Aoife lay in the intensive care unit for a long time, from dusk until dawn, and then from daytime to nighttime for a full 48 hours.
Finn had never seen Aoife lie down for so long before, her bodily functions were normal, and the doctor said she had passed the safe period.
Finn asked, “Then why hasn’t she woken up yet?”
The doctor slowly explained, “It’s because she doesn’t want to wake up.”
In simple terms, Aoife had woven a “beautiful dream” for herself. In that dream, everything she cherished was still there. Ethan’s fingers were not broken, her baby was also there, her grandmother was by her side, Hattie was living happily… She had her own little house, doing things she loved every day. In her dream, she lived the way she wanted, achieved her dreams of becoming a successful playwright who won numerous awards. She donated the prize money to help many women like her.
In her dream, she was truly happy… so happy that she felt like she was an observer, watching others live out this fulfilling life for her. If everything was real, how wonderful it would be…
But as beautiful as the dream was, reality was cruel. In reality, she had nothing, like a nightmare. That’s why Aoife didn’t want to wake up.
The doctor advised Finn to talk to Aoife more, to pull her out of the dream and face reality.
But this was undeniably cruel, like a child waiting in a long line to receive candy and just as they were about to have it, someone snatched it away.
“Aoife.” Finn always felt like he was the one who could control Aoife’s life, even life and death.
But now, seeing Aoife lying breathless in bed, he called her several times, but she didn’t open her eyes.
After the doctor left, Finn reached out and touched Aoife’s slender jaw. There was a bruise on her neck from the collar, and Finn gently lifted a corner of the blanket, his gaze falling on her deflated abdomen.
He reached out and touched it, the once slightly bulging belly now completely sunken. Finn’s dark brown eyes flashed with a cold light.
Every time he thought about the five months Aoife had deceived him, he couldn’t help but want to kill her.
But when his hand touched Aoife’s neck, he couldn’t bring himself to use force. Such a frail person, as if he could kill her with a single touch. How did he have the courage?
“Aoife, wake up. If you don’t wake up, I’ll dig out that bastard child from your belly and burn it to ashes to feed you, let you taste it!”
And that actually startled Aoife awake.
The moment Aoife opened her eyes, she saw Finn standing in front of her. She instinctively wanted to hide, but before her elbow could move back, she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. Aoife’s body froze, her hand trembling as she reached out and hesitantly touched her abdomen, her hand hesitating in mid-air for a while before dropping down, there was no curve there now.
Finn smiled lightly as he stood in front of her. “Are you looking for your bastard child?”
Finn’s voice was like a blunt knife piercing through her chest, causing her whole body to tremble violently. Aoife cringed, raising her head with wide eyes, looking at Finn ask in a hoarse voice, “Where’s my child… where’s my child?”
The room fell silent.
After a moment, Finn finally asked, “So you really want to see that bastard child?”
Finn kept saying “bastard child,” provoking Aoife’s eardrums. She moved her body to the edge of the bed and grabbed Finn’s hand, her voice choked with pleadings, “She’s not a bastard child, Finn, can you tell me… tell me where my child is? I want to see her, to see if she’s okay…”
The pleading gesture irritated Finn, and it ignited a desire for retaliation in his heart.
He bent down and pinched Aoife’s chin, staring at her bruised face with an ambiguous smirk. “Don’t worry, I’m keeping her for you!”
With that, he grabbed Aoife’s emaciated shoulders and pulled her off the bed.
Aoife, who had just had surgery, had no strength to resist Finn. She was rudely dragged off the bed, like a broken puppet falling to the ground with a dull thud.
Finn only glanced at her coldly and then forcefully twisted her arm to pull her up, dragging her into a room along the way.
It was a closed room, emitting a strong smell of disinfectant. Besides the disinfectant, there was another scent mixed in, making one feel a bit dizzy after a while.
Suddenly, Aoife was afraid of this place. She no longer wanted to see her child, as if as long as she didn’t see her, her child would be fine.
She backed away, shaking her head involuntarily, panic in her eyes.
Finn grabbed her hand. “Why are you backing away? Isn’t this what you wanted to see all along?”
“I don’t want to see it… as long as I know my baby is okay… it’s fine… I don’t want to see it, Finn, I beg you, I don’t want to see it… take me back… I want to go back.” Tears streamed down Aoife’s face as she shook her head.
She tried to retreat, now seemingly not feeling the pain in her body. Her heart felt like it was being squeezed tightly, unbearable pain.
“You can’t not look,” Finn sneered. He dragged Aoife to a corner and uncovered a piece of white cloth. Inside was a transparent glass container, floating a dead fetus, very small, only the size of an adult’s palm, with a wrinkled face.
“This is the child I dug out of your belly.”
The pungent smell pierced through Aoife’s head. She held her head, letting out a heart-wrenching scream, “No-”
Finn held her head firmly, controlling her chin, pressing her closer. The more she tried to move back, the more he pushed her towards it, almost forcing her nose against the glass container.
Aoife wanted to close her eyes, but couldn’t. Her pupils shrank violently, staring at the floating child in the container, her child… her little one.
Her eyes felt like they were being stabbed, tears rolling down from the corners of her eyes. Aoife shook her head, and at that moment, she truly felt the pain of heartbreak, the pain of a knife twisting in her heart. Even if she were subjected to ten tortures, it wouldn’t compare to the pain at that moment.
She couldn’t admit that this was her baby. How could her baby be so small? Soaked in that stimulating chemical solution? The smell alone was nauseating, how painful must it have been to be soaked in it? Aoife’s eyes were blurry, and she seemed half insane and half crazy.
Finn’s eyes were filled with madness. He grabbed Aoife’s hair and forced her head to look inside the container, making her see it clearly. “Aoife, this is your bastard child. You said it was mine, so I ask you, why was it only five months when it was checked? How did you conceive my child during the five months you ran away? Did you conceive in a dream?”
“You spent day and night with Ethan, under the same roof. Everyone in town thought you were a loving couple. You went to the hospital for a pregnancy test together, and he proposed to you on the main street. It was so romantic! And yet, you dare tell me you have nothing to do with Ethan? No connection at all? Would you jump into a pool full of snakes for him? Would you yell at me for a simple ring?”
“Five months of a bastard child…” Aoife muttered these words, then suddenly burst into laughter. Her body trembled uncontrollably, her sobbing laughter echoed in the room, turning from small to loud and from sorrowful to extreme grief.
“Finn, why don’t you believe me? Why don’t you believe that this is your child? Why are you so cruel to me?”
“Believe you?” Finn’s mocking laughter rang out. “Aoife, do you remember what I told you? The thing I hate the most is deception. You say this bastard child is mine, so I ask you, why was it only five months when checked? How did you conceive my child during the five months you ran away? Did you conceive in a dream?”
“You spent day and night with Ethan, under the same roof. Everyone in town thought you were a loving couple. You went to the hospital for a pregnancy test together, and he proposed to you on the main street. It was so romantic! And yet, you dare tell me you have nothing to do with Ethan? No connection at all? Would you jump into a pool full of snakes for him? Would you yell at me for a simple ring?”