Wealth, Life and Death.

Michael

"Oh my God, Vi!!! You are awake...

LIAM!!! DOCTOR!!! ANYBODY!!!" I ran out shouting for anyone and everyone, getting the attention of my in-laws who were at the vending machine down the hall.

I rushed back to my wife, tears blinding my vision which I wiped vigorously, not wanting her to see because I had to be strong for her.

So with clear eyes, I bent forward and took her in my arms, as much as I could, giving her a long passionate kiss on her head, then lips. Each kiss telling of my anguish.

"I'm so sorry okay, I promised to protect you and have a long life together. I'm sorry I did not decorate our child's room with you, I'm sorry for all th----"

"Shhhhhhh" she whispered, hushing me up. She started coughing and I looked around for water.

There on the side table was a pitcher and a cup with a straw in it. Quickly, I poured some water into the cup then brought the straw up to her mouth, lifting her a bit so she doesn't choke.

After few sips, I had to retrieve the straw so she doesn't take too much water. I could already see some color returning to her cheeks, faint but it was there. It filled my heart with hope, Liam never said she wouldn't make it, he only said she was too weak and had lost a lot of blood.

What if she can fight it?

How could I have already sentenced her to death when she was right here?

A million thoughts ran through my head as I let her take few more sips then kept the cup back on the table.

After adjusting the bed and making sure she was comfortable, I looked at her and saw her looking at me with that spark of love in her eyes.

I was fighting it, the feelings and the tears. I was trying my hardest to keep them at bay but I knew that I was on the edge and any minute now, I would break.

Still unable to move much, she moved her fingers and I took her hand, already knowing what she wanted.

I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it then I wrapped it in both of mine.

"Nothing is your fault, you are the best husband anyone can ever wish for and I do not regret for a second, every second we spent together" She whispered, but a bit louder this time.

"I--" I wanted to speak but she shook her head, stopping me.

"The times you would forget to call, the times you would come home late or not come home at all because of work, the times we fought, argued and even when you refused to decorated our child's room with me. They were all experiences that deepened my love for you and if given the chance, I will do it all over again" she continued. "I will always love you, here and beyond and it's okay to cry, don't try to fight it".

She knew me more than I knew myself. So much that at a point, I just stopped trying to hide anything from her, it was pointless.

A tear slipped from my eyes, then another and another, sending me over the edge. I quickly turned away from her, wiping the tears off my face profusely.

"Baby, come here" she requested and I turned back to her, tears still rolling down my face.

"Crying does not show weakness love, it shows strength and shows me how much you love me. So cry baby, cry." Hearing this, all the emotions and tears I had held in came flowing out.

"I'm trying to be strong for you and I don't even know why I am this way, when I know you will make it. You will stay for me, right? And the baby? You have to fight because I cannot lose you" I said, wiping my face with the bottom of my shirt. No way was I letting anything happen to her.

She didn't reply but instead, looked at me with sadness in her eyes. After a while, she simply nodded then tried to draw me to her with the little strength she had, which was futile.

Understanding, I drew further the rest of the way, letting her lead me until my lips softly come upon hers.

In each other's arms, we kissed passionately but breaking to give her room to breath before resuming again, like words were no longer enough.

She was trying to assure me that everything will be okay.

How was I the man yet she was so much more stronger? How was she holding me up when I was the one that was supposed to be holding her up?

Breaking the kiss, I leaned my weight on one hand and lifted my other hand to her cheek, caressing it, and drawing circles.

I stared into her eyes, remembering how I fell in love with them way before I fell in love with her. I always thought the shade made her look like an elf.

There were no words for how I felt... Love, hurt, pain, anger, were all magnified, overwhelming me.

"Vi----" a knock sounded on the door, cutting me off and I turned to the door to find Larry coming into the room with Liam. I immediately straighten up as he rounded the bed to the other side of Vi.

"Hello beautiful" he said and she nodded, managing a small smile.

Larry left to give Liam space to examine her but I remained by her side, holding her hand in mine as Liam proceeded with the examination.

"Wait" Victoria said to the doctor, turning to me. "Where is Lily? I need to see her....I need--"

"I understand love, I'll try to get her here" I said and immediately left the room. I didn't waste anytime in dialling her number. Few minutes go by before I hear a hello on the other side of the call.

"Hello--"

"I already know, I'm on my way" I heard a sniff before the line went dead. How did she know?

"Is she coming" Larry asks from behind me and I nod. I hadn't noticed him.

Larry clapped my back reassuringly, and gestured for me to walk with him.

We walked down the hall, then took a left and walked down another.

We were headed for another section of the hospital, according to the guide signs on the walls.

"Where are we going Larry? I need to be with Vi"

Larry didn't respond but kept walking until we stopped in front of a door that said NICU.

