Chapter 219 Lola was in Critical Condition
Lola was in critical condition.
The hospital's pediatric specialists were doing everything to save her.
Everyone waited outside the emergency room. Even Maria came in a wheelchair, holding Charlotte's hand for comfort.
Charlotte stood the whole time.
She was weak but refused to sit, staring at the heavy iron door.
She didn't dare blink, afraid she'd miss something.
Her little Lola was inside, fighting to survive.
The doctor said it was a miracle she had held on this long.
He suggested they could give up since the child was suffering.
But Lola kept breathing, clinging to life. She needed her mom; she didn't want to leave.
Charlotte only understood that kind of pain after becoming a mother.
The pain wasn't physical, but it hurt a hundred times more.
Frederick rushed over.
Patrick glanced at him, no longer blaming him. He knew Frederick felt terrible too.
Laura and Chloe had cried their hearts out but were holding back their sobs. Laura softly told her son, "Frederick, let Charlotte sit down. She just gave birth ten days ago!"
Laura felt deeply distressed.
She knew how weak a woman was after giving birth, especially with all of Charlotte's injuries.
Frederick brought a chair for Charlotte, but she refused to sit. He ended up letting her lean on him. She struggled a bit but then stopped.
After four hours, the emergency room door finally opened.
The doctor came out, looking tired, and said, "We managed to save her, but the situation is still not very optimistic. Just a heads-up."
Everyone knew what this meant.
It meant they saved her this time, but might not be able to next time. It meant they could give up.
No one mentioned giving up.
This was a child Charlotte had risked her life to bring into the world, and no one could bear to give up.
To avoid regrets, the Hawkins family used connections to set up a room next to the incubator, so Charlotte could see the child at all times. It was comforting but also torturous.
Charlotte watched over the child day and night.
Frederick, as the child's father, was also allowed to stay in the room.
For the first time in days, he could be close to Charlotte. She still ignored him, often sitting there, looking at Lola through a glass window.
She could sit there for hours.
Frederick felt heartbroken seeing this.
He poured her a cup of hot water and placed it beside her. "Charlotte, you should rest after watching for a while. The baby needs to rest too."
Charlotte resisted him. When he got close, she instinctively pushed him away.
The hot water spilled all over his arm.
His arm turned red instantly.
It hurt a lot, but Frederick acted like he didn't feel it. He gently said, "I'll go treat the burn. You should rest first."
Charlotte's gaze fell on his arm.
She didn't say anything and quickly looked away.
Frederick was hurt by her cold gaze. There was no warmth for him in Charlotte's eyes. She looked at him like a stranger.
If it weren't for Lola, she wouldn't even be in the same room with him.
Frederick left in a hurry.
He silently treated his burn and returned to the room.
He couldn't bear the coldness any longer and gently hugged her from behind, his voice hoarse. "Charlotte, you can hit me or scold me, but please don't be so cold to me!"
Charlotte didn't pull away because she had no strength left.
She knew he wanted to save their relationship, but to her, it was already dead.
She turned her head slightly. "When I told you, you didn't take it seriously. Now it's too late. Even if you hadn't gone abroad, things might not have changed. I might still have been hurt, and the child might still be in the ICU. But Frederick, no woman can endure her husband abandoning her for his first love's divorce case! You can't imagine how I got through that hour."
Charlotte's eyes reddened. "When I called, you hadn't taken off yet. Even if you had come back when she was born, we wouldn't be like this!"
At least little Lola would have been born in love, not misery.
How could she forgive him?
After speaking, Charlotte turned back and quietly watched little Lola, tiny and wrinkled, with her eyes tightly closed.
Was she in a lot of pain?
Frederick spoke softly, "Charlotte, I'm sorry."
All he could say was sorry.
Lola's condition was very bad.
The doctor eventually found Frederick and told him privately, "Mr. Hawkins, the newborn's survival rate is now less than five percent. We called you here to ask for your decision."
Five percent.
Frederick's face turned pale.
After a moment, he gritted his teeth. "My wife and I don't want to give up."
The doctor looked at him and then spoke after a while, "I also want to tell you that Mrs. Hawkins's condition is very bad. She now has severe postpartum depression. If she continues to stay up day and night waiting for a glimmer of hope, it could damage her nervous system, causing irreversible consequences. In other words, she could be plagued by depression for the rest of her life."
Frederick slowly clenched his fists.
The doctor spoke with difficulty, "The only way is to get her out of this environment. Mr. Hawkins, do you understand what I mean?"
Frederick understood.
As long as Lola was alive, it was torment for Charlotte.
This choice was like choosing between saving the mother or the child.
Frederick didn't want to give up either.
He wanted Charlotte, and he wanted their child to live.
After a long silence, he spoke softly, "I want the child to live. I also want my wife to be healthy, so I need your full cooperation."
Frederick slowly revealed his decision, and the doctor was stunned.
Leaving the doctor's office, Frederick found Andrew.
Andrew was working, head down, brows furrowed.
Frederick stood at the door and called out, "Uncle Andrew."
Andrew looked up at him, then sneered. "Who is your uncle?"
Frederick was used to it. He walked straight in and gently knelt in front of Andrew.
Andrew sneered. "Mr. Hawkins, I can't bear this. What have you done this time that requires you to kneel and apologize?"
Frederick told him what the doctor had said.
Andrew was already worried about Charlotte's health, and after hearing this, he felt even more burdened.
He asked Frederick, "What are you planning to do? Are you really going to pull the plug on your own child? Can you be that heartless? I'm telling you, if you dare to do that, I'll kill you!"
Frederick calmly explained his plan.
The atmosphere instantly froze.
Even Andrew, who had experienced a lot, was shocked by Frederick's words. He was both shocked and angry and immediately threw something at him.
It was a stone. The sharp stone hit Frederick's forehead.
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