kids. However many you want, I’ll be there,” he promised.

I stared at him in utter disbelief. The guy speaking now sounded nothing like the one I’d just overheard. How could the same lips speak of such sweetness and such cruelty?

Slowly, I composed myself. Just as I was about to ask about Elvira and the baby, his phone rang.

He quickly picked it up, frowning and looking worried. When he hang up, he spoke to me in a softened tone.

“I have to go check on Drystan. He finally started crying... but his skin doesn’t look good. You rest, okay? The nurse will stay with you.”

“Drystan? Who’s Drystan?” I asked.

“My nephew. Elvira’s baby. I named him.”

Before I could ask anything more, he had already left without looking back.

My heart ached so deeply I could hardly breathe. The next thing I felt, my wound reopened, and blood soaked the gauze.

The guy I loved for five years… hadn’t lost a moment for me or the baby we lost.

I understood then—his heart was never mine. It was always with Elvira… and now, with their child.

‘Fine,’ I thought to myself. ‘If that’s what he wants, I won’t get in his way. Once I’ve recovered, I’ll leave.’

Since I regained my consciousness, no one had told me anything about my child yet. But stillborn or not, he was once a life, a part of me.

Gritting my teeth against the pain, I forced myself to get up to see him. But blood was still seeping from my wound.

I only made it a few steps before everything went black again.