Silent Dreams Never Die — Author: John Miller 373
Chapter 373 A Mother’s Life in the Balance
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Scarlett was focused on monitoring Ruth’s pulse and breathing when she felt a sudden warmth settle over her shoulders. Instinctively, she glanced back.
Damian was looking right at her. His face was smeared with blood, obscuring his features, but his eyes–deep–set and intense–were unmistakably clear.
For a moment, Scarlett felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
Something about his face in that instant tugged at a distant memory.
But before she could grasp it, the ambulance arrived, speeding in from the opposite lane.
The EMTs quickly transferred Ruth onto a gurney and loaded her into the back of the vehicle.
With their immediate role over, Scarlett and Nolan didn’t plan to follow to the hospital.
Yet as Damian climbed into the ambulance, he reached back and caught Scarlett’s hand. “Come with me,” he said, his voice raw. “Please.”
She saw the plea in his eyes. Her mind hesitated, but her body had already decided–she placed her hand in his.
Damian pulled her gently but firmly inside.
Seeing this, Nolan stepped up and boarded the ambulance as well.
Damian shot him a dark look but said nothing.
At the hospital, Ruth was rushed into the emergency room for wound cleaning, hemorrhage control, and stabilization.
Two hours later, a doctor emerged.
Damian had been sitting on a bench in the waiting area, head resting against the wall, exhaustion and worry etched into his posture.
Scarlett had suggested he go
clean up,
but he’d refused.
Nolan, concerned for Scarlett, had stayed too.
The moment Damian heard the ER doors swing open, he pushed to his feet. “How is she?” he asked, his voice tense.
The doctor removed his surgical mask. “Thanks to the first–aid measures administered by Dr.
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Huntley and this young woman, the patient is stable. However, she lost a significant amount of blood and requires a transfusion. Our current supply of Type A blood is running low…”
“I’m Type A,” Scarlett said immediately. “I can donate.”
But Damian remembered–Scarlett had recently undergone a D&C procedure. His expression tightened. “Don’t take her blood,” he told the doctor firmly. “I’ll arrange a direct donation or a blood–bank exchange.”
Scarlett touched his arm. “Damian, it’s faster if I do it now. Going through the bank exchange will take time.”
He looked at her, his face stern. “You’ve done enough. I won’t let you go through more because of me.”
Scarlett frowned at him. “This is a matter of life and death, Damian. Don’t be like this.”
His tone left no room for argument. Then he turned to Nolan. “Make sure she stays here.”
With that, Damian strode off down the corridor.
Seeing his resolve, Scarlett didn’t press further.
Not long after he left, a nurse arrived with a unit of Type A blood that had been rushed from another hospital floor.
Scarlett considered calling Damian back, but Nolan stopped her. “Even with this, given her condition, she’ll likely need a second transfusion. Let him arrange the exchange–it’ll be needed soon enough.”
After a moment, Scarlett nodded. Nolan was right.
A short while later, Damian returned.
Scarlett saw him step out of the elevator. He looked utterly drained, his face pale.
He swayed slightly as he walked, and Scarlett moved quickly to support him. “Are you alright?” she asked.
Damian had just given a substantial donation. He’d pushed himself to walk back from the blood–draw station.
If he was going to collapse, he wanted it to be near her.
So the moment Scarlett took his arm, he let his weight lean into her.
She braced herself, holding him up.
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Damian rested heavily against her, then bent his head close to her ear. “Scarlett,” he whispered, his voice faint and unsteady, “what am I going to do?”
Confused, she asked softly, “About what?”
He brushed his cheek lightly against her hair. “I think I’m falling for you even more.”
Then his body went slack–he’d fainted.
Scarlett struggled under his full weight, unable to hold him up.
In a few quick strides, Nolan was beside them, catching Damian before he could fall.
With the help of nearby hospital staff, they got Damian into an observation bay in the ER.
After a brief exam, the doctor confirmed he’d passed out from acute weakness–a combination of stress, exhaustion, and the blood donation.
Scarlett knew it wasn’t serious; he just needed rest.
Nolan stood quietly beside her, watching as Scarlett’s eyes remained fixed on Damian, her expression lined with concern.
After a long moment, Nolan asked gently, “Are you still planning to go home tonight?”
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