She Asked Him To Cancel Their Daughter’s Surgery For A Game Chapter 03

She Asked Him To Cancel Their Daughter’s Surgery For A Game Chapter 03

Willa woke up that night. I pulled on a yellow isolation gown and went in.

A clear BiPAP mask covered half her tiny face. Each breath looked like it cost her everything she had.

She saw me come in and tried to force a smile. It barely reached her exhausted eyes.

“Mommy, I was brave today. I didn’t even cry.”

I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek to stop the tears.

“You’re the bravest girl I know, sweetie.”

She held up her purple, needle-bruised little hand.

“When they put the big needle in, I counted all the way to a hundred.”

“Daddy always promised he’d be here by the time I got to a hundred.”

I tucked the hospital blanket tighter around her frail shoulders.

“Daddy got held up, baby. He’s far away right now.”

Willa looked at me for a long, quiet moment.

“Is Mount Alder really far from here?”

I didn’t have an answer for that.

She was quiet for a while. Then, she whispered softly:

“Mommy, is my new kidney gone?”

She’d already read it in the way the doctors and nurses wouldn’t meet her eyes.

I squeezed her hand tight.

“I’m going to fix this. I promise.”

But Willa just shook her head.

“Grandma says God has a plan for everyone. Maybe my plan is only supposed to be five years long.”

The air was punched out of my lungs. I bent down and held her close to my chest.

“No. I won’t let that happen. I won’t.”

She panted softly against my collarbone.

“I’m not scared of dying, Mommy. Just please don’t cry for me.”

“After I’m gone, can you have another baby? A healthy one who doesn’t need needles?”

My tears soaked into her hospital pillow.

The nephrectomy I underwent to save Everett eight years ago had left me with severe surgical complications. My body was too weak to ever survive another pregnancy.

But Willa didn’t know that.

She thought a new baby could just take her place.

I left the ICU and went straight to Dr. Mercer’s office.

He was the exact same surgeon who’d transplanted my kidney into Everett eight years ago.

I slammed the tissue compatibility report on his desk.

“Give my remaining right kidney to Willa.”

The color drained completely from Dr. Mercer’s face.

“Elise, you will almost certainly die on that operating table!”

I looked him dead in the eye.

“How long does Willa have left?”

Dr. Mercer turned away, rubbing his temples.

“At this rate? Maybe forty-eight hours. Max.”

I didn’t flinch.

“And when does another pediatric kidney become available?”

He was deadly quiet.

“No one knows, Elise.”

I slid a blank living donor directive across his desk.

Dr. Mercer snatched it and tore it in half.

“I’m a doctor, not a damn executioner!”

“I’ve spent eight years regretting that I let you give Everett that first kidney.”

“You hemorrhaged on the table. Your heart stopped twice. And when Everett finally woke up, the very first room he walked into was Vanessa’s!”

“And now you want to die for his daughter too?”

I knelt down and calmly picked up the torn pieces.

“Everett wasn’t worth it. Willa is.”

Dr. Mercer’s voice cracked.

“And what happens to her if you die on my table?”

A ghost of a smile touched my lips.

“She’ll be alive. That’s the only future that matters now.”

Dr. Mercer’s hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

“Even if the transplant works, you could bleed out after. Heart failure. Post-op infection. Any of it will likely kill you.”

“And if Willa finds out someday, she’ll carry that survivor’s guilt for the rest of her life.”

My voice broke into a whisper.

“Then don’t tell her.”

“Just say I went somewhere far away.”

The silence in that office stretched on, thick and heavy.

Dr. Mercer turned away from me. His shoulders dropped in total defeat.

At two in the morning, he printed the official surgical consent forms.

I signed my name on every dotted line without hesitation.

When the last page was signed, I pulled out my phone and recorded a goodbye video for Willa.

The camera light flipped on. I tried to force another smile.

“Willa, if you’re watching this, it means Mommy isn’t with you anymore.”

“It’s not because I didn’t want to stay. It’s because I loved you too much to let you go.”

“The day you were born, I gave you your first life.”

“This time, I’m giving you your second one.”

By the end of the recording, I couldn’t keep my voice steady.

“Be brave for me, my sweet girl. Be happy.”

“If someone loves you, let them. And if no one does, don’t be afraid.”

“The most important thing you’ll ever learn is how to love yourself first.”

The video saved. Immediately, a notification pinged. A voice message from Everett had come through.

Vanessa was laughing loudly in the background.

[Hey, Willa. Daddy took a great video of the snow at Mount Alder for you.]

[When I get back, we’ll throw you a brand new birthday party. Promise.]

I didn’t bother to reply.