Our Love in Ruins

Derrick froze for a second, then gritted his teeth and snapped, “Don’t regret this later!”

That pendant was from the time we’d volunteered in a war zone together. He’d taken a bullet for me.

I hadn’t really needed him to do it, but I’d been touched all the same. I was so sure he must have loved me enough to die for me.

Now, I understood it had only ever been a stepping stone for his promotion.

My coworker and the rescue team were still trying to argue on my behalf, but I shook my head at them.

“Forget it. Do as he says.”

Then I looked calmly at Derrick. “If I make it out of here alive, let’s get a divorce.”

He gave a cold snort. “This place could collapse again any minute. If you want to keep playing your little drama, I won’t stop you. When you really get impaled by a steel rod, no one will save you!”

With that, he took everyone and left for good.

My coworker’s eyes were red as he hurried to me. “Your condition’s too serious. Only Director Nelson has the skills to minimize the damage. I’m going to beg him right now. Wait for me!”

He left, leaving me sitting alone in the wreckage. I’d never imagined my grave would end up being a pile of ruins.

My vision was starting to blur when a flash of white suddenly rushed in, followed by two of the rescue team members Derrick had chewed out earlier.

It was my intern, Mike Levine. “Gwen! Stay with me! Don’t fall asleep! I’m here to get you out!”

Then Derrick walked back in.

He let out a mocking laugh. “What’s this? Couldn’t keep your lies straight, so you called someone in to save you? Then you’ll lie in a hospital bed for a few days and fake a miraculous recovery. Is that the script you’re going with?”

Mike’s face went red with fury. He shot to his feet and punched Derrick.

Derrick reeled, ready to swing back, but the two rescue workers grabbed his arms and held him tight.

“Director Nelson, you don’t deserve to call yourself a husband! We’re saving her, no matter what. Now, get out!”

Derrick stumbled back, fuming. “Fine! I’ll go report you all for wasting time here instead of rescuing others!”

The moment he was gone, tears streamed down Mike’s face. “Gwen, how am I supposed to get you out of here alive?”

…

I pushed weakly at his arm. “Go. It’s too dangerous. Don’t risk yourselves for me. I’m probably not going to make it.”

Both rescue workers’ eyes turned red to match Mike’s.

“Dr. Jones, we’re not giving up on you!”

The determination in their voices lit a spark of hope in my chest.

“Mike, get Chad here. Do exactly what I say, and it might work. Whatever happens, don’t blame yourselves. This is just my fate.”

Chad came running in moments later.

The truth was that Derrick wasn’t the only one who could perform this procedure. He’d learned it by practicing alongside me.

Back when the hospital director wanted to promote me to director of the department, I gave the opportunity to Derrick instead, even requesting a transfer to another department to put him at ease.

Following my instructions, they did some quick prep work, then braced my body. The rescue workers tried to cut the rebar behind me with bolt cutters. However, without a proper angle, they couldn’t get any leverage.

One wrong move, and pain ripped through my lungs so hard it felt like my soul was being torn apart.

In the end, they had no choice but to bring in a hydraulic cutter. The moment it powered on, the vibrations tore through my body, making it feel as if all my organs were shattering inside me.