Chapter 19 The Last Time Calling Him
The fall was too fast and too hard. Amelia's nails scraped several marks on the handrail before she tumbled down.
Amelia only had time to cover her belly with her hands.
Everything happened in an instant.
On the landing, Isabella and Mia's heads collided, and both fell to the ground together.
William only felt himself push something in the chaos, and then saw Amelia rolling down the stairs.
He reached out to grab her, but caught only air.
The stairwell lights were dim. The motion sensor lights suddenly went out after detecting no movement, and the green "Emergency Exit" sign cast an eerie glow over everything.
Amelia, who had rolled down the stairs, struggled to sit up. She lifted her head and saw William's hand, not yet pulled back.
It was him. He pushed her.
"Amelia!"
Mia's voice was trembling.
Her cry triggered the motion sensor lights to turn back on.
She shoved Isabella aside and rushed down to the landing below, taking two steps at a time.
"Amelia, are you okay..."
Mia's voice was full of tears as she nervously helped Amelia up.
Amelia's face was covered in cold sweat.
Pain was everywhere - her hands, feet, head, all bruised and aching.
But none of it compared to the pain in her belly.
The pain nearly made her pass out.
"Amelia..."
Mia was truly panicking because she knew about Amelia's condition.
"Hit her head during the fall, some scrapes and a concussion."
"Some bleeding below. The baby hasn't been lost yet, but it's very dangerous. If you want to keep it, you'll probably need bed rest..."
When Amelia was brought out earlier, the doctor had told her all this.
A doctor colleague also told her that during treatment, Amelia had begged them to save the baby.
But now, falling down from such a high stairwell... and all because of her, Mia!
Thinking of this, Mia's tears kept falling, guilt nearly drowning her.
Mia immediately took out her phone to call for help, her hands shaking as she pressed the screen.
"Amelia, I'm calling for help right now. Hang in there."
Amelia was in too much pain to speak.
She felt something constantly slipping away, something leaving her.
Through the intense pain, she looked up, only to see William turning to help Isabella up.
She opened her mouth, wanting to call out to him, to say something.
But no sound came out.
She just watched as William pulled Isabella into his arms.
Carefully, tenderly.
The motion sensor lights in the emergency exit went out again. Light from outside faintly outlined the silhouettes of William and Isabella standing together.
Tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes along her cheeks. Amelia's heart still ached uncontrollably.
"William..."
As William was about to leave the emergency exit with Isabella, Amelia called his name.
William stopped.
He didn't turn around.
He just calmly looked at the cold white hallway outside the emergency exit.
It was late at night. Not many people were around. It was quiet.
But William's heart wasn't calm.
Everything had been chaotic just now.
By the time he came to his senses, Amelia had already rolled down the stairs, and he saw his own hand that hadn't been pulled back yet.
His fingertips dug into his palm. William's clenched fists trembled with force.
"William." Isabella beside him called his name.
He looked down and saw Isabella's red, swollen cheek from being hit, and the small bump on her forehead.
He closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, he said calmly:
"Amelia, do what you want."
Then he walked out of the emergency exit with Isabella.
"William!"
Behind him was Mia's heart-wrenching scream from inside the passage.
This time, he didn't stop.
In the emergency exit.
Amelia watched William leave.
As they left, Isabella turned back to look at her.
Her eyes were full of mockery, provocation, and smugness.
The look of a victor.
Amelia closed her eyes, tears streaming down.
Yes, she had already lost completely.
Why did she call out to him again?
Hadn't she already expected this outcome?
Was it unwillingness?
Or was it because this child also carried his blood?
She had warned herself long ago to guard her heart.
Why did she break her word?
Tears kept falling. Her belly hurt so much.
She felt so miserable.
So miserable she felt like dying.
"Mia..."
She didn't know what to do, just unconsciously calling Mia's name.
Mia was already crying her eyes out.
She kept wiping the tears from Amelia's face, but the tears kept falling, impossible to wipe clean.
"Amelia, it's all my fault."
Mia cried and hugged Amelia tightly: "I'm sorry, Amelia, I'm sorry..."
Amelia was already in so much pain her consciousness was fading.
Before her eyes appeared again the scene from her dream.
The red dress swirling as her parents danced, young William's innocent face.
Pain...
She was in so much pain.
[Mom, Dad, what should I do?]
Amelia cried until she had no strength left, sobbing continuously.
Before losing consciousness, her hand reached toward the air, as if trying to grasp something.
But in the end, she couldn't hold onto anything.
"Amelia!"
Mia watched as Amelia's hand dropped. She screamed in agony.
The motion sensor lights in the stairwell turned on again.
Mia saw a large pool of blood seeping out from under Amelia.
It stained Amelia's clothes and Mia's uniform red.
She didn't know what to do, could only urge the doctors over and over to hurry.
The doctors came quickly. They lifted Amelia onto a stretcher and rushed her to the emergency room.
"Don't worry, we'll save her." A colleague she got along with patted Mia's shoulder to comfort her, then hurried off.
Leaving Mia staring blankly at the large pool of Amelia's blood on the floor.
It wasn't until a janitor came to clean it up that she reacted, wiping the tears from her face and following to wait outside the emergency room.
...
Meanwhile.
William got in the car with Isabella.
The car door closed, seat belts were fastened, but he didn't start the car.
Before his eyes, Amelia's eyes as she looked at him while lying on the ground kept appearing.
"William." Isabella in the passenger seat spoke, "If you're worried about her, go back."
"We're still downstairs at the hospital. You can see her if you go up. I can get home by myself."
William didn't respond. His hands gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white.
Isabella lowered her head. She took out a wet wipe from her bag and carefully wiped her lips.
There was lipstick on them, and traces of blood from being hit by Mia just now.
She placed the wipe stained with lipstick and blood where William could see it, saying with feigned guilt: "I was impulsive, getting into a fight with Dr. Wilson at the hospital. Even though I didn't push Amelia, but..."
She put down the wipe, leaned over, and held William's hand, looking at him with teary eyes.
"I'm sorry, William. I just wanted... to protect you."
William lowered his eyes slightly, looking at Isabella's hand holding his.
For some reason, what flashed through his mind was from years ago, when he was worried and in pain over Finn's illness, and Amelia had held his hand.