3| I want a divorce

“Hurry! We are losing her!”

“We have to stop the bleeding first!!”

“Fuck! She’s pregnant!”

“…and the baby?”

Zia’s mind and body were numb. Her eyelids felt too heavy. Despite the noise around her and the voices that kept shouting that she should keep her eyes open, her entire strength was gone.

“Baby…” she mumbled, but they couldn’t hear her.

Her chest was rising and falling rapidly. Her fingers moved slowly as she tried to get their attention, but her strength was barely hanging on, and they were too weak to draw attention. “My.. b..aby..”

Zia’s eyelids finally gave in and her hands fell to the side.

~

It was a busy day at work for the emergency unit of the hospital, yet the doctors and nurses on duty looked at the still unconscious patient on bed number five with extreme pity.

This woman had been involved in a life-threatening accident but her family was nowhere to be found. They had called three emergency lines on her phone. The first and second were ultimately unreachable and the third line, which turned out to be that woman’s husband was even more unreliable!

What sort of husband would not show up at a hospital from morning till evening, almost ten hours after his wife had undergone surgery?!

However, as this silent pity party was going on, Zia’s eyes finally fluttered open. One of the nurses who had been watching her closely immediately alerted the doctors and they came in to check her vitals.

The doctor shared a knowing look with the rest of his team and understanding the situation, they left.

“Miss Hidalgo. How are you feeling?”

Zia’s face was pale and stricken with tears. Her head and arm were wrapped in bandages. Her head ached badly and her whole body was in pain, but for some unknown reason, the tears wouldn't stop falling. It seemed that the injury that hurt the most was one from within.

Seeing this, the doctor’s heart broke into tiny pieces for this particular patient. Compared to the state she was in when she had been brought in, it was a miracle she was even still alive. But the husband was useless and…

“Doctor?.” Her hoarse, barely audible voice called out.

“How’s my baby?”

The doctor’s hands quivered. Initially, he had prepared himself mentally to deliver this news. But how could he tell this already broken woman that her baby was gone?

“Miss Hidalgo? I need you to be calm right…”

Zia let out a sad chuckle, more of a self-mockery laughter. “She’s gone, isn't she?.” How could a mother not know that she had lost her child?

Zia’s chuckles turned into sobs, then soft sniffles. “Please tell me you were able to save the little girl I hit at the least?”

At this odd question, the doctor paused. What little girl?

“You did not hit any girl, Miss Hidalgo. Your car had only collided with a truck and you were the only victim in danger when the ambulance arrived.”

Zia’s eyes widened. “That's impossible…”

“There was a little girl..."

Seeing Zia’s confusion, the doctor frowned. They reported that Zia’s car had lost direction and kept swerving from side to side. At first, he had assumed it was dizziness from her pregnancy. But now, he had another foreboding. Had Miss Hidalgo been hallucinating?

“How long have I been here, doctor? My husband... He will be back from work and will be worried if I’m not home… I’ve been away for a long time!”

Fearing for her mental health, the doctor gently held onto her free hand and tried to get Zia to remain calm. Her body was still fragile and recovering. She might be in serious danger if she continued to worry. “We called your husband already, but he is yet to arrive. Is there anybody else you would like us to reach out to?”

Zia didn't respond. Her teary gaze was glued to the entrance door instead, where a familiar figure had appeared. Her gaze instantly warmed up!

Damien!

“Damien…” Zia called out with instant relief. She had just had an accident and a miscarriage. All she wanted was her husband’s comforting words and embrace.

Realizing it was ‘the husband’, the doctor glared a bit at Damien. He was disappointed in him for showing up so late. But he acknowledged him with a nod and left to give the couple a little privacy.

Dressed in a suit, Damien looked a little stressed and anxious.

As he approached, Zia started to feel even more nostalgic, and all the emotions she had bottled up started to spill out in waves.

Just that morning, she had the chance to tell her husband about their baby but did not. Now because she kept such a huge matter to herself. Damien and her would never see their baby.

“Honey…”

Zia tried to drag herself to a sitting position but couldn’t, so she stretched out her free hand to Damien instead.

However, Zia’s enthusiasm was not reciprocated.

“Don’t waste your strength, Zia.”

Damien glanced at Zia’s slender form on the bed and simply avoided her hand. Zia stared at her husband, the warm eyes that had smiled at her as he gifted her a rose that morning was now as distant and cold as a stranger’s.

“I’m glad to see you are okay.”

The air in the room was suddenly chilly and cold.

That voice. What was wrong?

“I want a divorce.”

~

Low gasps emitted from the far end of the room.

Zia’s raised hand trembled, her eyes wide with shock. Her lips parted and closed as no words formed. Divorce.

Where did that come from?

Hearing no response from Zia, Damien dropped a file on the bedside table and stooped to his knees, as he finally reached for Zia’s trembling hands. Her slender hands were cold and thinner than he had remembered.

Zia was exceptionally beautiful, gentle, and calm. They were traits he loved in a woman. He was also a proud man and had always loved how she made him feel so good about himself. Too bad it was all she could offer.

Knowing how much Zia had cared for him and loved him in the three past years, a pinch of guilt made him soften his gaze as he tried to speak sense into her.

“Men like me need strong, supportive partners by their side. I need a woman who would push me hard enough and you aren’t her. Deep down you know it too.”

A tear slipped down Zia’s face and Damien slowly lost his cool.

“Of all people, you should understand me the most.”

“This marriage… it's been useless right from the start. I’ve wasted three years of my life being blinded by you!

Zia flinched at the intensity of his words and more tears streamed down her eyes.

“Don’t do this Damien…I love you…”

Damien scoffed, dropping Zia’s hand roughly as he stood to his feet and glared down at her.

“We were young and stupid and it’s time to move on, Zia. I won’t let you tie me down anymore. Do me a favor and let this be the last time we see each other.”

“I have transferred a sufficient amount of money to your account. I will also settle the hospital bills on my way out. Consider the time and care I’ve exerted by entering into this sham of a marriage with you. Sign the divorce papers, Zia.”

“My lawyer will be here tomorrow.”

With those final words, the towering body of the man left her bedside.

Damien’s voice had been loud and clear, spreading through the silent room. The doctors and nurses who were attending to other patients had all been drawn to listen to their conversation.

How could such a man exist?!

Right now, they stared at Zia with heavy hearts and pity. She had just been in an accident and lost a child and now she had lost a husband too. Just how heartless could he be to do this on a hospital bed?

Imagining the shock she must be in, considering that Zia didn't move an inch and kept staring at a spot on the wall, the doctor who had attended to her earlier was worried that she wouldn’t get enough rest.

He approached Zia’s bedside, hoping to comfort her with a word or two, but the woman didn’t even notice he was standing beside her.

Nor, did she flinch when he administered a sedative to her.

The doctors finally sighed in relief when the drug finally kicked in and she drifted off to sleep.

However, when the doctor returned to her bedside at 7 AM the next morning, he was in for a great shock.

A trail of blood-drops led from the door to bed number five.

The bed was empty and cold!

The patient was nowhere to be found!