"We are officially a family now"
-----------------
"Say that again."
"No, I'm sorry, say that again."
The police officer was calm as he repeated his statement.
"As I have mentioned, sir. Your wife was involved in a car accident. She is currently in critical condition and her is now at XX hospital. We managed to retrieve your number from her emergency contacts. Please come as soon as possible."
"No. I mean. That's not what I mean."
"Can you repeat what you said previously. You said that I-"
"Sir, Miss Ruan is now in critical condition in Xx hospital due to the car accident and miscarriage. Please come as soon as possible. We would also need your statement as we investigate the accident."
"..."
"Sir?"
"I-I see."
"I'll come right away."
"Very well. Goodbye."
"Bye."
***
"Ren?"
A small hand held his.
"Ren-gege?"
He intuitively turned to the small figure on the bed.
"What happened?"
Ming Jie looked at him worriedly.
Ren was acting out of sorts.
She pulled his hand to get his attention.
"Ren."
Ren looked at her blankly then pulled away.
"I-I have to go."
Ming Jie was startled.
She has been feeling low and emotionally weak recently and needed the mental support from those closest to her.
Despite her frail recovering body, she grabbed onto the hand that had let hers go.
"Ren, don't go."
She pleaded, her eyes tearing.
"Han isn't here. I can't bear to be alone."
Her two hands trembled as she held her Ren-gege's hand.
Ren turned around to look at her.
And ignored the pale face of Ming Jie as he wrenched his hand out, running as if the world was ending.
***
"Yes, sir. Can I help you?"
The nurse calmly smiled as she stared at the bedraggled man in the suit panting heavily.
"Please."
The man panted, trying to say his words out.
"Please, my wife and child. They. They are here. If you could."
The nurse held the man's hand and gestured him to calm down.
"Sir, calm down. Who are you looking for?"
The man had tears streaming down.
"She. Her name is Ruan Er, she-"
"Mr Ren?"
A police officer stepped forward.
"Y-yes."
"Mr Ren, if you could follow me."
The police officer turned to the nurse.
"Sorry Nurse Xiao. If you could ring Nurse Aw that we are on the way to Room 502."
At the mention of the room number, the nurse's expression seemed to turn imperceptibly as she stared at the man next to the police officer.
"Right away, Officer."
"Please follow me, Mr Ren."
Ren scurried over while frantically scanning to look at the signboards.
"P-please hurry, Officer."
A trembling hand seemed to grab the officer's uniform as they made their way to the ward.
***
Ren looked at his wife who laid inside the ward, with wires hanging off her.
His face was deathly pale.
"Sir?"
"Sir!"
Ren broke from his stupor as he stared blankly at the police officer.
"I would like to confirm that Miss Ruan did not mention anything about a stalker to you?"
Ren felt like he was existing in a different world at this point of time.
"N-no. She did not."
When?
When did this happen?
The police officer jotted a few things and made a call while Ren stared at his wife's body pondering over the words of the nurse prior.
***
"She arrived here three days ago."
Ren's face paled.
"What do you mean three days ago?"
He was agitated and had to restrain from grabbing the nurse.
"She just talked to me a while back! We sent texts to each other."
Ren screamed.
"You're lying, let me show you!"
And stared blankly at the phone screen that showed the last dated message three days ago.
[I'm popping by for a doctor's appointment now. I'll see you and Ming Jie later. Don't forget to rest too!]
Ren's face looked as if it was struck.
Nurse Aw seemed to look at him disapprovingly.
He felt defensive and did grab her in the end.
"Why didn't the hospital call me immediately??" He fiercely argued.
"SIR!! Please!"
Nurse Aw pried his arms away.
"Sir. Please listen to the whole story before reacting. If not, I will call security if you cannot control yourself."
Ren calmed himself down but he looked at the nurse with bloodshot eyes.
"Sir. Your wife was sent without any documents. We could not even take her fingerprints to know her identity till after the surgery was done."
Ren listened but he slowly drooped his head to bury his face into his hands.
"And in the brief moments of consciousness, she had wanted us to save her baby and..."
Nurse Aw looked at him.
"Not to call her husband. Mr Ren. We usually will respect the patient's will and had attempted to contact her parents. But could not do so. So we contacted you today after failing to contact any of her relatives."
Ren was on the chair, slumped and bent.
"She.... Her... Her parents. T-they are no longer here."
Nurse Aw looked at him strangely.
She did not tell him that the patient had actually said to not call her husband. That he wouldn't come. And to call her father instead.
"Sir, in that case, we would need you to sign these forms."
***
Ren stared blankly through the window.
The police officer returned.
"Sir, we have apprehended the criminal. He had turned himself in."
He walked over with a device at hand.
"Mr Jiang had been stalking Miss Ruan for about three years."
Ren turned to look at the officer.
Three years.
That was... When he told her to find someone else.
"He had fallen in love with Miss Ruan much earlier on but was rejected as she was engaged. However, three years ago, she accepted to go on a marriage meeting with him. Unfortunately, it did not go through and he started harassing her. Which you were not aware of, yes?"
The officer had lifted his device to show the face of Mr Jiang.
"She had never mentioned... I don't know him."
Ren's words faltered.
He felt that the Mr Jiang seemed familiar.
That he might have seen him at the social function three years ago.
When Han had surprised Ming Jie with his appearance.
"Sir?"
"S-she..."
Ren recalled.
When they were both looking at the couple, hand in hand.
Her hand trembled.
Ren felt shocked.
He had thought it was his hand and she had looked at him with that calm smile of hers so he thought....
"Mr Ren. Mr Jiang was placed on a warrant to stay away from Miss Ruan since three years ago. He just testified that news of her marriage had agitated him and he had rushed into her when he saw her on the way the obgyn clinic."
"Sir?"
"Sir? Are you okay?"
"Sir!"
Ren felt his heart stopping and the world swirling as he collapsed to the floor.
Agony wracked his body beyond physical pain as he was engulfed in grief.
***
"Ruan. Wake up."
"Wake up, please."
"I can't live without you."
I thought I was not actually living. But I now know what that really means.
"Sir, like I said. Miss Ruan cannot be disturbed. She has lost some part of her body's functions and we have not finished all the needed surgery yet. Sir! Please move aside!"
Her eyelids flickered at the noise.
Ren's eyed widened when he saw her eyes fluttering open.
"Ruan?"
Ren's voice echoed in the room.
Her eyes turned to him.
And Ren was shocked at the emotions he saw in her eyes.
And paled when her eyes turned away to look at the nurse.
"My baby?"
She softly whispered.
Ren now knew what true pain was.
True pain was not when his crush fell in love with his friend.
True pain was in the small whimper of his wife. Her gasp of "Ah" when the nurse told her of the baby's death.
"Sir, please leave!"
At that moment, perhaps the bond that bound them alerted him, Ren felt fear in his heart.
Great fear as he watched the nurse wheel his wife out to the operation room.
"Ruan! I'll make it up to you!"
"Ruan, live! I beg you!"
"Ruan, I promise."
He sobbed.
"We will have more children together."
Please, I beg you.
Live for me.
-----------------
A/N: I had a dream about Ruan a few months back. And it kept haunting me and I felt I had to write their story.
I apologise if this story did not turn out as well as expected.
But I had wanted to write a tragedy for a while. I hope to improve further!
Thank you for reading.