As she spoke, she reached for her arm and yanked the infusion pump out.
“Don’t!” Ernest’s voice rang out in alarm as he lunged to stop her, but he was a second too late.
The needle was already out, blood seeping from the puncture site.
“You—” Ernest shot to his feet, grabbed a napkin, pressed it firmly against the bleeding spot, and shouted in panic, “Jane!”
“I’m here!” the caregiver called, rushing in.
“Quick! Call the doctor! They need to reinsert the needle immediately!”
“Okay!” she replied, turning to go.
“Don’t!” Linda’s voice cut sharply through the room. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she spoke through gritted teeth. “I don’t want treatment anymore. Calling the doctor won’t change anything!”
“Linda!”
“I really don’t want treatment! I’m serious!” Linda locked her gaze on Ernest, her eyes resolute. “I can’t do this anymore. Every day feels like hell. I don’t want to keep going. Please… just let me die.”
“Linda!”
Their eyes met, and in that instant, Ernest saw it clearly. That look in her eyes wasn’t fear or hesitation. It was the raw, desperate plea of someone longing for death.
Ernest’s jaw was tight, his words dragging their way out like a promise he’d wrestled from deep within.
“Alright. I promise.”
Linda froze, as if she hadn’t heard him right.
“What… what did you just say?” Her eyes widened, brimming with disbelief—and something close to fear. “Ernest, please… say it again?”
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“I promise,” he said again, his gaze dropping as though to hide the storm behind his eyes. “You also need to promise me you’ll finish the treatment. You’re not alone anymore.”
“Ernest!”
Before he could finish, Linda collapsed into his arms, her sobs bursting free, raw and childlike.
Ernest held her stiffly for a moment, then shot a glance toward the caregiver still frozen in the doorway.
“Why are you still standing there? Call the doctor!”
“Y-Yes! Right away, sir!”
Meanwhile, Elissa stood frozen inside the bathroom, her complexion pale as a ghost, her limbs stiff with shock. She had been there the whole time—silent. She had heard every word.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket, breaking the silence.
Sebastian.
She glanced at the screen, but her fingers didn’t move as it kept buzzing. Everything felt distant. Her thoughts were a haze, her chest hollow. For a moment, she couldn’t even remember why she’d come. Why was she here? What was she supposed to do next?
“Ugh…”
.
.
.