Even After Death

Chapter 69

To Ethan, Olivia was the symbol of vitality. Hence, he was flustered when Brent mentioned the potentially fatal condition that she was in.

Brent went up to him and showed him the photos of the blood test results on the phone. Apart from the blood cell count, Olivia had a lower–than–average count for the other lymphatic cells.

Ethan tried to grasp the consequences of his actions in full. He remembered her desperate screaming when he left her alone in the bathroom.

Feeling disoriented, he replied, “Well, she’s running a fever now.”

“That’s bad. We need to get her to the hospital.”

“Get the car.” Ethan recalled how Olivia had always shown up wrapped in a thick down jacket. That was rather unusual because she had only worn thin wool coats during the past winters to look good. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

It finally dawned on him. She wasn’t faking her illness all this time.

He clumsily wrapped her up in layers of clothing, seemingly worried that the cold air might seep in.

She looked both pitiful and lovable due to her flushed cheeks. This was not her first fever, so why would it be particularly fatal for her?

When he lifted her in his arms, his chest tightened because he realized that she lost a lot of weight.

Ethan rushed Olivia to a private hospital in the dark of the night. Chris came over with the blood test results and opined, “Mr. Miller, I’ve had a better idea of her condition. Mrs. Miller needs a Neulasta injection first because she’s in a critical condition.”

Ethan was holding on to the feverish Olivia from the moment he arrived at the hospital, and she was mumbling nonstop.

With a hand on her belly, she extended the other hand to grasp at the air. “Ethan, save me! Save our baby!”

She was hooked to an IV drip via the back of her right hand. So he had to stop her hand from moving around to prevent the needle from coming loose.

She grabbed his hand desperately. Her contorted face finally relaxed a little as her anxiety melted into a relieved smile.

“Sweetie, Mommy has found you at last! Are you blaming me because I didn’t protect you well? Don’t you worry; Mommy will be with you very soon.”

Upon hearing her feverish mumble, Ethan’s frown deepened. He instructed, “Brent, get Connor here. Just tell them that I missed him.”

“Will do.”

Ethan only had faith in his efforts–not fate or luck.

Still, he was spooked by the ominous words from her lips. It was true that he once hated Olivia because her family was connected to his sister’s death. But he never thought Olivia would die!

He arranged for Olivia to undergo a series of body checkups once she recovered from the fever.

“Liv, you’ll be fine. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

However, the reality was often disappointing. Despite Chris‘ best efforts, he failed to make the fever go away. If the fever went on, Olivia would be headed toward death.

“Loser! You can’t even treat a fever!” Enraged, Ethan grabbed Chris by the collar and hissed, “If anything happens to her, I’ll withdraw my funding for your research team.”

Chris felt it unfair and argued, “Mr. Miller, we tried our best, but this is a very tricky situation. It appears that she has lost the will to live …”

“Rubbish!” Ethan’s eyes glimmered threateningly. Olivia was a tough cooldie. And with Jeff still around, she wouldn’t possibly give up on life just yet.

Chris explained helplessly, “Mr. Miller, we’re not trying to shun our responsibility here. Look, the brain is the command center of all our bodily functions. Many medical miracles happened because the patients exhibited an unyielding will to live.

“I’m sure you have experienced this before. Even if you’re staring at death, there will be a miracle if you are determined to stay alive.”

Chris added, “But Mrs. Miller has given up on life. I’m afraid that.