Outside the laboratory.
Dorothy stood there in a daze as she dared not move at all. In truth, she was nervous and afraid.
The most excruciating part of the whole process was the waiting. Every minute was suffering for her, especially as it was about her daughter’s illness. Luckily, Dr. Lanes did not take too long.
After a while, Dr. Lanes came out and handed her a medical report before he said with a hint of disappointment, “Miss Fisher, have a look.”
Dr. Lanes did not say that Credence’s bone marrow was a match, nor did he say that it was not.
However, Dorothy could tell that something was amiss from the doctor’s expression. The medical report in her hand felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds. She had no courage to look at the conclusion printed in the last section of the report.
Her heartbeat was disordered, and she could feel a bad premonition in her heart.
“Dr. Lanes, I am mentally prepared. Just tell me! I can accept the results no matter what it is.”
“Miss Fisher, I am sorry. After the examination, we have come to a conclusion that they are not a match at all.”
“Not a match at all?” Dorothy murmured again.
She stared at the information in her hands with disappointment. She had never felt a chill as cold as she did at that moment.
At that moment, it seemed that all the blood in her veins had dried up, and she did not even have the strength to cry.
Then, she turned around and raised her head to prevent the tears from pouring out of her eyes. She tried to stiffen her face and said with a polite smile, “Thank you, Dr. Lanes, I will think of another way.”
“The best option right now is to have a new baby with Belle’s father, and use the blood from its umbilical cord to save her.”
“Miss Fisher, Belle’s physical condition is getting worse. You must get pregnant immediately as there is no more time to waste. I still have something to do, so I have to leave.”
She looked at Dr. Lanes’ back as he walked away from her. Then, Dorothy finally shed her tough façade, squatting down in an empty corner of a corridor and clenching the medical report in her hands. Suddenly, she burst into tears.
If loving Credence was a bad thing, then the heavens should have punished her. How could they punish Belle for this?!
Belle was just a six-year-old. She had taken countless medications ever since she was a child. Hospital trips were common for her too, so much so that the thing that Belle asked more often than not was ‘Mommy, do I have to go to the hospital today?’ and not ‘Mommy, do I have to go to school today?’
Belle was so innocent, but why did she have to be diagnosed with such a deadly disease at such a young age? Why on earth did this happen to her?
The incandescent lamp on the ceiling emitted a soft and warm light, yet it was not enough to warm Dorothy’s wintry heart.
To her, it felt like she was trapped in a freezer.
Credence had already forgotten about the past, and he was a stranger to her. This time, it had taken her almost a month to successfully extract some blood from him. Now, it would be even more difficult to ask him to impregnate her and give her another child.
Then, Dorothy’s slender body curled up as she covered her face with her fingers and slowly calmed herself down.
She told herself that she would definitely find an opportunity to do it.
She had to be strong for Belle’s sake. She had to continue holding on until Belle recovered.
After Juelz finished his task at the equestrian competition, he found several witnesses to prove that he had not left the place halfway through. After he cleared his name from suspicion, he quickly hailed a taxi and went to the hospital.
Dorothy had been at the hospital for almost two and a half hours, and she had not called him to tell him about the final conclusion of the bone marrow compatibility test. Hence, he was extremely worried about her.
It was nearly eleven o’clock at night.
Loud footsteps could be heard in the dark corridor of the laboratory.
At a glance, Juelz saw Dorothy curled up with her eyes closed in a corner, crying.
Thus, he could not help but break out in a cold sweat. He took a few big strides and rushed towards Dorothy who was mired in despair. He was choked with sobs as he asked, “Dory, how are the test results? Is it bad news?”
Upon hearing his question, Dorothy, who was leaning against the wall feebly with her soft body, suddenly raised her head and opened her teary eyes.
Juelz was shocked by how red her eyes were, and he felt extremely worried and distressed.
He squatted down and held Dorothy’s thin shoulders with his hands. He pulled her gently into his embrace and put his chin on top of her head. He comforted her softly. “Dory, don’t cry, okay? No matter what happens, I will be by your side and face it with you.”
“I am willing to stand with you for the rest of your life. I will always be there when you need me the most, and I will accompany you through all the hardships and sorrows you experience in life.”
“As long as you are willing to ask me for help, I will do my best to help and protect you against turbulent winds and heavy storms. I will make sure that you won’t have to be worried for the rest of your life ever again.”
Then, Dorothy lifted her pale face and fixed her eyes on his handsome, worried face. From his eyes, she could see how much he cared about her. After a while, her smile looked pathetic as she said, “Juelz, all our hopes are in vain. Credence’s bone marrow does not match Belle’s at all.”
“He is Belle’s father! How could this happen?”
The white lights on the ceiling shone on her pale face. Her face was so ashen, making Juelz’s heart throb.
Juelz was so shocked that his heart had lodged itself in his throat. He quickly tightened his arms and held Dorothy as they leaned against the snow-white wall. Holding back the pain in his heart, he asked, “What did the doctor say?”
“Dr. Lanes said that the only way left is to use the umbilical cord of the newborn child.”
Dorothy sighed and she smiled, devoid of any emotions as she continued, “Now that Credence has completely forgotten about me, should I find an opportunity to force him to sleep with me?”
Juelz’s voice was hoarse as he asked, “Isn’t there any other way apart from sleeping with him?”
Juelz’s voice was hoarse. His heart suddenly surged with anger and he had an impulse to destroy everything.
He had done so much to stop Dorothy and Credence from having any entanglements with each other, but the umbilical cord from the newborn baby they needed would pull her back to Credence once more.
How could he bear to let that happen?
“I don’t know. I really don’t know what I should do. Dr. Lanes said that it is the only way to save Belle, and even the specialists from abroad stressed this point. If I don’t go to Credence and let him impregnate me, then should I just watch Belle die?”
“Juelz, I can’t do that. I really can’t abandon Belle’s health like that…”
Dorothy’s mind went completely blank. The thought of her not doing her best to save her daughter was enough to pierce her heart into a million pieces.
On the other hand, Juelz could not bear to see her grieve like this. He could not help but hug her tightly as he looked straight ahead in a daze as well.
He was reluctant to let Dorothy get impregnated by Credence again, but he had no other choice. An extremely conflicting feeling in his heart went on in his heart.
At the other end of the corridor, Credence was being pushed out of the operating room to the VIP ward by Jonathan and Marvin.
The atmosphere was lifeless. In order to liven it up, Jonathan swept his eyes around and saw a couple who were tightly hugging each other not too far away. He could not help but laugh hysterically, “Credence, Marv, do you see that woman? She must be a mistress who got pregnant with the man’s child. I’m sure that they are either discussing getting rid of it or forced marriage. Affairs like this happen in the hospital every day. I’ve seen too much of these.”
Credence was lying on the snow-white sheets as he turned a deaf ear to Jonathan’s words.
When they passed the couple, he cast them a glance out of reflex. He realized that the couple were Juelz and Dorothy who were hugging each other with gloomy expressions on their faces.
His eyes narrowed, and he quickly turned his head to the other side. The skin on his knuckles turned white as he clenched them underneath the sheets.