From Devoted to Done

On the day I was supposed to give birth, I got into a serious car accident on my way to the hospital.

My husband, Henry Cantrell, an emergency room doctor, rushed off to save his wrist-slitting first love.

I didn’t call him. Instead, I chose to watch as the wrecked car exploded into flames.

That was because, in my past life, Henry had left the bleeding Madeline Boone alone to come save me because of my phone call.

Although my unborn child and I survived, Madeline died from blood loss at home. Her body wasn’t discovered by my husband until three days later.

Henry said he didn’t blame me for her death, that it had been his choice to come to me. He even insisted on organizing a wedding ceremony to make up for the last one.

But the night before the wedding, he knocked me out and dragged me to Madeline’s house.

In the bathtub where she had slit her wrist, Henry tortured me with countless cuts, even cutting the baby out of my womb.

He stared at my bloodied, mangled body with bloodshot eyes.

“Wasn’t it a mere car accident? You weren’t even going to die from that! But Maddie died because of your car accident. I’ll make you feel all the pain she went through that day!”

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day of the accident.

With a loud crash, the car flipped over and over. Pregnant and helpless, I lay in a pool of blood.

As the electric vehicle had been struck hard, thick white smoke poured out from it.

I never expected to come back to this moment.

Realizing what was happening, I used all my strength to crawl halfway out of the driver’s seat. Unfortunately, my lower body was completely stuck and couldn’t be moved.

Afraid of being caught in an explosion, the pedestrians around kept their distance.

My cries for help were drowned out by the noise all around. Seeing that shouting wouldn’t help, I shakily called emergency services.

The cramping in my abdomen intensified, cold sweat beading on my forehead.

On the other end of the line was one of Henry’s colleagues, Clara Jennings, whom I’d met a few times.

Hearing my voice, she coldly said, “Rachel, Dr. Cantrell is busy today. Before he left, he told us that you might try the office if you couldn’t reach him.

“Look, I know what you’re going to ask, but I really can’t tell you where he went. This line is for emergencies. You can’t just waste emergency resources. I’m hanging up now.”

The moment I heard she was about to hang up, panic overtook me.

In my struggle, a pile of Madeline’s makeup products, which she had left in the side pocket of the passenger side door, came tumbling down onto me.

Without even caring what was falling on me, I hurriedly yelled, “Wait! Don’t hang up! You misunderstood—I’m not calling to ask for Henry.

“I’ve been in a car accident at the intersection right in front of your hospital. The car could explode at any moment. Can you please get someone—”

Clara cut me off impatiently, “Rachel, can you stop your act? Dr. Cantrell isn’t here. Even if an ambulance goes to you, you still won’t be able to see him, so stop it already.

“This line is for saving lives. Now stop hogging public resources. I’m begging you. Dr. Cantrell doesn’t mean to ignore your calls. What he’s handling really is a life-or-death matter.

“You’re pregnant. Just focus on your delivery, and stop overthinking. He’ll explain everything when he’s free.”

Then she hung up.

Tears of despair fell from the corners of my eyes, dripping onto the ground.

I didn’t think Henry would be heartless enough to cut off every path I had to survive.

In the past, when Madeline had summoned him with various excuses, I had indeed called his office a few times. But I had never lied, let alone wasted emergency resources.

We had been together for seven years, yet in the end, this was how he saw me. No wonder he had been so cold and merciless as to cut me up for Madeline in my past life.

There was no time to think as I was on the verge of death.

The temperature in the car kept rising. It was clear the vehicle was going to explode soon.

Taking a few deep breaths, I looked down at the bulge of my stomach.

With all my strength, I tried to crawl out through the shattered window. Shards of glass slashed my palms, embedding deep into the wounds. I managed to drag myself a few more inches out of the car.

Exhausted, I collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath. The scorching heat inside the vehicle was intense against my skin.

Within two short minutes, smoke had completely engulfed the car.

More and more people gathered. A few good-hearted bystanders cried out for help, frantically asking if any doctors were nearby.

Soon, hurried footsteps approached.

