FreeNovel
Chapter 2000
Keegan's Adam's apple bobbed as he approached Stella. He reached down to take her phone away
gently, "Stop looking at this. Let's go home."
Stella looked up at him, her eyes red and swollen. She pleaded, " Give it to me."
He pursed his lips before saying, "Let's go home first."
Her voice was hoarse with emotion, she said, "Give it to me."
Instead of handing over the phone, Keegan pocketed it. As Stella stood up to retrieve it, he enveloped
her in his arms, his voice soft yet firm, "Don't look anymore. Whatever you want to know, I'll tell you."
Stella clung to his shirt, the image of his bloody figure in a hospital bed haunting her. "How much did
you suffer?" she asked, her voice breaking. She trembled in his embrace, tears streaming down her
cheeks, "You're even scared of injections, yet you had to endure thirteen stitches without anesthesia.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtDidn't it hurt?"
The videos on Jaylene's phone had shaken Stella deeply as they revealed Keegan's vulnerability and
pain. She had documented those moments not out of concern but for her own gain. The videos also
clearly recorded his injuries.
When he was rescued, he was already delirious. The prolonged exposure to cold water had caused a
severe upper respiratory infection. The doctors were worried that anesthesia might aggravate his
airway reactions, which could lead to spasms. So, they decided not to use any.
At that time, Keegan was so out of it that he did not remember whether it had hurt. After the surgery,
they put him on a pain pump, which they instructed Jaylene to press when he was in pain. If not, they
told her only to use it sparingly. He did cry out, but not from pain; he kept calling Stella's name. Jaylene,
who hated that he was calling for Stella, kept pressing the pump. So, for more than a week after the
surgery, he was almost never lucid.
When Stella pressed for the truth, Keegan reassured her, "It didn't hurt, and I'm not afraid of injections."
But Stella, inconsolable, did not believe him. She said, "I've seen you with injections. You were
terrified!! How could you bear it without anesthesia?"
Keegan was silent for a moment and then patiently explained to the frightened Stella, "I'm not afraid of
injections, and it really didn't hurt."
But Stella was convinced he was lying so she would not be worried. No matter how he explained, she
did not believe him. She kept on asking if it had hurt.
Keegan sighed, realizing her distress, "It hurt a lot. And now, standing here, the pain is returning. Let’s
go home and talk. My wound hurts."
Once momentarily taken aback, Stella pushed him away, "The scab has fallen off, and your wound still
hurts? Are you playing with me?
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmIt
Keegan was left wondering, 'Where did her compassion go? Is her empathy fleeting?'
Taking her phone back, Stella suggested they continue the conversation at home, "I also want to hear
about how my husband, who supposedly lost his memory, suddenly regained it."
Keegan stayed silent. He thought, 'Wasn't she just feeling sorry for me a minute ago? why is she
bringing up past issues now? Do pregnant women's moods really flip this fast?'
Stella returned home alongside Keegan with a heavy heart. As soon as they arrived, before she could
speak, Keegan said, "Stella, let me take a shower first. I feel a bit cold."
Stella, biting back her words, replied softly, "Hurry up, then."
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