Chapter 198 He Wouldn't Forgive Himself
Reed's video call came in, and Aurelia hesitated for a few seconds, unsure whether to answer.
In the three years she had been married into the Heilbronn family, the only person she truly felt she owed an apology to was Reed.
Reed had just learned about her pregnancy and felt extremely delighted. He hired a nutritionist and had people send nutritious supplements several times a day, taking care of her in every way.
And now, she was hiding her divorce from him.
She stared at Reed's name on the phone screen, unsure if he would notice anything unusual about her current state. He was in no state to handle a shock.
The ringing stopped, and Aurelia breathed a sigh of relief. Then the phone rang again; it was still from Reed.
Aurelia composed herself and pressed the answer button. Before she could speak, a van came speeding towards her in the wrong direction. In that split second, she saw the driver's face twisted into a sinister grin.
She was so scared that she froze, unable to move.
The impact hurled her several feet away, and as she hit the ground, she instinctively clutched her stomach. Warm fluid seeped beneath her, and her body felt like it was turning to ice, a chilling cold seeping through her like falling into a frozen abyss.
Pain, dizziness, fear.
The phone on the ground had Reed's urgent voice crying out, "Aurelia! Aurelia!"
She tried to move her lips but couldn't make a sound.
In her heart, she silently pleaded, 'Babies, you must not leave Mommy, or Mommy won't be able to live in this world.'
Her two babies were her only reason to keep living.
Blood from her forehead mixed with her tears, and in a daze, she seemed to see Penelope and Brenda waving at her. She closed her eyes and gradually lost consciousness.
Meanwhile, Nathaniel and Chelsea had just finished their marriage registration. Nathaniel's eyelids twitched constantly. As Chelsea pulled him toward the swearing-in ceremony, Nathaniel shot her an irritated glance and skipped the formality.
With the license in hand, he had fulfilled his promise and saw no need to continue the charade.
Reed's call came in, and after a brief pause, he answered.
"Nathaniel, you need to find Aurelia. I just called her, and it sounded like something happened. I heard the sound of a car crash, and now I can't reach her."
Hearing that something might have happened to Aurelia, Nathaniel hung up before Reed could finish speaking and dialed Aurelia's number.
But all he got was the endless ringing and the cold voice of an automated system.
He shook off Chelsea's hand and rushed out.
Outside the family court building, traffic was already jammed, with various vehicles forming a long, immobile line.
Zack saw him running out in a hurry and approached him.
"Mr. Heilbronn, there's a traffic jam. The map shows there's been an accident ahead, and it might take a while to clear. We should wait a bit. In the meantime, why don't you review the contract for tonight? It could save some time."
Nathaniel only heard one thing from Zack's words. "There's been an accident ahead."
Ignoring everything else, he ran forward like a madman, leaving a bewildered Zack in the car.
After he ran for what felt like miles, Nathaniel's heart pounded as if it might burst from his chest. As a man of reason, he was now desperately praying that it wasn't her, that it couldn't be her.
He would trade his life to ensure it wasn't her.
Ahead, the accident scene was surrounded by a dense crowd, with various emergency departments arriving and setting up a perimeter, but that didn't stop the onlookers.
Nathaniel reached the edge of the crowd but couldn't muster the courage to look. He couldn't bear to imagine what he'd do if it turned out to be Aurelia.
He kept dialing Aurelia's number, but there was no response.
The crowd was murmuring.
"It's so tragic, so much blood. I wonder if the person can survive. Look at that pool of blood on the ground; it must be half of their body's blood."
"That poor lady, just walking on the sidewalk, and some reckless driver hit her. Such a waste of a life. It might be another drunk driver."
"I can't bear to look. I heard her head was split open, and she was pregnant, protecting her belly even in her final moments."
Nathaniel's legs felt like jelly upon at these comments.
He frantically pushed through the crowd, crossed the police line, and ran towards the ambulance.
Two police officers stopped him, but he was already frantic.
"Officer, the person who got hurt is my wife. Please let me through."
In his panic, he pulled out the divorce decree from his pocket to show the police, forgetting it was the divorce papers.
The police looked at the document and then at the nearly hysterical Nathaniel.
"Sir, we haven't confirmed the identity of the injured woman. I need to take this photo to verify. Please come with me."
Before the officer could finish, Nathaniel had already pushed past and rushed forward.
When he stepped on the phone lying on the ground, his legs gave out, and he collapsed.
It was the phone he had bought for Aurelia. Even though it was lagging and the battery was failing, she had refused to replace it.
He had teased her, saying he wasn't short on money for a new phone. There were several new ones at home, but she treated the old one like a treasure, being frugal despite being a wealthy wife.
Nathaniel sat on the ground, his face pale, his mind blank.
He saw the pool of blood on the ground, and his heart ached to the point of numbness.
This was God's punishment for him.
Ahead, Aurelia was being lifted onto a stretcher and into the ambulance, her injuries covered.
Nathaniel wasn't sure if she was still alive. He tried to calm himself, stood up, and staggered after them.
"Let me see her!" He pleaded, trying to lift the bloodied figure.
After a few steps, he was stopped by several burly men in black, who dragged him away from the crowd.
Nathaniel, overwhelmed and unsure who was blocking his path, watched helplessly as Aurelia was lifted into the ambulance. The vehicle's engine roared to life and slowly pulled away, fading into the distance until it was just a white dot and then nothing.
By then, his eyes were already filled with tears.
After the ambulance left, the men in black released him.
He staggered step by step to the bloodstain on the ground, his pent-up grief erupting into a guttural wail.
When he had contemplated the possibility of losing her during the divorce proceedings, he had never imagined it would be in this way.
Had he known she would face such a disaster, he would rather die than agree to the divorce.
At that moment, he lost the three people he loved most, a pain that tore at his heart and soul. Nathaniel knelt by the pool of blood, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.
He couldn't believe it was Aurelia and their children's blood.
It was his fault.
He was guilty!
He would never forgive himself for the rest of his life!
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