Chapter 2While I Fought for Breath, He Peeled Shrimp for His Intern

“Patient is in critical condition! Move! Make way!”

“Where’s the family? We need someone to ride with us to the hospital!”

The paramedics’ voices echoed around me. I felt myself being lifted onto a stretcher by a flurry of hands.

Liam raised his hand slightly. “I’m her boyfriend. We’ll go with you.”

But the moment he climbed into the ambulance, he sat down next to Mia, not even sparing me a single glance. He pulled the still-sniffling girl into his arms, letting her rest her head against his chest.

Mia trembled in his embrace.

“Liam, I’m so scared,” she whimpered. “Rachel… is she going to die? If she dies, is it all my fault? Will the police arrest me?”

Liam stroked her back, his brow creased with concern.

“Don’t be ridiculous. It has nothing to do with you,” he said, his tone firm. “It’s her own fault for having such a weak constitution. Always having some reaction. Who even knows what she’s allergic to? She’s always so damn dramatic.”

A paramedic, busy fitting an oxygen mask over my face, turned to ask Liam, “Does the patient have a history of allergies? Was she exposed to anything unusual?”

Without looking up, Liam kept his eyes fixed on Mia. “I don’t know. I’m not really sure. She’s usually perfectly healthy. Nothing like this has ever happened before.”

I struggled to open my mouth, to tell the doctor it was peanuts. He knew. He always knew I was allergic to peanuts.

A memory surfaced—a company dinner from when we first started dating. A plate of Kung Pao chicken was set in front of me. He had meticulously picked out every single peanut with his chopsticks.

“My Rachel could die from eating peanuts,” he’d said to everyone at the table. “I have to watch out for her.”

A sharp-eyed nurse noticed my distress. She quickly grabbed my dirt-smudged backpack and started rummaging through it. In a moment, she pulled out a medical information card.

“Found it! Severe peanut allergy!”

She looked up, her voice sharp as she questioned Liam. “If it’s a severe allergy, why wasn’t her emergency medication used? Her bag should contain an adrenaline auto-injector!”

Liam finally glanced over, his expression one of pure, innocent confusion. “What medication? What injector? I don’t know anything about that. She never told me.”

Mia immediately lifted her head from his chest, rushing to explain. “Rachel was pointing at her bag earlier. I thought she wanted a tissue or something. I had no idea it was for medicine.”

As she spoke, fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. “It’s all my fault. I honestly didn’t know it was life-saving medicine, or I would have gotten it for her right away.”

Liam instantly defended her. “How could you be blamed? We’re not doctors. How were we supposed to know? Don’t cry, Mia. You’re not as pretty when you cry.”

The ambulance sped through the city. I could feel my life slipping away. And my boyfriend, not six feet from me, had pulled out his phone. He was scrolling through funny short videos, holding the screen up for Mia.

“Look at this one. This cat is so dumb. Isn’t that hilarious?”

The paramedics were inserting an IV, pushing antihistamines into my veins. And my boyfriend was whispering sweet nothings to another woman.

Just then, Mia suddenly stood up, swaying with the motion of the vehicle.

“Oops, I was just going to grab a bottle of water.”

She stretched out her arm, pretending to reach for a water bottle in the corner. As the ambulance braked suddenly, she lost her balance, and her hand slammed hard against my oxygen mask.

The mask flew off, landing beside me.

My already shallow breathing stopped completely.

The monitor beside me shrieked as my oxygen saturation plummeted.

“What are you doing?!” the nurse screamed, shoving Mia away as she scrambled to replace my mask.

Mia covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes wide with feigned horror. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry! I really didn’t mean to! The ride is so bumpy, I just lost my footing.”

Liam pulled her back into his arms. “It’s okay, don’t be scared. It wasn’t your fault.” He turned to the nurse. “It was a bumpy ride, that’s all. Why are you yelling at her?”

The nurse was so furious at his attitude that she was speechless, managing only to shoot them a venomous glare. “Both of you sit down and don’t move again!”

The ambulance finally arrived at the hospital. I was wheeled rapidly into the emergency room.

Just as the doors swung shut, I heard Mia rub her stomach and say in a delicate voice, “Liam, all that stress made me hungry. My tummy’s rumbling.”

Liam immediately pulled out his phone.

“What do you want? Hot pot? Barbecue? I’ll order us something right now.”