Chapter 2 Blood Drawn
1099 Words
Exhausted, Ada trudged up the stairs and turned the key to the left. The door creaked open, and her foggy mind cleared instantly as she sensed a different vibe in the room. Through the doorway, she could hear Joseph talking on the phone.
He's back.
Would she confide in him about her stomach cancer? Would he show any concern for her?
These questions kept swirling in Ada's mind, but before she could ponder further, she pushed the door open and caught Joseph's pale face as he glanced at her.
"Where have you been? I've been calling you nonstop!"
If going to the hospital for blood tests and endoscopy counted as "going out," then yes, she had gone out. After all, she was already knocking on death's door.
As she thought about this, tears welled up in her eyes. Joseph failed to notice her red eyes; he just continued to scold her silently with his gaze for not answering his calls.
Ada retrieved her phone from her bag and shook it, displaying the blank screen to him. "It's dead."
She had two phones: one for work and another dedicated to waiting for Joseph's calls. Over the past few days, her stomach troubles had consumed her, and she had forgotten to charge her phone, leading to missed calls on the way back. "What was so urgent?" With the number of calls he made, it was evident who they were for.
Before she could complete her thought, Joseph grabbed her hand and yanked her outside. "Isabella is injured and has lost a lot of blood. Come with me to the hospital."
Naturally, his anxiety was solely for Isabella.
Her heart brimmed with bitterness.
Isabella had a severe blood clotting disorder and had a rare blood type that only matched Ada's.
Ada was drenched from head to toe in the pouring rain, her long hair sticking to her back like seaweed, her lips pale, and her hands ice-cold. None of this registered with Joseph. The hospital where Isabella was admitted was nearby, merely a ten-minute walk away, but Joseph was in a rush. He forcefully ushered Ada into the backseat of the car.
As Joseph drove, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, he caught a glimpse of Ada's pallid face in the rearview mirror.
His eyebrows furrowed involuntarily. "Why is your face so pale?"
...He just noticed it now.
Ada sneered, bitterness rising in her throat. She rolled down the car window and gazed at the increasingly heavy rain outside. Her body felt numb, and the misty breath she exhaled mingled with the cold air, her eyelashes trembling slightly.
Joseph shot her a cold glance, and when she remained silent, he felt an unexplainable annoyance.
He sensed that something was amiss with Ada today.
But after some contemplation, he realized that Ada's troubles had nothing to do with him. What he should be most concerned about was Isabella's well-being. With that thought in mind, he lightly pressed the accelerator, and the car sped up.
When they reached the hospital, Joseph pulled Ada out of the car. She hadn't even steadied herself on her feet when Joseph tugged her along, stumbling behind him.
Joseph led Ada straight to the blood collection room and told a nurse with an indifferent expression, "Draw her blood, no need to check, hurry up."
A bitter twitch formed at the corner of Ada's mouth. Joseph trusted his own blood more than he trusted her. He didn't even bother with a check, as if he wasn't afraid of cancer cells from her body entering Isabella's.
After a brief struggle, Ada mustered the strength to speak. "Joseph, I'm not feeling well today. Can we please not do this...?"
Joseph squinted his eyes, emitting a dangerous glint. He leaned in, coldly gripping Ada's chin, and said, "Who do you think you are to say no? We signed a contract four years ago, and it was crystal clear. Ada, it's time for you to fulfill your duty." Yeah...four years ago, they signed a contract. It stated that in the event of excessive bleeding, Isabella would receive blood from Ada without any cost. The terms were laid out clearly in black and white.
That was the agreement she had made. Even if Ada were on her deathbed, she had to donate blood for Isabella.
That was her debt to Joseph.
In that year, Isabella had a car accident in London. Due to delayed hospitalization, she lost a significant amount of blood and urgently needed Rh-negative blood.
When Joseph learned about Isabella's accident, he anxiously pleaded with Ada for help.
During that time, Ada proposed a condition for her assistance: "You become my partner, we get hitched, and I'll save Isabella."
She could still recall the shock in Joseph's eyes at that moment, as well as the growing disgust towards her that flickered within them.
Since then, Ada knew that peaceful coexistence between them was impossible.
She had kicked Joseph when he was down and forced him to listen to her demands.
Joseph was born into the esteemed Jones family, always a cut above the rest, with a short temper and the means to indulge in the finest things. Those around him followed his lead. This was the first time someone who had never heard a serious word was pushed and threatened. Ada understood that Joseph despised being coerced into doing something he didn't want to do. So when she witnessed him signing the "agreement" without hesitation, she knew she had lost.
Observing how far he would go for Isabella pained her heart, but she later consoled herself with the thought that love could blossom over time, and perhaps Joseph would treat her like he did Isabella.
Unfortunately, karma struck swiftly, and Ada never anticipated her suffering would come so soon.
She unintentionally contracted a terminal illness and experienced excruciating pain as the nurse drew her blood.
As she watched the needle pierce her skin and the crimson plasma being drawn out, Ada's face grew increasingly pallid from the agony.
The nurse had never seen a woman so fragile and feeble before. She stared at Ada's pale wrist and softly asked, "Can you hold on?"
Ada shook her dizzy head and croaked, "Go ahead, I'll be fine."
After extracting 600 cc of blood, the nurse hesitated to continue due to the woman's icy-cold hand, no longer at normal body temperature.
In the fleeting moment before Ada succumbed to unconsciousness, she overheard Joseph asking the nurse, "Is that enough? If it's not, you can keep drawing."
How had Joseph become so merciless over the years?
- Writer
