The male nurse’s figure had long disappeared, and with Aoife’s broken body, how could she possibly catch up?
She ultimately turned her gaze towards Finn, dragging her heavy body to his feet, reaching out to grab his ankle, pleading in a heart-wrenching tone, “Finn, give me the baby… I beg of you…”
Her voice was already quivering, and Aoife choked out, looking up at Finn incoherently, “Don’t send her to the exhibition, she is my child, she is my life!”
Begging and crying hoarsely, her throat seemed to be on the verge of tearing apart, the sorrow so overwhelming that it could make one vomit uncontrollably. Aoife collapsed on the ground, dry heaving and shedding tears, the dull pain in her abdomen, a sharp ache that pierced her to the core, an unprecedented pain that felt like a thousand arrows through the heart.
Finn lowered his head to look at the woman retching blood at his feet, reaching out to grab Aoife’s collar and lift her up, a smirk playing on his lips, “Why the sudden urge to vomit? Do you also find it disgusting that the bastard you dug out of your belly is repulsive?”
Aoife, like a broken doll in Finn’s hands, swayed, staring at him with a pair of despairing and hollow eyes, “Finn, you are not human.”
Finn wiped away the tears and blood from her eyes, “You’re right, I am not human. I can do things even more inhumane than this. All those dirty things you did behind my back, do you think I will spare Ethan? And that Dr. Mason who is locked up in prison.”
Trembling, Aoife placed her hand on Finn’s wrist, a wry smile on her face, “Finn, just kill me…”
Her hand on his back was so cold, devoid of any warmth of a living being, freezing his fingers stiff. He reached out to pry open Aoife’s pale fingers one by one, then flung her to the ground with a muffled thud.
After hearing Aoife’s plea for death, a cotton-like lump seemed to block his throat, preventing him from either spitting it out or swallowing it back, a light and ominous pain tingling barely perceptibly in the chest.
Aoife, trembling, scratched her fingertips on the cold tiles, lifting her head and forcefully banging it on the ground, making a dull thumping sound, the taut nerve snapping completely at the moment her child was taken away.
On her knees, incessantly knocking her head on the ground, repeating the same words, “Finn, just kill me… kill me…”
As blood spilled out of her mouth, each word was like a sharp blade. Finn almost couldn’t stand, coldly gazing at the woman cowering and trembling on the ground, so frail, covered in blood, appearing vulnerable as if she could die at any moment.
“How can I bear to let you die, after all, your body can still bear me a child.”
With Aoife lying on the ground, unconscious, Finn, despite hating her intensely, still couldn’t bring himself to let her die. He couldn’t even figure out himself, what exactly his feelings towards Aoife were.
Was it love or hate? Possessiveness or control? Or was it love unrealized, pain unrelenting, letting go yet holding on, losing but refusing to accept?
The woman in his arms was slender, but not as heavy as a grown woman, cradled in his arms like a child.
He carried her into the ward and called for a doctor. Upon seeing Aoife covered in blood on the bed, the doctor furrowed his brow in concern.
Could it be that Mr. Snearl intended to torture the woman alive? Why bother coming to the hospital, might as well prepare a grave directly.
Having just undergone surgery and unable to withstand any further trauma, Aoife had been lying unconscious for several hours. Now awake, her wounds were still fresh and bleeding.
A significant part of the reason Aoife had deteriorated to this state was due to falsified medical records at the hospital.
If Finn was the perpetrator, then the instigators were those who stood by and allowed the cruelty to happen.
After completing everything, the doctor approached Finn and couldn’t help but say, “Mr. Snearl, I can see that you care about Miss Powell. If you truly want her to recover, refrain from agitating her. Her body is already fragile, having just undergone surgery… and having lost the chil…”
“I understand.” Before the doctor could finish, Finn interrupted, prompting the doctor to shake his head in resignation and leave. He had committed unforgivable acts and had no right to speak these words, only able to care for Aoife as best as he could during her hospital stay.
Having slept for an extended period, Aoife finally woke up. Finn noticed her awakening, seeing her staring blankly at the ceiling, unmoving.
“Awake?”
Upon hearing Finn’s voice, Aoife blinked her eyes, shaking uncontrollably, the hospital bed already narrow, and she moved to the side but ended up falling off the bed.
Fortunately, Finn was quick to catch her, preventing her head from hitting the cabinet and causing a large bump.
Finn quickly noticed that something was off with Aoife. He lifted her back onto the bed, about to say something when he saw the lifeless look in Aoife’s eyes.
Aoife’s eyes were usually bright and expressive, but now they seemed unfocused, as if a drop of ink had spread through clear water, clouding into a murky mist.
Finn stared at her eyes, unaware that his own hands were trembling, reaching out to wave in front of Aoife’s eyes, “Aoife, what’s wrong with your eyes?”
Aoife remained silent, her body trembling even more visibly. She shrunk back, her head hitting against the bedhead, tears uncontrollably welling up in her eyes.
Her timid and fearful appearance resembled a frightened rabbit, causing Finn to attempt to pull her down, but at the moment his hand touched her shoulder, Aoife suddenly screamed.
Even though the walls surrounded her, Aoife continued to retreat backward.
Finn had to confirm that something was wrong with Aoife’s eyes.
“Can’t you see anymore?”
Huddled in the corner, covering her ears with her hands, Aoife recoiled as if expecting death when she opened her eyes, for the surroundings were so dark and silent, she thought she had found liberation. If she were dead, she could reunite with her doting grandmother and the unborn baby.
But at that moment, Finn’s voice echoed in her ears.
Terrified, she continued to move backward, hitting her head against the wall, the pain telling her she hadn’t died, still trapped in this terrifying reality.
But why couldn’t she see? It was so dark…
“Aoife, can you not see?” This sentence pierced through her ears, feeling like thorns puncturing her eardrums, reaching deep into her bone marrow.
She realized she hadn’t died, nor found freedom; she had merely fallen into another dark abyss.
If she were blind, how different was it from death? No, this fear might be worse than death.
Aoife’s silence undeniably confirmed Finn’s words. With a chill in his eyes, he reached out to retrieve this timid and terrified rabbit.
“Don’t touch me!” she screamed, tears shimmering in her vacant eyes.
“As an adult, why do you keep crying incessantly?”
Unable to see Finn, Aoife sensed his disdainful and cold expression from his tone, covering her face with her hands as the skin around her eyes burned like fire, not wanting to cry but unable to contain the tears streaming down her face.
Although it discomforted Finn that Aoife couldn’t see, causing him temporary pain and distress, he couldn’t help but think that if Aoife were blind, she could stay by his side better, right?