Chapter 9 - The Choice
“There is an abnormality in the placenta.”
The doctor explained carefully.
Placenta previa.
Not immediately catastrophic.
But Mina would need monitoring, restrictions, and possibly an early delivery.
Alfred heard only danger.
“Can she die?”
“Alfred.”
The doctor remained calm.
“With proper care, most cases can be managed. But bleeding can become serious.”
Alfred's hand tightened around Mina's.
“What does she need?”
“Reduced activity. Frequent monitoring. And if significant bleeding occurs, immediate hospital care.”
Alfred nodded as though receiving military orders.
Mina knew that expression.
“No.”
Both men looked at her.
She pointed at Alfred.
“You are not turning our home into an ICU.”
“I wasn't—”
“You were already calculating how many doctors can live downstairs.”
“Two.”
“Alfred.”
“One?”
The doctor coughed to hide a smile.
Mina shook her head.
That night, Alfred lay beside her with one hand over her stomach.
Their daughter kicked.
He jerked.
Mina laughed.
“She does that.”
“She kicked me.”
“She doesn't know you personally.”
“She absolutely does.”
Another kick.
Alfred stared in wonder.
Then his expression softened.
“Mina.”
“Hmm?”
“Marry me.”
She became still.
He immediately added, “Not because you're pregnant.”
“Excellent opening.”
“I had something better planned.”
“What?”
“Nothing involving a hospital.”
She smiled.
Then she looked at him seriously.
“I won't marry Alfred Costello because he's afraid I'll disappear.”
He nodded.
“And I won't marry you because we made a baby.”
“I know.”
“I need to know you understand the difference between protecting us and owning us.”
“I do.”
“Do you?”
Alfred was silent for a long time.
Then he removed something from his pocket.
Not a ring.
A key.
Mina frowned.
“What is that?”
“The penthouse safe.”
She almost laughed.
“Very romantic.”
“The combination is changed.”
“To what?”
“Your birthday.”
“Still not romantic.”
He placed the key in her palm.
“Everything is there. Business records. Personal accounts. Every property. Every remaining asset. Nothing hidden.”
She stared at him.
“I don't want your money.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
“Because I'm done asking you to trust rooms I won't let you enter.”
That silenced her.
He touched her cheek.
“If you marry me, I want it to be because you know exactly who I am.”
“And if I say no?”
“I'll still be at every appointment. I'll still change diapers. I'll still argue about schools.”
“You'll probably lose those arguments.”
“Impossible.”
Mina smiled.
“Ask me again after she's born.”
Alfred groaned.
“That's months.”
“Patience builds character.”
“I have character.”
“You have expensive suits.”
For a while, life became strangely ordinary.
Alfred learned how to assemble a crib and discovered that money did not make instruction manuals more comprehensible.
Mina found him at midnight surrounded by screws.
“You run companies.”
“This diagram is criminal.”
“You used to know criminals.”
“None this cruel.”
At thirty-two weeks, Mina woke to blood.
Everything changed.
Alfred drove her to the hospital himself.
Too fast.
“Slow down!”
“You're bleeding!”
“And I'd prefer not to die in a traffic accident!”
At the hospital, doctors stabilized her.
But the bleeding returned two days later.
Then again.
At thirty-four weeks, the obstetrician made the decision.
“We need to deliver.”
Alfred went white.
Mina squeezed his hand.
“You're supposed to be the calm one.”
“I've reconsidered.”
The operating room lights were brutally bright.
Alfred sat beside her during the C-section.
When the baby finally cried, Mina sobbed.
Alfred stopped breathing.
A nurse lifted a tiny, furious little girl.
“Dad?”
Alfred stared.
“Dad, would you like to meet your daughter?”
He stood mechanically.
The nurse placed the baby in his arms.
Alfred Costello had faced guns without blinking.
Now his hands trembled.
“Hi.”
The baby cried.
“Yeah,” he whispered. “I know.”
Mina watched tears run down his face.
Then alarms sounded.
Doctors moved suddenly.
Alfred looked up.
Mina felt strange.
Light.
Far away.
“What's happening?”
A nurse took the baby.
“Sir, step back.”
“Mina?”
Doctors surrounded her.
“She's hemorrhaging.”
Alfred's face changed.
“Mina!”
She tried to answer.
Couldn't.
The ceiling blurred.
May you like
The last thing she saw was Alfred fighting against a nurse trying to move him away.
Then darkness.
