The sound of rain pattered incessantly, and as lightning flashed, knowing that thunder would follow, Audrey Sutton imdiately covered her ears with her hands.
As the thunder exploded, Audrey suddenly felt a mont of darkness before her eyes, and her legs went weak while descending the stairs, causing her body to lose balance...
She reached out to grab sothing, but lacked the strength in her hands, tumbling down about ten steps, falling at the landing of the stairway corner...
This fall left her dizzy and with blurred vision. A long, bloody scrape was visible on her arm, and her ankle was twisted...
But none of these pains compared to the severe pain in her abdon.
Audrey crumpled on the floor, biting her lip tightly.
She felt blood flowing out from inside her, soaking her white nightgown.
"Norman Sutton..."
The voice was weak, with a hint of trembling.
"Norman Sutton..."
Norman Sutton finished his ga, vaguely recalling that Audrey had just spoken to him about sothing, though he hadn’t paid attention. He took off his headphones and prepared to check on her.
Before he reached the staircase, he faintly heard a woman’s voice, softly calling his na.
Hearing such a voice in this weather was quite frightening.
Frowning, Norman quickened his pace to the stairway, only then seeing Audrey lying on the ground...
Blood had stained her white nightgown, pooling on the floor...
"What happened to you?!" Norman panicked, bounding down a few steps at a ti to reach Audrey’s side.
Seeing the blood everywhere, he was montarily stunned, unsure of where to begin.
He saw Audrey slowly closing her eyes, her face so pale that she couldn’t even muster the strength to speak.
Norman hastily picked her up from the ground, speaking urgently to Audrey as he moved towards the indoor parking: "Don’t fall asleep, keep your eyes open. Tell where it hurts. We’re almost at the hospital."
Audrey, however, was already sowhat dazed and could no longer respond to his questions.
Barely clinging to consciousness, she leaned lifelessly in Norman’s arms, her eyes fluttering a few tis before closing completely.
Norman placed her in the car, checked her breathing with his hand, and only breathed a small sigh of relief when he saw she was still breathing, then hurriedly drove to the hospital...
Half an hour later, she was successfully taken to the ergency room.
Norman’s clothes and hands were covered in Audrey’s blood.
He was terrified, feeling like she was on the verge of not making it while carrying her out of the car...
He regretted deeply that he hadn’t paid attention when she ca to him for help. If he had turned off the computer to accompany her to the hospital when she said she wasn’t feeling well, none of this might have happened...
What if she... Norman didn’t dare think further.
Calming himself slightly, he took out his phone from his pants pocket and sent a ssage to the family group chat: Mom, sis is in trouble.
...
Shane Warner saw this ssage while he was in a video conference in the hotel.
Imdiately, he watched Audrey’s parents and several elder brothers in the group chat inquiry emphatically about what had happened.
Norman responded: I don’t know either, she’s lost a lot of blood and is in the ergency room now.
Shane frowned, closing the laptop lid even as soone was still speaking in the video.
He added Norman as a contact and privately ssaged him: "How is Audrey?"
Confronted with Shane’s inquiry, Norman felt a bit guilty.
He didn’t know about the recent cold war between Audrey and Shane, only thinking it was his neglect in the morning that led to this situation.
So when responding to Shane, his tone was not as abrasive as before: "She’s still in the ergency room. If you have ti, you should co by."
Shane: "I’m at the docks, the ships haven’t resud operations yet. You stay with her at the hospital, call if anything happens."
But inside, he was already impatient.
After waiting in the hotel for two or three days, hearing about Audrey now made Shane unable to wait any longer.
Since receiving the news about Audrey’s incident, he couldn’t focus on anything else.
Standing by the floor-to-ceiling hotel window, smoking while watching the storm outside, seed like it wouldn’t stop anyti soon.
...
Darkness filled her vision, accompanied by the sound of thunder and rain.
In the dimness, she heard a middle-aged woman’s voice say: "The mother is out of danger, but... the baby couldn’t be saved."
Slowly, the girl lying in the hospital bed opened her eyes.
"The baby?" It was Norman’s voice.
"Yes, she was pregnant, over a month along."
The conversation she heard upon waking seed to confirm that the phrase "the baby couldn’t be saved" was not a re nightmare.
"But she’s still young, there will be other chances. The mother’s okay, and that’s a blessing. Next ti, be more careful, and pay more attention to your wife’s wellbeing."
"...I’m her brother."
"Where’s your family then? Miscarriage can greatly affect a girl’s health. You need to take good care of your sister now, ensure she rests well, eat nutritiously, and most importantly, support her emotionally."
Audrey lay in bed, staring blankly at the white ceiling, her tears silently falling...
It felt as if fate itself didn’t want her and Shane to be together.
When they wanted a child, there was never any sign.
After being apart for so long, she found out about her pregnancy in such a tragic way.
She thought that if she had gotten pregnant earlier or managed to save this baby, perhaps this marriage could have lingered a while longer.
She had been feeling that her body was acting oddly lately, but thought it was because of grief affecting her, believing herself ill, and never considered a tiny life had silently arrived...
After finishing the conversation with the doctor, Norman entered the ward and saw Audrey awake. He paused, then continued to walk to her bedside, asking in a low voice: "...Are you awake?"
Audrey remained expressionless, not responding.
Seeing her reaction, Norman pursed his lips and said, "Did you hear what we talked about earlier?"
She stayed silent, but the tears falling down her face answered him.
Norman felt a deep sense of guilt.
Outside the ward, he heard the voices of their grandparents. Shortly after, a nurse brought the elderly couple into the room, imdiately showing concern for their granddaughter.
Norman sighed, silently left the ward, and reported Audrey’s situation to their family group chat.
The only reply ca from their second brother who worked at the police station: They’re probably all on planes by now, as long as she’s okay.
Just after he sent the ssage, Shane called: "Is she awake?"
Norman: "Yes, she just woke up."
"Give the phone to her, I want to say a few words."
Norman, holding the phone, returned to the bedside and handed the phone to Audrey, saying: "Shane Warner’s calling."
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