He Took Off His Hearing Aid To Ignore My Screams Chapter 02

He Took Off His Hearing Aid To Ignore My Screams Chapter 02

I got an Uber to a hospital far across town and checked into the emergency room.

It was nearly 1 a.m., and the lobby sat empty.

A nurse spotted my deathly pale face and hurried over to steady me, voice full of concern.

“Ma’am, is anyone here with you?”

My mind drifted to Vaughn. He was probably still wrapped up in Sorrel’s voice right now.

I opened my mouth, my throat feeling thick and dry.

“I’m here alone.”

The nurse shot me a pitying look and led me toward an exam room.

“I’ll walk you through your scans first.”

The ultrasound room was freezing.

When the transducer pressed into my skin, every finger curled tight from the pain.

The doctor stared at the screen for a few seconds, then sighed.

“The fetus isn’t viable. You’ve miscarried.”

I froze. “What?”

She pulled off her medical gloves.

“Ma’am, you’ve miscarried. We will need to perform a standard uterine cleanup procedure promptly.”

A loud buzz rang in my head, drowning out every other sound.

The nurse handed me a consent form.

“Ms. Macy, we need the father’s signature for this surgery. Where is he?”

I stared at the next-of-kin blank on the paperwork, my eyes burning.

After a long pause, I spoke quietly.

“Does it have to be a family member? My husband’s gone, and my folks live out of state—they can’t get here in time.”

The nurse’s tone softened with sympathy. “If you don’t have anyone to sign, you’ll need to fill out a medical liability waiver form.”

My fingers shook as I grabbed the pen.

I scrawled my name on the signature line: Elara Macy.

When those shaky letters hit the page, it felt like a piece of me had been hollowed out.

Vaughn. Every last thread tying us together had snapped.

Medical testing, insurance paperwork, signing consent forms—I handled every single step alone.

As I passed the obstetrics wing, I spotted a young girl just getting bloodwork done.

She cried through the simple test, but her husband knelt beside her, never impatient, murmuring quiet comfort.

“Don’t be scared. I’m right here. We’ll make your favorite dinner once this is over.”

I shifted my gaze away, staring at the needle mark on the back of my hand.

Having someone stand beside you was such a simple, ordinary thing.

But for three years of marriage, every single time I came down with a cold or fever, Sorrel would fall even more ill.

I never understood it—she was a doctor herself. But Vaughn always said she was frail, that she needed his company more than I did.

I finally realized the truth that night.

It wasn’t that Sorrel was weak. Vaughn just didn’t love me.

Right before they called me back for surgery, the nurse asked one more time.

“Are you absolutely sure no one can come be with you?”

I shook my head. “No one’s coming.”

As the anesthesia slid into my veins, I wondered if Vaughn would feel even a flicker of sorrow once he learned about our lost baby.

A second later, I laughed at how ridiculous I was being.

He’d shut me out of his world completely, yet I still wasted time thinking about his feelings.