The Workaholic's Wife

49. Irreparably Broken

Scarlet

Beside me, I could hear the muffled sobs of Catheryn but my eyes were fixated on my hands stained with blood. My hands that were trembling non-stop and despite my efforts, I failed to stop the shivering. It was taking everything in me to produce a breath because my lungs might have stopped working.

"She will be alright." Catheryn said and scooted closer to me, wrapping her hands around me. "My baby would be fine, Scarlet. Right?"

I lifted my hand and stared at her pale face. Liam was the first person I called while the ambulance was taking Cara to hospital but he wasn't picking up. Catheryn was second. She reached immediately and dealt with the hospital staff as they took her to OR. I was too numb to do anything. After watching blood oozing out of Cara's head, my own senses stopped working. There was nothing in my mind, except her angelic face that was dripping with blood.

"She will be." I said, tears streaming down my cheeks without any control. It was getting difficult for me to breathe but there was no other option.

She had informed Evan before coming here, who was coming back as soon as possible. It had been an hour since they were in the surgery and every passing second felt like hell. I wanted to see her, hold her hand and tell her that everything would be alright. She must be feeling scared and alone and I knew she needed me right now. I wanted to be with her.

I hid my face in between my palms and let the tears come out free. In just one moment, everything changed. One phone call that I could have not answered, one phone call that I could have ignored. After all, was it more important than the life of my daughter? I was the one responsible for her but I let her away from my eyes. It was my fault that she was in so much pain.

All my fault.

I was still hiding my face when I heard a familiar voice. I lifted my head to look at Evan who came rushing towards Catheryn. "Where is she?" He asked, breathlessly, fear evident from his face.

"She is in the surgery. The doctors told us to wait here." Catheryn told him, controlling her own tears.

He rushed to a nurse that was going inside the area where the ORs were situated. "What's happening to my daughter? Is she alright?"

"The surgery is still in progress, sir. Please be patient." She said and went inside.

Evan pushed his hair back with his fingers, some dried tears staining his cheeks. He slumped beside me on the bench, fear and desperation clear from his posture.

I wanted to talk to him but I couldn't gather the courage. I wanted to hug him but I felt like I was paralyzed. He hadn't cast a glance at me yet and I was afraid of looking into his eyes, afraid to find out what was hiding in them.

Closing my eyes, I hid my face once again in between my palms and prayed to God for the safety of that little girl. She didn't deserve any of this suffering.

"How did it happen?" His distant voice came.

"We... We were coming... coming back from the p... park. I stopped to answer the p... phone and she ran to the road to pet a c... cat. Everything happened so sudden..." My whimpers didn't let me complete the sentence.

"Answer the phone?" He asked in a very low voice and I nodded. "Where was the driver?"

"I... I didn't bring the car." I replied, wiping the tears off my face.

I expected him to shout at me for my irresponsible behaviour but he didn't speak anything. He went silent and rested his face in between his palms just like me. I wanted to share his pain but I felt scared on going near him.

"Mr. Parker, Mrs. Parker." A voice called and both of our heads turned towards the man dressed in surgical scrubs.

All three of us rushed to him in our full speed. "How is she? How is my daughter?" Evan asked impatiently.

"The surgery went without any complication. We were able to control the hemorrhage in time and most of the trauma was external. But..." He stopped and with him, my own heart skipped a beat. "We can't say anything for sure unless she is awake."

Evan let out an exasperated sigh and took a step backwards. "Can we see her? Please, just a glance." I asked.

"Not yet, ma'am. We are shifting her to Intensive Care Unit. Then we will let you look at her if possible." He said and then walked away.

I sat down again on the bench and increased the speed of my prayers. I wasn't a very religious person but at that moment, nothing else came to my mind. Although the surgery went fine, she was still in serious condition. I didn't want to imagine the possibilities but anything could go wrong in such situation.

"That girl is made of steel, Evan. She will be alright." Catheryn sat beside him and patted his shoulder. He turned towards his mother and hugged her tightly. He was in more pain than any of us. Seeing him like this broke me into pieces. He was a very strong man and seeing him broken was heart-rending.

After half an hour spent in absolute hell, a nurse finally came to guide us to the Intensive care unit. "You can see her just from the door but only for a few minutes. Her body is already under a lot of stress." The nurse advised.

Nodding, Evan was the one who entered inside first, followed by Catheryn and I. We stayed near the door because we weren't supposed to go near her. As soon as our eyes fell on her, all three of us sucked a sharp breath. Her condition looked really bad. Her face was covered in dressings and her body was connected to many machines. My poor girl, so small, so innocent, looked like she was in so much pain and the sight of her caused a stinging pain in my chest.

I stared at Evan who also looked terribly distressed at her sight. He was looking at her with tears in his eyes, his shoulders slumped, as if he had lost all the faith.

The nurse asked us to come out of the room now. Together, we three left the room and walked out of that corridor into a waiting area. There were no people around us so once we were there, all three of us started thinking about her in our own way.

"Evan," I walked towards him to console him. He looked really worn-out, really exhausted. I put my hand on his shoulder but he jerked it away.

"Go away," he whispered, pulling himself away from me.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion and I stepped closer to him. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying go away from me and my daughter." He screamed at me and I flinched back. His eyes were bloodshot and his jaw was clenched tightly. I have never seen him in so much anger that I felt terrified of him.

"I... I... I..." I couldn't form a sentence in my defence.

"Because of you, my daughter is in an ICU. You... I trusted you. You were supposed to take care of her." He accused me and the ball of nerves in my throat became larger.

"She... She is my daughter too." I whispered.

"No, she is my daughter. Mine and Eliza's." He said and with his words, something broke inside me. "A mother would never let her daughter in danger."

"Calm down, Evan. You aren't thinking straight." Cathryn tried to stop him but he silenced her with a glare.

"I said get lost. I don't want you anywhere near my daughter." He screamed at me. Few people entering the waiting room were staring at us.

"Evan..."

"Just go, Scarlet." He growled in anger.

Rage was evident by his dilated pupils. Catheryn's eyes were switching between us in a helpless manner. I didn't want to create any more scene in a hospital so I did what he asked me to. Controlling my tears barely, I walked away.

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Are Evan's actions justified?