To my shock, the head of Henry’s department, Dr. Benjamin Weber, appeared before me.

Dr. Weber quickly assessed the situation around the car. He wasted no time coordinating with a few good Samaritans to pull me out of the wreckage.

Right as I was moved to a safe distance, the car behind me exploded, engulfed in a sea of fire.

Dr. Weber expertly examined my injuries.

A group of bystanders had gathered around, now all talking over each other.

“Who lets a pregnant woman drive herself? Does her family not care?”

“Is she alright? I called the emergency hotline, but the line was busy the whole time. When I finally got through and gave them the location, they accused me of putting on an act! I didn’t even get to say it was a car accident before they hung up! What kind of lunatics is that hospital hiring?”

“A young lady this pregnant shouldn’t be out and about alone! Just look at her stomach—she should be close to her due date. What’s your husband’s number, ma’am? I’ll give him a call for you.”

These people had been too afraid of an explosion to help me just moments ago, but their concern now was making me feel like crying.

Enduring the searing pain tearing through my entire body, I weakly shook my head.

Even strangers on the street could show me such kindness, yet my own husband of seven years was so eager to take the lives of both me and our child for the sake of a woman who had once abandoned him.

Who would have thought that the seven-year itch was no myth?

It felt like everything that had happened since being reborn was heaven’s way of rubbing my stupidity and blindness in my face.

No one noticed Dr. Weber’s expression growing darker with every word they said.

Once he finished examining me, he immediately took out his phone and called the emergency department. As soon as the call connected, his voice rang out in fury.

“Get an ambulance to the intersection of the hospital—now! Are you people seriously unaware that there’s been a car accident here? If I hadn’t passed by on my way to work, the victim would be dead already!

“How many times do you have to be called before you bother to show up? Who gave you the guts to be this negligent? Do you even understand how important emergency response is? If you all can’t handle the job, then you’re all fired!”

Five minutes later, I was loaded into the ambulance.

Just then, my phone began to ring.

Dr. Weber, being thoughtful, answered it for me and held it to my ear.

The next second, Henry’s furious voice rang out.

I couldn’t help but shudder upon hearing his voice again.

“You called our department again? How long are you going to keep this up? Didn’t I tell you I was busy today? You just had to bother me right now? You’re about to give birth, and you’re still acting like this?

“I’m already swamped with work every single day, so can you not call me for every little thing? What, you can’t survive without me by your side? Every woman gets pregnant—you don’t see anyone else acting this crazy!

“If I hadn’t come to Maddie today, she would’ve slit her wrists. Do you get that? Can’t you just be a little more understanding? I’ll be home when I’m done, so stop bothering me!”

His impatient rant was underscored by the faint sound of Madeline quietly sobbing in the background.

After his tirade, Henry hung up without letting me speak a word, let alone asking what had happened.

That cold, cruel look he had when he killed me in my past life flashed before my eyes.

Tears slid down the sides of my face, falling onto the stretcher. My breathing became so shaky that I couldn’t stop it.

A sharp, wrenching pain in my abdomen snapped me back to my senses. Bright red blood, mixed with amniotic fluid, spread beneath me.

But even all of this couldn’t compare to the pain of being cut apart by Henry in my past life.

As I was wheeled into the emergency room, Clara caught sight of my pale face on the stretcher.

Her eyes widened in shock, and she rushed over, apologizing in a panic. She said she thought the car accident was a lie I had made up to get Henry to contact me and that hanging up on me had been a misunderstanding.

Dr. Weber, standing nearby, immediately sensed that something was off. After asking a few questions, he learned that I was Henry’s wife of seven years.

In the next instant, he turned livid with rage. He pulled out his phone to call Henry.

To make sure I could hear everything, Dr. Weber put the call on speakerphone as soon as it connected.

“Henry Cantrell, where the hell are you? Your wife’s in critical condition. She’s about to be rushed into surgery, so get back here immediately!”

I had thought that hearing his superior’s voice would at least make Henry stop and think.

Little did I expect him to reply coldly, “Dr. Weber? Did Rachel Brandt make a scene in front of you? Don’t believe a word she says. She’s completely insane right now!