"The doctor said you can see your daughter now" Larry said, making my heart stop and my breathing to become shallow.

"Larry, I can't do this. I can't walk through this door, I don't want the very thing that might be taking the love of my life from me". I didn't care how disappointing and utterly terrible what I said was, I just knew that I couldn't do it.

"Not 'thing' Mike--"

"Don't Larry, I don't want to know" I said and it didn't surprise me when he punched me in the jaw, but not hard enough to cause an injury.

"You will not speak of my grand child in such a manner or disrespect my daughter while she is still here" he said, angrily.

I saw the punch coming but I took it anyway. I knew that blaming an innocent baby was wrong but I did not know how else to feel.

"Right now, it's not about you but my dying daughter. You think you know pain and hurt? Wait till you see your child dying and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. You will feel totally useless and pray to whoever cares to hear, to take you in her stead. Wait till you are in that position then you can really say you feel how I feel right now".

I opened my mouth to speak but shut it. What could I say to a man losing his daughter and what could he say to a man really losing his wife?

"I miss her already. I feel her slipping away with every second that goes by and I'm really hoping she can fight to stay but the sadness in her eyes, the sadness Larry, it scares me. Larry, I have money, I built this hospital with my money, no one else's, equipped it with the most up-to-date equipments and employed the best doctors. I work to the bone so that she does not lack anything and even with all these, I still may not be able to save my wife? What then is the point?" I asked, blinking back the tears threatening to intrude.

"You are forgetting one thing Mike. Power of life and death is out of our reach, no matter our wealth or status in life. Her wish was and is still for your baby to live. She wanted the child she had within her who had a piece off both of you to live at all cost, even at the cost of her own life. You didn't make the wrong choice and you have not lost her yet. Even if you do Mike, you will still have a piece of her in your baby girl"

"A girl?"

"Yes, a girl and you are going to take that girl and go to your wife. What she needs to see right now is her baby in the arms of the man she loves, so she can be happy, even in d-d-death". I could see the struggle in his eyes as he used the dire word and I immediately felt sorry for the both of us. We would never be the same without her and I had to come to terms with the fact that she was most likely leaving me.

In response, I nodded my head then took deep breaths, trying to calm the storm raging inside me. When I felt much calmer, I opened the door and walked in.

_____________________

Unknown P. O. V.

"Sir, you have a call" he held out the phone to me so I could see the caller ID. It was the him calling, I had fucked up big time and I was in no hurry to pick up that call.

I sprang to my feet, and began pacing back and forth nervously. Over and over again, I ran my hands through my hair, looking for a way out.

Ring....Ring....Ring....

The phone kept ringing, making me jump every time it stopped and started again.

"You gotta pick boss, better than he coming down here"

"Of course I am going to have to pick up but whose fault is it? Not mine, yours! Who fucked up? Not me, you! Who gets the blame? Not you, fucking me!!!"

I snatched the phone from him and hit the receive button. Better to face him now over the phone, than later, face to face.

Steadying my breathing, with a calm voice I spoke into the phone..."

"Hello Chairman, to what do I owe this pleasant call?"

Silence was all I got in response, nerve racking silence that made my knees buckle. Good thing there was a chair behind me and I fell right into it.

"Dad, please say something" I urged.

"Get out your gun" he simply said.

Swallowing hard, I took out my gun and placed it on the table. It gave a clang sound, as I did.

"Good. Now turn off the safety then point it at your head".

"Dad, please..." I pleaded desperately but knowing all too well that the man on the other side of the call never got swayed by emotions and almost never gave second chances.

"Dad, please. I'm so--"

Ring....Ring....Ring....

The idiot before me got out his phone then looked at me. I already knew who it was, this was the kind of person dad was.

"Hello Sir........ I understand" he said, bringing out his own gun and pointing it at me.

Hesitantly, I picked up the gun and placed it to my head, my hand shaking uncontrollable.

"I-- I ha--- I have the g-gun to m-my h-h-head" I stuttered, my whole body shaking vigorously.

Once again, silence. That heart wrenching silence! I hated it, just like I hated him most times.

Tick tock...

The seconds ticked by as the silence stretched on.

I could feel myself coming undone with every passing second of silence as my breath quickened, my shirt dampening with all the excess sweat.

My right hand held a gun to my head and my left hand held the phone to my ear. Both of them had begun to ache, I was tired.

Just when I was about to break and pull the damn trigger, he spoke....

"Shoot him instead and son, you have gravely disappointed me". He said and the line went dead.

I dropped the phone, relieved and in a split second, a bullet went through the front of his head and exited the back.

He had his gun trained at me, alert and ready yet, he never had a chance. He didn't even see it coming...

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Author

Thank you all for reading, ♥ you all. New update coming soon.