RUTHLESS FOR HER LOVE

Lirong stirred against the stiff, starched sheets, her eyelids heavy and reluctant to part. The sharp, sterile scent of antiseptic filled the air, mingling with the faint hum of fluorescent lights overhead. Beside her, the steady, mechanical beep of the monitor filled the silence. She tried to lift her hand, but it felt weighted down, an IV line trailing from her wrist like a tether binding her to this sterile room.

Her throat felt dry. When she finally forced her eyes open, the world swam into view, too bright that it made her eyes squint.

"Mrs. Zhang?" a familiar, female voice whispered, cutting through her haze.

"Mel?" she croaked, the name barely escaping her lips, raw and cracked.

Melody Wei, her assistant rushed to her side in a blur of pale pink blouse and worried eyes. "You’re awake! Oh God, thank God—" Her voice broke, the tremor in her tone echoing the anxiety. She turned toward the door. "I’ll get the doctor."

Before Lirong could utter a word, Melody was gone. Her chest felt heavier than her own body. Lirong blinked, trying to sit up, but her body resisted, every muscle aching. She felt heavy in some places. Her hand drifted down to her belly, fingers splaying gently across the thin fabric of the hospital gown.

When the door opened again, a man in a white coat entered, mid-forties, with kind eyes lined with exhaustion, and a clipboard clutched in his hand like a lifeline.

"Mrs. Zhang," the doctor said as he approached, his voice steady but laced with gravity. "I’m Dr. Wen. You’ve been unconscious for about eight hours. We were monitoring you closely in post-op."

"How... my baby?" Lirong swallowed, the question clawing its way out, desperate and trembling.

Dr. Wen cleared his throat. "You experienced a significant placental abruption. Internal bleeding. We had to perform an emergency procedure to stop it."

Lirong’s gaze dropped to her abdomen. Her fingers twitched. "The baby?"

Silence filled the room so thick and suffocating.

The doctor’s voice softened like a whisper in the storm of her thoughts. "I’m so sorry. We couldn’t save your baby. You were ten weeks, and by the time the ambulance arrived, the fetus was already without a heartbeat."

Lirong stared past him, her vision blurring as she struggled to grasp the enormity of his words. They floated above her like ash, weightless yet suffocating, drifting away from her reach. Her body began to tremble, but she was too exhausted to cry.

"It’s okay to feel numb," Dr. Wen said gently, misreading her silence as shock. "We’ll have a grief counselor come in and speak with you. When you’re ready."

Melody returned, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, wiping them with the corner of her sleeve. "I—I should have come sooner. I was in a meeting—if I had just—"

Dr. Wen interjected quickly. "She was lucky you got her here on time. It would have been bad for her too."

Lirong turned her head to the side, her heart heavy with resentment. She didn’t want to be 'lucky.' She had wanted her child. Her second chance.

Her hand slid from her belly to her chest, fisting the thin blanket.

"Can you give us a moment?" she asked, her voice came out like a fragile thread.

Dr. Wen nodded respectfully and left the room, the door clicking softly behind him. Lirong turned to Melody, her heart pounding in her chest.

"What about Dexing? Where's... where's he?" Her voice trembled.

Melody stepped forward, her voice cautious. "I called him. Twice. I left voicemails. He—he hasn’t called back. Nicole said he is in a meeting and doesn’t want to be bothered."

Lirong nodded, absorbing the words like a sponge. The feeling felt familiar. The ache of abandonment creeping back in.

Melody hovered, uncertainty etched on her face. "Lirong… should I call him again?"

"No," Lirong whispered, the words heavy on her tongue.

Melody looked as if she wanted to say more, but she simply nodded, retreating to the corner of the room, leaving Lirong to grapple with her own spiraling thoughts.

Lirong turned her face toward the window, pressing her cheek against the cool pillow, the outside world a blur of muted colors and rain-slicked streets.

She had loved Dexing Zhang for too long. She had believed in him for too long. Ten years of trying, of forgiving, loving, and waiting for him to come back to her, for him to finally settle down with her completely. Ten years together, seven years married. But of course, he hadn’t. The pain was unbearable, a gaping wound that refused to heal. She had yet to tell him about the pregnancy, and now she had lost it before she could even share the news.