My Savior Became My Betrayal Chapter 05
Watching the crimson blood bloom through the bathwater, the reality of what he had just done finally hit him.
“Melly… blood… why is there blood?”
Kennith stumbled toward the tub, his hands shaking violently.
He frantically tore at the leather belt binding my wrists, but the metal buckle was jammed.
He fumbled with it, his voice shaking with panic.
I watched his frantic movements, the agonizing pain in my belly radiating through my entire body.
“Get away…”
I managed to whisper, though even drawing a breath was agony.
My vision started to blur. I barely registered him finally yanking the belt free.
He hauled me out of the freezing water, clutching me tight to his chest.
When his hand brushed against the warm blood between my legs, a violent shudder ripped through his body.
“Melly, don’t scare me. We’re going to the hospital right now.”
He grabbed a towel, wrapped me up in it, and carried me out of the house.
He shook the whole way there, his tears falling steadily onto my face.
He kept begging me to stay awake, his voice thick with desperation and terror.
But I was just too exhausted. My eyes slowly drifted shut.
At the hospital, the ER staff rushed me in.
A nurse cut away my soaked dress, releasing a sharp, chemical blast of rubbing alcohol into the air.
Frowning, the doctor quickly ordered painkillers and a saline IV.
“The patient is pregnant and hemorrhaging. She’s in critical condition — prepare her for emergency surgery, immediately.”
Pregnant.
Lying on the operating table, I let the tears stream silently into my hair.
He had just ended the life of the baby I’d eagerly waited six months for.
As the anesthesia kicked in, I drifted into the dark.
When I woke up, the hospital room was dead quiet except for the steady beep of the heart monitor.
I twitched my fingers, realizing someone was gripping my right hand like a vise.
I turned my head. Kennith was on his knees beside the bed, his eyes completely bloodshot.
Still in his soaked clothes, he looked absolutely wretched.
The second he saw my eyes flutter open, his tears spilled onto the back of my hand.
“Melly, you’re awake. Are you hurting?”
His voice was wrecked, raw with desperation.
Face blank, I yanked my hand out of his grip.
“The baby’s gone, isn’t it?” I asked, my eyes fixed calmly on the ceiling.
Kennith froze, his face twisting in pure agony.
“I’m so sorry… Melly, I swear I didn’t know you were pregnant.
“If I’d known, I never would have done that to you. Never.”
He raised a hand and slapped himself across the face, hard. The crack echoed sharply in the quiet room.
“I’m a bastard! I deserve this. Hit me, Melly. Yell at me, please.”
I watched him punish himself with cold indifference. I felt absolutely nothing.
“The ultrasound report sat on the table for a week. Did you really not see it when you came home?”
Kennith went perfectly still, heavy tears spilling down his cheeks.
“I was just out of my mind with worry. All I could think about was Ernie being missing…”
“And that gave you the right to hold me down in a bathtub and douse me in freezing water and rubbing alcohol?”
I turned my head, staring dead into his pale face.
“You weren’t just anxious, Kennith. You genuinely don’t care whether I live or die.”
Just then, the hospital room door swung open.
Dina rushed in, leaning heavily on Leticia.
“Ken, I heard Melly was in the hospital. What on earth happened?” Dina asked.
Leticia glanced over at me in the bed, a quick flash of smug satisfaction crossing her face.
She instantly hid it behind a mask of worry, tears welling in her eyes as she turned back to Kennith.
“Ken, is Melinda okay? They found Ernie, so it was all just a huge misunderstanding.
“Please don’t be mad at Melinda anymore — I’m sure she didn’t mean to do it.”
Kennith shot to his feet the second Leticia spoke, his expression openly hostile.
Dina chimed in beside them. “Exactly, Ken. Melly’s got a temper, sure, but since she can’t have kids of her own, she’s naturally going to be jealous of Letty. Just give her a warning and leave it at that.”
Kennith’s hands balled into fists, his knuckles popping under the strain.
“Mom, Melly had a miscarriage,” he said, his voice shaking as he forced out every single word.
Dina froze. Her mouth fell open as her eyes dropped to my belly.
“A… a miscarriage? She was pregnant? When did this happen?”
All the color drained from Leticia’s face, and she took an involuntary step back.
Kennith rounded on her, the soft spot he usually had for Leticia completely gone.
“Didn’t you say Melly attacked you this afternoon?
“Didn’t you claim she kidnapped Ernie?”
Leticia couldn’t meet his gaze.
“I… I was just guessing,” she stammered. “Ernie was missing, and I was so worried…”
“Guessing?” Kennith took a step toward her, his eyes bloodshot.
“Because of your guess, I directly caused my baby’s death.”
Terrified, Leticia burst into tears and grabbed at his sleeve.
“Ken, I swear I didn’t know Melinda was pregnant.
“But even without this baby, you still have Ernie. He’s your biological son, too.”
Kennith slapped her hand away, looking at her with pure disgust.
“Get out.”
Leticia stood frozen, staring at him in shock.
Taking pity on her, Dina hurried to intervene.
“Ken, how can you talk to Letty like that? She was worried sick about Ernie.
“Besides, you can always have another baby. Why are you blaming her?”
Listening to them made me physically sick.
“Leave,” I said, my voice weak but cutting straight through their argument.
The room went dead quiet. Everyone stared at me.
“I said get out. Do you not understand?”
Kennith immediately stepped in front of my bed, shielding me.
“Mom, take her and go. And don’t either of you ever show your faces to Melly again.”
Dina opened her mouth to argue, but Kennith’s fierce glare shut her down.
Biting her lip in frustration, Leticia finally let Dina pull her out into the hallway.