Chapter 176: No time!
Lawrence.
"Are you insane?" Lurgard’s voice echoed loudly in the tense corridor, the sheer force of his furious pitch bouncing off the sterile walls and ringing violently in my ears.
I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug sharp, stinging crescents into my palms. Slowly, deliberately, I opened my eyes to face the storm.
"I am completely, properly sane, Lurgard," I answered back firmly, my voice low and grounded.
I hardened my resolve, locking my stance and refusing to let my posture betray a single ounce of hesitation.
"No, you are not!" Leonard chimed in savagely, and he closed the distance between us in two swift, aggressive strides, reaching out to grab a handful of my collar and the fabric strained as he yanked me toward him. "Why are you suddenly protecting that bastard’s child?" he hissed in a sharp, lethal whisper right into my ear, his breath hot against my cheek.
I clamped my hand over his wrist and shoved his arms away with a sudden, forceful burst of strength. Standing my ground, I calmly reached up and adjusted my crumpled collar.
"Don’t forget that it is also Theresa’s baby..." I paused, stepping closer and locking my eyes firmly onto his, letting the absolute seriousness of my words sink in. "...and you know exactly how much she cherishes it."
Lurgard threw his head back and chuckled—a harsh, humorless sound that reeked of bitter disbelief. "Didn’t you hear a single word the doctor just said?" he asked, taking a menacing step toward me. "It’s totally impossible to save the damn pup!" he yelled, his voice exploding into a roar that shattered the quiet hallway.
His sudden, violent outburst caused the doctor standing beside us to flinch violently, stepping back to put distance between himself and our rising temper.
"To save the baby, you would endanger Theresa!" Lurgard added hurriedly, his desperate anger spilling out as he pressed further into my space. "Tell me—can you actually live without Theresa?" he yelled directly into my face.
My throat hitched, and I swallowed hard against the sudden, suffocating lump rising in my chest.
The question hit me like a devastating physical force. The truth was brutal and terrifying: I couldn’t actually bear the thought of living in a world without Theresa. Existing without her was a dark, empty reality I never wanted to face again.
But what else can I possibly do?
I couldn’t just stand by and sign away a piece of her soul. I turned my back on the mounting pressure from my brothers, stepping away from their furious glares and marching directly up to the doctor. I reached out and looked him dead in the eyes.
"You can do it," I said, driving every ounce of conviction I possessed into my voice to make it sound entirely undeniable. "You are capable of it. You can save both the mother and the child."
Forget about the sheer wrath Theresa would unleash on us when she woke up and realized her beloved child was gone.
What truly terrified me—what consumed my mind and bothered me far more than her hatred—was the crushing, unbearable guilt she would eventually be forced to live with for the rest of her life. I couldn’t let her carry that burden. I simply couldn’t.
The doctor shook his head slightly, his expression heavy with grave professional caution. "I’m not saying it is entirely impossible to save the baby," he said softly, his quiet tone striking a sharp contrast against the heated fury radiating between us. "It is just that there is an unacceptably high chance of losing both the mother and the child if I choose to prioritize saving the baby first," he clarified again, laying out the horrific math of the situation with devastating clarity.
I immediately ran a trembling hand through my hair, gripping the strands in pure, unadulterated frustration. My thoughts were wildly spiraling out of control, tangling together in a knot of agonizing panic.
What exactly was I supposed to say, and how on earth could I ever explain to Theresa that in order to save her own life, I had passively agreed to sacrifice her precious child?
’Arrrgghhhhh!’ I screamed inwardly, the silent roar tearing through the chaotic void of my mind. "It’s crazy. This is completely insane," I muttered under my breath, my voice shaking.
"Doctor, prepare the necessary papers," Leonard said firmly, stepping forward and taking complete charge with cold, unyielding resolve. "We are signing them right now." He turned his head and locked his icy gaze directly onto me, leaving no room for negotiation. "We are saving the mother first."
I shook my head instantly, taking a step back in sharp refusal.
Why couldn’t they understand?
Why were they being so blind to the horrific weight of what they were doing?
Couldn’t they feel the suffocating, deep pain tearing through my chest right now?
Everything happening around us was just so fundamentally, terribly wrong.
My mind flashed back to the heartbreaking details of the dreams Theresa had confided in me over time. From every tearful story and every nightmare she had shared, I could tell with painful clarity that she had already endured a lifetime of unspeakable agony and heartbreak. I couldn’t bear to be the reason she suffered even more. I refused to be the cause of another wound in her shattered heart.
"No!" I said firmly, my voice cutting through the tension with absolute finality. "I am not signing that paper."
"You—" Lurgard snarled, his face twisting in sudden rage as he thrust a harsh, accusing finger directly toward my face.
But he didn’t get to finish his threat.
"We have absolutely no time for this argument!" the doctor barked, his voice snapping like a whip and slicing right through our heated confrontation, as he stepped decisively between us, his authoritative sternness instantly deadlocking our fight. "Every second you waste standing here fighting brings her closer to the edge. Her life is still dangerously on the line!"