Chapter 252: The little witch with the face of his wife

His gray eyes drifted around the cage he was locked in. He looked at the unfamiliar grounds and felt tears sting his eyes, but he didn’t cry, because he was a boy, and boys don’t cry. He was scared, but he wouldn’t show it. He was cold and hungry, but his thin, tattered clothes could barely keep him warm outside in the rain.

The twelve-year-old Neil’s lips and body trembled from the rain biting down on him in the cage he was locked in outside his uncle’s residence. His fingers were wrapped around the bars of the large cage as he looked around for someone to get him out of there, but even though he was hopeful, nobody came. He was alone, just like he had always been since his parents were killed. His heart felt heavy and tight, a knot forming in his throat and his eyes burning as he realized he’d lost his family and everything.

The rain poured down for more than six hours, and for all those hours, he was left in that cold cage. He could barely keep his eyes open and his bones from trembling. He called out for his mother and a name he could barely make out. He was curled up on the floor, hugging his knees tightly from the intense cold.

Just as he thought no one would come for him, he saw a shadow standing over him. He couldn’t see the person’s face, but when the person spoke, he realized it was his uncle.

"Uncle... please get me out of here. I’m cold..." he whispered softly through chattering teeth. But his uncle didn’t move to help him, only staring down at him with so much hatred and disgust that the little boy questioned if this stranger was indeed related to him as he claimed.

"You are just like your father," said his uncle. "A weakling and a coward. You bring nothing but bad luck to the people around you. Haven’t you noticed yet that all the people you love end up dying? Your little sister died because of you, and my sister is no more because of you. You can never find happiness in life for as long as you have that filthy Galverra blood in you. Happiness will desert you for the rest of your useless life, you will never settle down because the moment you care about someone...they will die. Mark my words, Neil!"

Neil’s eyes snapped open, but instead of staring at the gloomy sky of his uncle’s residence, where he had lived days in a cage, he was met with a white unfamiliar ceiling. He squinted his eyes to adjust to the brightness of the room, but the smell of the hospital was unmistakable. He knew he was lying on a hospital bed even before he noticed his hand was attached to an IV drip and that his head had been treated and his wounds were all bandaged.

He looked around the moderate hospital room, where only the bed he was lying on and a sofa were available. At first, he was confused about why he was there, but slowly, everything began to return to him, and without hesitation, he sat up on the bed and pulled the IV drip from his vein. He had to check on his wife. How could he have passed out when Mia was still in danger?

Shit! Damn this hospital and his weakened body. He cursed internally as he ignored the blood dripping from his hand where he had pulled out the IV drip, and his dizziness. He was wearing a hospital robe, but he didn’t care and hurried barefoot outside the room. He looked around the hallways, not knowing where to go or who to ask about his wife.

Gritting his teeth in annoyance, Neil grabbed a random nurse who was passing by and angrily slammed her against the wall with one hand. She looked taken aback and frightened by the murderous look in his eyes as he demanded, "Where is my wife?"

The nurse had already heard words about a short-tempered patient’s husband in the hospital, but she hadn’t realized it was this handsome man in a hospital robe. She dared not admire his looks when he seemed hellbent on knocking the breath out of her if she didn’t answer his question. "I...I don’t know, sir. I’m only an intern nurse, I have no idea about your wife, you should ask a doctor. I..."

Neil wasn’t getting any of her nonsense nor was he thinking straight after everything he’d gone through. He’d woken up to his worst nightmare and then found himself in an unfamiliar hospital room without knowing how his wife was doing or how long he’d been asleep. His hands were itching to hurt someone and this incompetent nurse, who was supposed to know everything in a hospital that wasn’t half as big as his own house, was saying she didn’t know where his wife was.

When it came to Mia, Neil would not hesitate to hurt anyone, not to mention that he was fighting to keep himself steady after his nightmare of recalling what his uncle always told him. Everybody he loved ended up dying because of him, and knowing his wife was on the brink of that before he passed out, he grabbed the nurse’s neck.

"Tell me—"

"Neil!" came a familiar voice from the hallway that made Neil pause in the process of strangling the nurse to her death. He swiveled his head towards the direction of Liam’s voice and immediately released the nurse. She fled the place like she was being chased.

"What are you doing out of bed? The doctor said you need to rest." Liam said as he approached Neil with three bags of takeout foods. But before he could pull his friend back to his room, Neil yanked his arm back and stood rooted to the floor. Liam would have laughed at how ridiculous he looked in a hospital robe, glaring daggers at him if the situation weren’t so serious.

"Where is my wife?" he asked calmly, his hands clenching up at his sides and his forehead throbbing with angry veins.

"Won’t you ask about your children? I just came from the incubator rooms, you should have seen how happy they seemed. They look beautiful. The doctor said they are fighters and they will survive, he said he has never seen premature children look so healthy and active. They don’t look a day premature, by God you’d be so proud seeing them. I—"

"I didn’t fucking ask you about the children, I want to know about my wife." Neil snapped angrily, unable to hold back his emotions at the image of his children conjoining in his head at Liam’s words instead of worrying about his beloved wife. "Why is no one telling me what’s happening to my wife?! Where is she?!"

