On Our Wedding Day My Husband Announced His First Love Online-Chapter 15: I Don’t Have a Mom Anymore...

Theodore Grant seemed taken aback by my words. He was stunned for a full three seconds before his tone softened. "Chelsea, stop this. I admit I was wrong today. Just come back now. We can finish the ceremony, and then I’ll explain everything."

"Explain?" I suddenly wanted to laugh, but found I couldn’t. "How are you going to explain it this time? That Clara Langley faked a suicide attempt to trick you into seeing her?"

"She really did try to kill herself, but she was found in time and they saved her."

"Is that so?" I scoffed. "The kind of suicide where the wound would have healed if she’d been brought in a few minutes later?"

"Chelsea..." Theodore took a deep breath. "What happened today is my fault, but you were the one who insisted on having this wedding. You can’t just leave all these people hanging."

It was as if I’d heard some kind of joke. "Then why do you think I wanted this wedding? It was for my mother! But right now, she’s lying in the emergency room, and we don’t know if she’ll live or die!"

Theodore clearly realized he was in the wrong, so he humbled himself. "Chelsea, please, just come back and finish the ceremony. When your mother wakes up, I’ll go to her personally to apologize and explain."

With a stony face, I was about to refuse when I suddenly heard the emergency room door swing open. In that moment, nothing else mattered. I hung up immediately.

But because I stood up too quickly, a piercing pain shot through my ankle.

"Easy now, take it slow," Sebastian Forrest said, catching my arm to steady me.

"Nurse, how is my mom?"

"Are you family of Penelope Patterson?"

My face tense, I nodded. "I’m her daughter."

"This is a notice of critical condition. We need you to sign the consent form..."

My vision went black. Looking at the notice the nurse handed me, tears instantly streamed down my face.

"Please, save my mom... Save her..."

The nurse had obviously seen this kind of scene many times. "Our doctors will do everything they can for the patient. But we need you to sign the consent form first so we can proceed with lifesaving procedures."

I took the pen, trembling, but the tip shook so badly I couldn’t form a single letter.

"Chelsea!"

Just then, a breathless shout came from behind me. I whipped my head around to see my brother and Chloe Miller running toward us, their faces fraught with anxiety. My voice caught in my throat. "Brother..."

"How’s Mom?" my brother asked, his face etched with worry.

But as I met the concerned eyes of my brother and Chloe Miller, my tears started flowing again before I could even speak.

My brother must have realized what was going on, because he snatched the critical condition notice from the nurse and quickly scrawled his name on it.

Once the nurse left, my brother whirled around and glared at me. "Chelsea Joyce, look what you’ve done! Let me tell you, if anything happens to Mom, I..."

But before he could finish his threat, Sebastian Forrest stepped protectively in front of me, cutting him off. "Mr. Joyce, Chelsea is even more devastated by this than you are. Besides, if you’re looking to place blame, you’ve got the wrong person!"

My brother’s chest rose and fell sharply, his rage clearly simmering with no outlet.

Still, he seemed to show Sebastian Forrest some deference. He shot me a vicious glare, then turned and walked away, his face grim.

Time ticked by, second by second, but for me, every single one was torture.

I don’t know how much time had passed before the emergency room door finally swung open.

Hearing the noise, I quickly limped over.

"Director Miller..."

"Dr. Miller, how is my mom?"

Jude Miller slowly removed his mask, his expression grave. He looked like he couldn’t bear to say the words, but in the end, he spoke. "I’m sorry. We did everything we could..."

In that instant, the world started to spin...

Mom...

Mom’s gone...

I don’t have a mom anymore...

A wave of dizziness washed over me, overwhelming everything, like a mountain crumbling to the ground.

It felt like all the strength had been drained from my body, leaving my heart a hollow shell. Then, my vision went black, and I collapsed into darkness.

When I opened my eyes again, I was met with a blinding whiteness.

The air reeked of antiseptic. An IV bag hung overhead, fluid dripping down the tube, drop by drop. The back of my hand was ice-cold.

"Chelsea, you’re awake?"

Chloe Miller’s relieved voice broke the silence. It took me a few sluggish seconds to shift my gaze toward her, meeting a pair of red, swollen eyes.

The memories from before I passed out flooded back. A sharp pain pierced my chest, but the tears came first, rolling down my cheeks. "Chloe, I don’t have a mom anymore... I don’t have a mom anymore..."

I covered my face and broke into sobs, letting out all my anguish.

"Chelsea, please don’t cry. Penelope would be heartbroken to see you so sad," Chloe said, trying to comfort me as she wiped away her own tears.

I don’t know how much time passed. I felt as if I’d cried myself dry. A throbbing pain began in my lower abdomen, as if my baby was crying for my mother too.

"Where’s my mom? I want to see her again..."

But just as Chloe was helping me toward the room, I looked up and saw Theodore Grant and his mother walking our way.

"Chelsea..." As soon as his mother saw me, she rushed over, her eyes red, too.

But in that moment, it was as if I couldn’t see anyone else. My eyes were fixed on Theodore Grant.

Theodore seemed unnerved by my gaze. He pursed his lips before finally speaking. "Chelsea, you..."

But just then, a loud SLAP cut him off. Five red finger marks instantly appeared on his left cheek.

The slap didn’t just stun Theodore; everyone else stared at me in utter shock, as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

Theodore stared at me in disbelief. He had never been hit in his life and couldn’t quite process it, his cheek just burning with a fiery sting.

His brow furrowed as he looked down at my hand, which was still trembling by my side. Only then did it seem to sink in that I had really just slapped him.

Instantly, fury flashed in Theodore’s eyes. But before he could open his mouth, I swung my left hand and slapped him again, hard.

"You..." Theodore was so furious his eyes were bloodshot. "How dare you hit me?!"

I met his gaze head-on. "You killed my mom!"

The imprints of two slaps were still red on Theodore’s face, a testament to how much force I’d used.

He took a deep breath, forcing down his anger. "I admit it was wrong of me to leave the wedding, but I was on my way back. When you called, Clara and I were in the car. I happened to be leaning over her, and my arm pinned down her hair by accident. Your mother got the wrong idea..."

Hearing him dare to bring up my mother, I raised my hand to slap him again.

Theodore’s face darkened, and he reached out to grab my arm.

But at that exact moment, a hand shot out from behind him and seized his wrist.

SLAP!

I landed another vicious slap across his face!