Chapter 1 Priority

As I grasped the medical report tightly, I sat on the hospital bench with mixed feelings regarding the news of my pregnancy.

I had clicked on Austin's phone number several times, but I didn't dare to call him. I didn't know if Austin would think I had ulterior motives and pressure me to abort the baby if I told him about my pregnancy.

Just as I looked up at the gynecology department not far away and was hesitating whether to take the initiative to abort the baby, my phone suddenly rang.

After staring at Austin's name on the screen, I anxiously answered the phone. "Hi, Austin."

"Where are you?"

Upon hearing his question, I clutched my phone and pursed my lips. Even though I wanted to lie to him, I was too cowardly to do it. "I'm at the hospital."

"Kregate General Hospital?"

"Yes."

"Great. I want you to come to the second floor of the emergency department building now. I'll wait for you at the stairway on the second floor." Austin sounded anxious, and he hung up the phone after giving me instructions.

I lowered my eyes and glanced at the medical report in my hand. Then, I carefully folded it up, put it in my bag, and ran toward the emergency department building on high heels.

Once I arrived, I went up to the second floor. Sure enough, Austin stood at the stairway waiting for me.

Truth be told, this seemed to be his first time being so punctual.

In the past, he would always run extremely late when he said he would wait for me at a certain place. I recalled the longest he kept me waiting was during our movie date. As a matter of fact, he didn't show up even after the movie ended.

Thus, I plucked up my courage to call him and ask him about his whereabouts. Yet, he told me he was outside drinking with his friends and forgot he had a movie date with me.

Since he always stood me up, I was surprised that he actually kept his promise for once.

When he saw me, he immediately grabbed my wrist and dragged me toward the emergency room without saying a word.

He was very tall and walking at an urgent pace, so I couldn't keep up with his pace at all. Hence, I could only trot all the way.

Because of this, I was drenched in sweat from running even though the distance from the stairway to the emergency room was only a few hundred feet.

As soon as I stopped, Austin pushed me into the emergency room. "Doctor, take her blood."

I looked at Austin, who was anxious. Though puzzled, I didn't dare to ask him why.

I kept my head low and let the doctor take me further into the emergency room. When I entered the operating room and looked at the pale woman, who was lying on the hospital bed and receiving supplemental oxygen, I finally realized why Austin was so anxious.

Austin was always so solicitous about her welfare. Even if it was in the middle of the night, he would run out in his pajamas as long as she called. As long as it was her wishes, Austin would immediately fulfill them.

In fact, Austin once promised her that, except for marriage, he would make it up to her twice as much for everything else. On the other hand, I seemed to only gain the part of marrying Austin.

I pursed my lips and lay down on the hospital bed beside the woman. I frowned in pain when the doctor inserted the needle into my blood vessel.

Looking up at the doctor, I asked, "I haven't done a health check-up yet. Is it okay to give her my blood?"

"Mr. Jones has shown us your medical records. Your blood type matches Miss Diaz's, and you're physically healthy. Miss Diaz's condition is especially critical this time. So, she needs about 600 ml of blood. If there's any discomfort throughout the whole process, please bear with it for a while."

600 ml?! I clenched my fists as I watched the blood flow down the tube and into the bag.

Although I knew that Nicole Diaz, Austin's first love, was in a particularly critical condition, I was still generally aware that the maximum amount of blood donated each time should not exceed 400 ml. Now that the doctor wanted to take 600 ml in one go, it would definitely take a toll on my body, let alone that I was currently in the first trimester of my pregnancy.

I stared at the doctor hesitantly. After a long moment of internal struggle, I parted my lips and said, "Doctor, I thought we could only donate up to 400 ml of blood at a time. Isn't 600 ml a bit—"

At once, the doctor raised his hand, pushed up the glasses on his nose, and interjected, "Mr. Jones had instructed us to prioritize Miss Diaz's health."

'Prioritize Nicole's health…' I thought.