Chapter 3
<
- 3.
The sudden movement ripped my wounds open
again. More blood gushed out.
The pain was blinding, almost made me
collapse.
The air was thick with tension. Mark looked
frantic, but he quickly masked it.
He pulled off his gloves, tugged the
anesthesiologist back. “Liv, calm down! You
don’t want to hurt yourself.”
Then he pointed to the gurney beside me. “Lie
down. We’ll wheel you out, okay?”
“You’re badly hurt. Don’t make it worse by
moving. Deal?”
Mark. He could play the saint like nobody’s
business.
But I know the monster hiding beneath that
pretty face.
The second I dropped the knife and lay down,
they’d knock me out.
I backed against the wall, my spine grinding against the rough surface.
The pain was making me sweat, but I couldn’t risk moving an inch. If I lost my strength, I was done for.
Every second felt like an eternity.
Mark was getting visibly more desperate.
His precious Lila was running out of time.
He forced a smile and started working on me.
“Liv, please! Just stop it!”
く
“You’re in bad shape. You need surgery, now! If
you don’t do it for yourself, do it for me!”
“What am I supposed to do if something
happens to you?”
I stared at him, sick with bitterness.
All the fake love, all the concern, was just a
cover for his plan to get me out of the way.
“If you really cared, Mark, you’d open the door
and let me leave.”
I looked at the anesthesiologist.
“Doctor, I’m telling you straight up, this surgery
is not happening today.”
“If you try to force this, I’ll slash my own
throat.”
“Think about your family. Think about yourself.
く
You want to live with that on your conscience?”
Before anyone could answer, Mark jumped in.
“Okay, okay! Just don’t hurt yourself. I’ll open
the door.”
He rushed forward, unlocked the door, and flung it open.
I let out a shaky breath, gripped the scalpel tighter, and stumbled out.
“Jesus! What happened to her?”
People scattered, gaping at the blood–soaked mess I was.
“Doctor! Someone get a doctor! She’s losing it!”
A nurse rushed to my side, trying to steady me. “Miss, let me take you to a doctor.”
<
I shook my head, waved her off.
“Liv! Stop!”
Mark’s voice, right behind me.
I panicked, shoved the nurse out of the way, and forced my legs to move faster.
But I barely made it a few steps before he
caught me.
Mark blocked my path, his face a mask of
concern. “Liv, please. Your health comes first.
Let’s get you into surgery.”
He saw the crowd gathering, gritted his teeth,
and dropped to his knees.
“This is a hospital. No one’s going to hurt you.
Trust me. Just let us do the surgery. You’re in real danger!”
“What’s going on? Why is the doctor kneeling
to the patient?”
“Are they… are they together?”
The murmurs rippled through the crowd.
Mark ignored them, just stared up at me,
pleading.
The anesthesiologist showed up, just then.
He heard the questions, sighed heavily, and
lowered his voice, like he was confiding a
secret.
“That’s Dr. Miller’s wife. She’s… uh… she’s got
some paranoid delusions. Won’t seek
treatment.”
The crowd erupted.
“No way! This is like a soap opera!”
く
“That poor doctor! He’s on his knees trying to
save her!”
People were glaring at me, pitying Mark.
“She’s sick, she needs help! Not… not treating
him like this!”
“She’s got a knife! Scary!”
“She should be locked up! Save that poor guy
the trouble!”
