Alex pov
The labour room was still noisy when the door suddenly burst open. Nurses rushed in with a stretcher, pushing Juliana's unconscious body. Her clothes were soaked with blood. Someone shouted, "Clear the way! Emergency! Accident victim!"
Alex froze. His heart stopped.
"Juliana?" His voice cracked. "Juliana!"
He tried to reach her, but they pulled him back.
"Sir, please step aside! We need space!"
"I'm her husband!" he yelled. "Let me go with her. Juliana! Juliana, can you hear me?"
But Juliana did not move. Her head rested to one side, her skin pale, her breathing shallow.
Victorine , still weak from delivery, saw the scene and panicked. "Alex, what happened? Why is Juliana like that? What happened—?"
Alex didn't answer. He was shaking, sweating, trembling. His eyes stayed glued to the stretcher as the nurses pushed Juliana into the emergency theatre.
"Please save her," he whispered. "Please don't take her away from me… please."
A nurse touched his shoulder. "Sir, go to the waiting area. We will update you."
He sat. He stood. He paced. He sat again. He felt like tearing the walls down. His hands covered his face as he whispered the same sentence repeatedly:
"Don't die… don't die on me… don't leave me like this…"
So devastated this is the first he understood that he couldn't solve anything. His beloved is close to death but there is nothing he can do about..
Minutes turned into an hour. Then an hour became two. He felt the world closing in.
Finally, the doctor stepped out.
His expression alone killed every hope left in Alex's heart.
Alex rushed to him. "Doctor… How is she? She's alive, right? Tell me she's alive."
The doctor sighed deeply. "We tried. We fought very hard. But the internal bleeding was too much. She lost too much blood before she got here."
Alex stepped back as if someone just stabbed him in the chest.
"Doctor…" his voice broke. "What are you saying?"
"She didn't survive the surgery."
Alex's lips trembled. "N–no… please… Please don't do this to me."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Richardson. Juliana is gone."
Alex fell to the floor. His hands grabbed his head. His eyes burned. A sound came out of him—raw, broken, painful.
"Nooooooo…"
It echoed through the hallway.
He hit the floor with his fist. "Why? Why her? Why now? Why would she leave me like this?" Tears flooded his face. "She promised me… she promised she wouldn't leave…"
A nurse helped him stand. "Sir, would you like to see her body?"
Alex wiped his eyes with shaking hands. "Yes… I want to see my wife."
They guided him into a cold, quiet room. The morgue Juliana laid on the metal bed, covered up to her chest with a white sheet. Her face was calm, peaceful, almost like she was sleeping.
Alex walked slowly to her. His breath broke in pieces.
He touched her cheek. It was cold.
"Juliana…" His voice cracked as he knelt beside her. "How could you do this to me? How could you leave me here alone?"
Please wake up my dearest God please do something she can't leave like this.
Tears dropped on her hand as he held it tightly.
"You are the only woman I ever loved," he whispered. "Do you hear me? The only one. You stole my heart… and now you took it with you."
He bent his forehead on her palm.
For a moment, he forgot everything—Victorine , the twins, the entire world. His mind was only filled with her. Juliana. The woman who loved him fiercely. The woman he failed to protect.
"I'm angry, Juliana," he confessed. "I'm so angry at you for leaving. I'm angry at myself for not being there. I'm angry at everything."
His tears soaked the sheet.
"Please come back to me. Please… just open your eyes. Juliana… Juliana, please…"
But she remained silent.
He stayed like that until a nurse gently called him. "Sir… you need to rest. We're preparing her body for the funeral."
M Alex wiped his face slowly. "Funeral… Juliana… my wife…"
He staggered out of the room, exhausted and lost.
---
The next morning, the hospital was busy and it was somehow. Too quiet. Victorine sat weakly on the bed, confused.
"Where is Juliana?" she asked a nurse. "Has anyone seen her? She went to get drugs for the babies."
The nurse exchanged glances with others.
No one answered her.
Victorine frowned. Something was wrong but she couldn't figure it out.
Alex was downstairs, hands on his face, unable to breathe. His lawyer walked in quietly.
"I'm sorry for your loss, sir."
Alex didn't respond.
The lawyer continued, "The court has contacted us. Since the twins are born, social welfare wants to confirm who will have full custody. They want to be sure the children will remain with a parent and not be taken to foster care."
Alex lifted his tired eyes. "What are you trying to say?"
"You need to establish full legal rights immediately. The system wants to know which parent can take the twins home."
Alex understood instantly.
He groaned. "So if I don't act fast, they can take my babies away?"
"Yes, sir. You need to secure your position. They need a legal mother available."
Alex looked at the floor. His voice was low, broken.
"So after burying my wife… I have to fix custody?"
The lawyer nodded. "Yes, sir."
Alex wiped his face roughly. "Fine. After the funeral… I will handle everything."
He stood up slowly.
"I will not lose Juliana… and also lose my children."
The funeral was like torture to Alex he never imagined that his wife will leave the world before him he was speechless tears have stop flowing he still hoped that she will call out his name.
Mrs Richard held her son still in shock and regrets.
The social media,the reporters,journalists, were spreading news. The heiress of the Richard's family is dead. Who will train their kids? What if the surrogate refuses to hand over the children?. What will become of Mr Alex Richards. Will he marry another woman?. Their ideal couple have been separated by death.
The media was busy. Phones were buzzing.
Alex was in so much confusion and shock.
If only Victorine didn't ask her to save the twins. Alex said with anger.