“She’s been arguing with me at home every day. I’m a doctor—I can’t just ignore a suicide attempt just because she’s jealous! If I’d gotten here even a minute later, the patient would’ve slit her wrists! She’s currently still emotionally unstable.

“Just have Rachel complete her admission for delivery. You can explain my situation to her while you’re at it. And if she still doesn’t get it, then she can believe whatever she wants!”

Dr. Weber clearly did not expect Henry to be so callous. He clenched his jaw to keep himself from exploding right then and there. He was so mad his veins throbbed on his forehead.

But before he could speak again, Madeline’s frail voice came through the phone.

“Is Rach calling? Are you going to leave? I’m going to be left alone again, aren’t I? I guess that’s how things should be. You’re about to have your baby, yet I still can’t let you go… I’m the problem…”

As if afraid she had been heard, Henry abruptly ended the call.

Right then, a wave of intense contractions hit me. My vision went dark, and I blacked out.

Dr. Weber quickly rushed me into the operating room.

In my unconscious state, my mind drifted back to my past life.

The moment the crash happened in my previous life, I had called Henry for help.

He was on his way to see Madeline, but upon hearing about my accident, he immediately turned around to come save me. He used all his strength to drag me out of the driver’s seat before carrying my blood-soaked body into the emergency room. Only after I was out of danger did he finally allow himself to breathe.

But since the trauma had caused complications, our child couldn’t be delivered on time.

By the time he brought me home and rushed to Madeline, all he found was her cold body in the bathtub. The wounds on her wrists were deep enough to expose bone.

Without saying a single word, he took care of Madeline’s funeral arrangements himself.

Henry didn’t appear before me again until two days later. Acting as if nothing was wrong, he calmly told me about what had happened to Madeline.

When he saw the sorry look on my face, he simply shook his head indifferently. He said he didn’t blame me and that he’d only realized how unpredictable life was after everything that had happened. Then, he told me he couldn’t wait to hold a wedding ceremony for me to make up for the past.

As I looked at his expression, which was no different from the past, I chose to believe him.

But the night before the wedding, Henry knocked me out and dragged me to Madeline’s home. He then tied up my limbs and put me into the very bathtub where Madeline had slit her wrists.

There was no love or care left in his eyes as he gazed at me. Only burning hatred and bitter resentment remained. His twisted face looked like that of a man who had lost the love of his life and gone insane.

The knife in his hand gleamed coldly under the light, sharpened to perfection.

As I stared at him in terror and on the verge of breaking down, he slowly spoke.

“Wasn’t it a mere car accident? You weren’t even going to die from that! But Maddie did die after losing me.

“Do you know how deep her wounds were? Do you know how much blood she lost that day? She lay right where you are now, in that same position. The blood had even flowed all the way down to her calves.

“I’ve studied medicine for years, yet it was that day that I learned just how much blood a human body holds. There was so much blood I couldn’t see any other color… But it’s okay if you’re clueless, because you’ll find out soon enough.”

After saying that, he placed Madeline’s portrait at the head of the tub. He wanted to avenge her death right in front of her.

The moment the blade pierced my skin, the pain was so excruciating I nearly blacked out. Yet, no matter how I cried or shook my head, he remained utterly indifferent.

He cut me over and over again.

Our child, who was just about to be born into this world, took his last breath the moment he was cut out of me.

I had thought that would be the end of Henry’s revenge, but it was only the beginning of his madness. He cut us repeatedly, his murmuring sounding like ghostly whispers or the deranged rambling of a lunatic.

“It was this deep, and it was right here. This was how much blood she bled. Maddie must’ve been in so much pain. She must’ve really needed me then…”

In the final seconds before death took me, I had counted exactly a thousand cuts.

Henry had delivered one thousand cuts to me and our child.

After I died, he dumped our corpses back into the bathtub. He then held the wedding with Madeline’s ashes in his arms.

At that time, my soul lingered nearby. As I watched him with a crazed obsession in his eyes, only then did I realize how foolish I had been. Alas, it was far too late.

