Denise's words made Freya's face turn white, and her crying stopped abruptly.
Gideon's father, Magnus Caldwell, looked at Freya with a complicated expression.
My parents, both shrewd business people, quickly understood the meaning behind Denise's words.
As the Caldwells were preparing to leave, Dad proposed an engagement between Gideon and me. Denise nodded in agreement.
Although Gideon was filled with obvious disdain for me, he uncharacteristically did not refuse.
I told my parents I didn't want to be engaged, but they insisted it was the only real value I could bring to the family.
Over time, I learned to love Gideon.
I was always so careful around him, hoping my devotion would one day melt his frozen heart.
However, seeing him now, holding Freya so preciously, like the most fragile treasure, my very soul was torn apart.
Right now, Gideon was at Freya's bedside, meticulously designing a diet for her to ensure her wound would heal perfectly, without leaving a single scar.
Then, he had his assistant bring a tube of gel.
As I stared at the packaging of that ointment, a bitter taste rose in my throat, choking me.
It was a bio-regeneration gel developed by Caldwell Labs, not available to the public.
Years ago, after my arm was burned, the scar never fully faded.
I had once pleaded with Gideon to give me a tube of that gel.
He merely glanced at the scar on my arm and replied coldly, "You're not an influencer who relies on her looks. A little scar on your arm is meaningless."
"Besides, doesn't that scar serve as a perfect reminder of the huge lie you told to frame Freya? Keep it. Let it be a constant reminder of the despicable games you played to take her place and marry me."
"That scar is the mark of your viciousness."
Gideon seemed to have finally remembered that I was also a patient in this hospital.
He was now coming to find me, ready to shove the divorce papers in my face.
Too bad for him, I was in no condition to sign.
As Gideon walked down the hallway, two nurses passed by, chatting.
One clutched her chest, her face pale. "You wouldn't believe how badly that woman was injured—multiple fractures, a ruptured uterus, she was bleeding profusely."
"She was over two months pregnant, but she'd lost almost all her blood by the time she was brought in. She was barely hanging on."
"My God, that's horrible. Can you imagine how heartbroken her family must be?"
"I know. If she had been brought in sooner, she might have been saved. Even being paralyzed would be a mercy compared to this."
Gideon frowned upon hearing their conversation.
I drifted closer to him, my voice a low, mocking whisper in his mind. "Gideon, do you realize they're talking about me? Why don't you go take a look? See for yourself how pathetic I am."
A dark satisfaction bloomed within me. I wanted him to witness the wreckage of my body.
Would he shatter with guilt when he realized that because the hospital's resources were focused on Freya's paper-cut injury, my child and I had lost our only chance of survival?
Gideon walked over to the nurses' station, intending to ask where I was.
One of the nurses who had just passed by happened to be on duty.
When Gideon inquired about the woman who had been brought in around the same time as Freya, the nurse's eyes held a hint of suspicion. "Dr. Caldwell, are you her family?"
Gideon paused, then snapped irritably, "No, I don't know her. I'm asking for a friend."
I stared blankly at Gideon's tightly furrowed brow.
He must have thought I was stalling, trying to avoid signing the divorce papers.
We had been married for two years, and even though this hospital belonged to the Caldwell family, he had never allowed me to come here.
Every time I felt unwell, even after I discovered I was pregnant, I had to go to another hospital.
The nurse nodded sympathetically. "She didn't make it. Her injuries were too severe. We were hoping you could help, but..."
