My Husband Denied Me Lifesaving Blood
Chapter 1
Cold. So cold...
Rhys Howell. Rhys Howell, save me...
The crash of shattering glass, the screech of metal, the chaos of screams—it all slammed through Lorelai Howell’s mind. Then Rhys Howell’s face appeared, hard and urgent, as he reached for her and lifted her gently.
A voice cut through the fog.
“Ma’am? Can you hear me? How are you feeling? If you can, tell us your name and a family contact number,” a nurse from the emergency team said.
Lorelai’s head was spinning, but she gave her husband Rhys Howell’s private number without thinking—she knew it by heart. Half-conscious, she was wheeled into the ER.
Through the blur, she caught pieces of the doctors’ conversation. Her injuries were bad. She needed a blood transfusion.
Blood transfusion?
Those two words were enough for Lorelai to grasp how serious this was. Sure enough, she heard a tense doctor say, “She’s got a rare blood type, and the blood bank doesn’t have any.”
“A rare blood type? That’s a huge problem. She’s already lost so much blood—she could go into shock any second!”
Another doctor cut in. “Wait—there’s a patient here with the same blood type, and their condition is stable. With consent, we could draw a small amount. Hurry! Someone needs to get permission.”
At that, Lorelai’s lips curved into a faint, almost invisible smile. She knew exactly who else in this hospital shared her blood type. That person was…
Soon, the nurse sent to ask about the donation came back, flustered.
“Doctor, the patient says she doesn’t feel well enough to donate. She said she needs her fiancé’s approval.”
Fiancé?
The word stabbed straight through Lorelai’s heart.
Her fiancé…
No. It couldn’t be him. It mustn’t be.
She had saved that person’s life, and that person had promised Lorelai she would never…
Seeing the nurse hesitate, the doctor ordered, “Why are you just standing there? Call her fiancé! This is an emergency. I remember this patient relied on regular donor help to stabilize. They won’t refuse now.”
The nurse shot Lorelai a sympathetic look as she dialed the number and put it on speaker. Strangely, it was the same number Lorelai had given.
Rhys Howell’s deep voice came through the phone.
“Who’s this?”
Lorelai’s fingers twitched hard.
She tried to open her eyes and speak, but she had no strength left. All she could do was listen.
The nurse explained quickly. “Is Ms. Lorelai Howell your relative?”
A short silence. Then, calmly: “Yes.”
“Sir, Ms. Howell was in a car accident…” The nurse summed up Lorelai’s condition, and a muffled sound came from the other end.
“Sir? Are you… are you okay?”
“I’m fine. How is she now?” Urgent footsteps echoed over the line.
But Lorelai didn’t catch those subtle sounds.
The nurse glanced at Lorelai’s closed eyes and went on. “She needs a blood transfusion from another patient, Maryam Dixon, who has a rare blood type. Ms. Dixon says she’s unfit to donate without your consent.”
The line went silent.
Not a sound. Not even a footstep.
In that moment, a sharp pain pierced Lorelai’s chest.
She couldn’t fathom what was keeping Rhys Howell from making a decision.
Seven years of unrequited love. Three years of marriage.
She knew Rhys had married her because of family pressure—same as when he’d ended things with Maryam Dixon.
But she didn’t feel guilty toward Maryam.
When Maryam and Rhys were together, Lorelai kept her distance. She never intruded on their time. Even at events she had to attend, she stayed as far away as possible.
Her unrequited love never bothered them.
Later, when the Howell family disapproved of Maryam and Rhys and forced them apart, Lorelai didn’t enter Rhys’s life until six months after. She married him under a family arrangement.
After marriage, she honored his parents and tended to his grandmother. She even prepared his meals every day with meticulous care.
She believed if she did everything right, she might eventually replace Maryam in his heart.
A year ago, when Maryam was diagnosed with a rare chronic condition and needed Rhys’s help, Lorelai volunteered to be a regular blood donor so Rhys wouldn’t have to worry about the blood supply.
She thought she’d done everything possible for Rhys Howell.
But what had it gotten her?
After a long silence, the man’s voice on the phone came out rough and strained.
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