From the moment Madeline returned to the country on our wedding day seven years ago, and from the moment he got that call and left me standing alone at the altar, I should have known.

I should have known that I never stood a chance against Madeline, even though he was the one who sought me out first after she had abandoned him.

I endured a groomless wedding and a loveless marriage, all alone, for seven years. And in the end, it all ended in blood.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in a hospital room.

The nurse regretfully informed me that the baby couldn’t be saved.

I placed both hands over my stomach, the loose, sagging skin the only proof that the child had ever existed.

Staring weakly at the ceiling, I reached for my phone on the pillow. Just as I was about to text Henry to ask for a divorce, he called first.

I answered, but before I could say a word, he started shouting, “What the hell are those rumors online? Did you start them? Have you gone mad? Do you realize how badly this affects the hospital? Take them down immediately!

“I can’t tolerate you for another day. Don’t you know spreading false information is illegal? Can’t you act like a normal person for once? Take it down now, or I’ll divorce you!”

Before I could even process what he was saying, he hung up.

Hatred overwhelmed my rational mind. My nails dug deep into my palms, and my fists trembled with the force.

It was just my luck—Madeline was unharmed, and he hadn’t done anything that clearly broke the law in this life. I had no grounds to call the cops on him.

Thinking back to what he’d just said, I checked the news on my phone.

That was when I saw it. Some passerby had filmed the crash and posted the video online. The internet had zeroed in on one particular detail from the video—I had called for emergency services and was completely ignored.

In no time, the hospital’s emergency department was blasted to the top of the trending list, with internet users expressing their outrage.

If it hadn’t been for Dr. Weber appearing at the last moment to salvage things, the hospital might’ve had to shut down on the spot from the backlash.

I searched for the hospital’s official account, only to find it had already been taken down after being flooded with hate comments.

The emergency department had, indeed, failed catastrophically. As such, I had no reason to step forward to clarify anything or have the video removed. In fact, I was more than happy to let it stay.

Curious, I checked Madeline’s social media, only to find that it was a stark contrast to the chaos at the hospital—peaceful and picturesque. There wasn’t a single hint of emotional distress, much less signs of self-harm.

As a matter of fact, while I was in surgery, she’d even posted a new status update.

“A perfect lover is the ultimate cure for all psychological wounds.”

Reading that, I let out a cold, scornful laugh. I then liked her post as a way to praise her acting skills.

If she thought that Henry was such a “perfect” lover, she could have him all to herself.

Just a minute after I liked her post, Henry called again.

This time, I declined the call. As I blocked his number, a message popped up across the top of the screen.

“Why the hell are you attacking Maddie? If you have a problem, take it out on me! Stop acting crazy in front of her!”

I instantly texted that I wanted a divorce before blocking him on that app as well.

Just then, a commotion broke out in the hallway. Reporters flooded into the hospital lobby, demanding to interview the head of the emergency department. The medical staff were shouting for them to stop taking pictures and recording.

Dr. Weber came out of his office to help maintain order, claiming to be the physician in the viral video, but it was no use.

Dr. Ralph Mendez, the hospital’s director, arrived in a hurry upon receiving the news, but his presence did little to calm the situation.

Under mounting pressure, the hospital finally made Clara come forward.

Choking on her sobs, Clara shook as she tried to explain that she had only been used by Henry and that her negligence had been a genuine mistake.

Right after that, Dr. Mendez called Henry, ordering him to show up within half an hour.

Dr. Weber, concerned that the reporters might affect me emotionally, came in to advise me not to leave the room. He assured me they would handle everything and admitted it was their fault to begin with.

I had just nodded when the door was kicked open from the outside.

Henry stormed past Dr. Weber, and with a face full of rage, he shouted, “Didn’t I tell you to clarify things? You know exactly what you did! Keep spreading lies, and I’ll sue you! Are you trying to get me to divorce you by making all this fuss? Is that it?”

“Then let’s get a divorce.”

He didn’t even register what I said when his gaze landed on my now-flat stomach. His face froze in disbelief.

After freezing up for two seconds, he swept his gaze around the empty room. Only then did he ask, “Where’s the baby?”