Liam, who had been stalling to speak of the inevitable subject knew it would be best he told Neil about Mia’s condition or his friend might lose it completely. "Mia is still not out of danger. She hasn’t shown any improvement for the forty-one hours you have been unconscious. The doctors said a portion of her lungs has been damaged, and they needed the lung transplant as soon as possible but it must be a suitable donor. He said it will likely be better if her family members who have compatible lung anatomy and are willing to undergo the procedure."

Neil could barely hold himself up at that information, fearing he would pass out again or even throw up from his anxiety and fear of losing his wife. He calmed his nerves and asked the only question he’d been searching for answers for. "Where is she?"

Liam hesitated to disclose her whereabouts as he feared Neil might end up making things worse for the doctors who were trying their best to save Mia’s life, but then looking at his friend’s soulless gray eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to keep that information from him.

"She’s in the ICU."

Neil didn’t wait to hear anything else and raced down the hallway, following the directions board to the ICU. Once he got there, he was refused entrance without protective gear to keep the coma patient from infection. He went through the process of putting on the gear with such haste and impatience that he shook all over. Once he was done, he was guided inside the ICU where his wife lay unconscious with beeping monitors keeping her alive.

The ICU was a sterile, quiet room, filled with the soft hum of machinery and the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor. The air was thick with antiseptic, the stark white walls reflecting the harsh fluorescent lights overhead. Neil’s heart constricted at the sight of Mia lying on the bed, looking so fragile and small amidst the tangle of tubes and wires. Her face was pale, almost translucent, and her chest barely moved with each shallow breath. Her hand rested on her stomach, a pulse oximeter clipped to her finger, its tiny red light blinking in time with her heartbeat.

With trembling legs, he walked towards her and reached out to hold her hand. His fingers traced the delicate bones beneath her skin, feeling the faint, reassuring warmth of life. "Mia," he called softly, his voice cracking with emotion as tears welled up in his eyes. "I’m so sorry..." She’d taken the bullet for him and now she was in between life and death.

Guilt, regret, and pain consumed him, making him wish he were the one lying there instead of her. His uncle’s words echoed in his mind, and he felt a deep, crushing guilt. He wanted to touch her face but feared he might harm her with so many machines attached to her. He felt his world crumbling as he stared at her fragile state.

Kelvin Rodrigo had been the main cause of this, if he hadn’t used the little Mia for his evil business, she wouldn’t have been in such a state even after taking a bullet. He had thought he would not kill the man and let him suffer, but it seemed he’d gotten another solid reason to end his life. He was willing to overlook a lot of things, but not his wife. Not Mia’s life.

Neil’s guilt turned into rage and determination. Kelvin was going to die today. As he stood there beside her with clenched fists, a doctor walked in and told him to step out to have a word. Neil didn’t move at first, but seconds later he leaned down and kissed her hand before he told her to hang in there and that he’d be back. He followed the doctor outside.

"Mr. Wayner, we need to talk about your wife’s condition," the doctor began, his tone serious and urgent. "Time is running out, and we don’t know how long those machines will keep her alive if the procedure isn’t done in time. Does she have any family or siblings who could be a suitable donor?"

Though the hospital was a moderate one, with no fancy equipment like the one in Mirage Mesa, Neil respected them for being able to detect the problem with Mia while the doctors in Mirage Mesa had be unable to realize there was something wrong with her organs when she was having terrible stomach pains. He would have flown her back to Mirage Mesa if he were so sure they would be able to treat her like this hospital. But hearing the doctor’s question made him gloomy.

And when he replied, his voice was detached, "I am the only family she has left in the world."

The doctor looked taken aback for a moment. He then cleared his throat, trying to maintain his professional composure despite the gravity of the situation. "I understand, Mr. Wayner, but we really need a suitable donor as soon as possible. Her condition is critical, and we can’t afford to wait much longer. We..."

Before the doctor could say more Neil’s expression hardened with resolve as he cut him off. "I’ll bring someone who will be her donor today," he said, his voice unwavering. He had already made up his mind; nothing was going to stop him from getting that little witch. Whether she liked it or not, she’d be Mia’s donor. If he had to force her or even drag her here, he would do that. It was her fault as much as her father that Mia was in this condition. They were twins; a portion of her lungs would be perfect for Mia rather than go looking for a suitable donor which would take forever.

Neil began to walk away from the doctor, not waiting for him to say more, his mind set on his mission. The doctor called after him, "Mr. Wayner, you can visit your children if you want to."

Neil paused, his back still turned to the doctor. "No," he replied emotionlessly. "I won’t see the children until my wife is with me. I won’t step into that room without her by my side." He continued walking, blocking any emotions and any attachments that might pull him towards the incubator rooms to see his children and break his resolve to do whatever he was set on doing tonight.

"I’m sorry..." He muttered an apology to them in his heart as he knew he’d never be able to be a good father without his wife.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read