The Devil's Contractual Bride-Chapter 28: Hard Decision

Aria’s POV

I opened my eyes slowly and was immediately startled by the sharp pain that serenaded my entire body.

My head down to my legs hurt so bad that I couldn’t even lift a finger let alone move. Then came the sound of the sirens, wailing, I slowly moved my eyes to the side only to see Andre slumped over the steering wheel, blood trickling from his temple.

My mind immediately drifted to my unborn child "No," I whispered. "No, no, no, please be okay."

I couldn’t feel anything in my womb again,I could only hope that this absence was due to the pain that had pinned my body down.

Hands reached in through the shattered window and paramedics with blue gloves shot bright lights in my face.

"Ma’am, please stay still. We’re getting you out."

I fought them.

"Andre—" My voice cracked. "Check Andre first! He’s hurt and bleeding profusely!"

One of them, a woman, pressed a hand to my shoulder. "We’ve got him and he’s alive and breathing. Focus on yourself now and don’t move your eyes away from mine."

"No!" I twisted, trying to see Andre. "All this happened because of me, I need to make sure he’s alright—"

Something pricked my arm. After what seemed like a second,my body recognized that pain as that of a needle and cold spread through my veins.

"It’s sedative," the woman said gently. "It will calm you down,we’ve got you"

The world softened at the edges and to some extent,pulled me from the wreck.

I could feel cold air hitting my face and someone wrapping a blanket around me.

I remember asking, over and over"What about my baby baby? Is the baby okay?"

Then darkness again.

When I woke up properly, I was in a hospital bed. The room was pristine like every hospital. My eyes narrowed down from the white walls to the beeping machine,an IV in my arm and the hospital gown which was scratchy against my skin.

My first thought was the baby,but I still felt nothing and that scared me.

I started to cry regardless of the fact that sobs hurt my bruised ribs.

A nurse appeared almost immediately

"You’re awake," she said. "Good. You’re in the ER at St. Mary’s hospital. You were in a car accident. Do you remember?"

I nodded and tears kept coming down uncontrollably.

"The baby," I managed to speak. "Is my baby okay?"

She smiled gently. "We did a quick ultrasound when you came in. The heartbeat of your child is strong and steady. You’re bruised with possible mild concussion and some abdominal tenderness, but the pregnancy is stable. We’re monitoring you overnight because you’re high-risk after the impact. Do you feel any pain?"

"Yes ,my stomach," I replied. "It hurts like ike cramps."

The nurse nodded in reassurance. "That’s common after trauma. We’ll do more tests, keep you on fluids and watch for any bleeding. The doctor will be in here soon,just hang in there."

She adjusted my pillow.

"You’re lucky miss,both of you."

I looked around and I noticed the empty chair beside the bed.

There was no Lucian nor Andre,just me alone as usual

Guilt crashed over me like a wave.

This was my fault,if I had not gone to the park following my selfish gut,Andre would be fine.

I can’t believe that in one night,I almost killed my baby and Andre.

I curled onto my side carefully and pressed my face into the pillow.

"I’m sorry," I whispered to the little life inside me. "I’m so sorry I dragged you into this. Your mom’s life is a mess now but I swear I’ll make it better for you.I promise."

Tears soaked the pillowcase.

I cried until my throat was raw, the room blurred and sleep pulled me under its arm again.

When I woke up the second time, the room was darker.

A lamp glowed beside the bed.

There were footsteps in the hallway then a shadow in the doorway.

The door opened and it was Lucian Lucian.

He looked wrecked and tired. His coat was open with his shirt untucked and coupled with hair standing up like he’d run his hands through it a hundred times.

He stood there at the door like he didn’t know if he was allowed to come in or not

The nurse from earlier appeared behind him.

"Sir, family only—"

"She’s my wife," he immediately interrupted. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The nurse hesitated then stepped aside and Lucian walked in.

He stopped at the foot of the bed looking at me speechlessly.

Tears started again"You came".

"Of course I came," he replied."I thought—" He stopped. "I thought I’d lost you.."

He moved closer,sat on the edge of the bed and took my hand gently

"I’m sorry for everything and all the pain I have caused you. I should have done better,it wasn’t your fault that you got pregnant when you were married to Ethan"

I stared at him,the mention of Ethan’s name had just reminded me of the USB Mia gave me and I wondered if this was the right time to tell him about it .

"You don’t have to apologize Lucian, I understand you perfectly well,no man would have agreed to raise another man’s child."

He closed his eyes and held my hand.

"I know but I’m not another man. That’s why today I promise to watch over you till you give birth and if you want,I will support the child as my own."

A doctor suddenly entered accompanied by the nurse who attended to me earlier.

"Mrs. Voss,we have your latest results." he spoke eloquently while maintaining eye contact

Lucian straightened but didn’t let go of my hand.

The doctor looked at the clipboard in his hand. "The crash caused some bleeding around the placenta and it needs immediate surgery.This procedure is risky and has 0.4 percent success if we try to save the baby but we’ll need your consent to perform the surgery with or without removing the baby."