Too Blind To Love Me? Now Kneel Before My Empire

Alarms blared from the bedside monitors inside the intensive care unit.

Kneeling beside the hospital bed, Emilia Lloyd held her mother's hand in a tight grip. "Mom, please hang on a little longer. I'll call Dr. Sterling right away. He can save you."

Five years earlier, a small truck had struck her mother while she was trying to save Emilia's life, leaving her in a deep coma ever since.

It had taken an enormous amount of money to keep her mother alive.

To secure Richard Sterling as the doctor overseeing her mother's treatment, Emilia had spent all her savings and used every connection she had. She wanted him available if an emergency arose.

Yet when she reached the hospital just ten minutes ago, she learned that her husband, Andrew Murray, had sent Richard to attend to another patient.

Her hands shook as she called Andrew. Only after several attempts did he finally answer the phone.

"Andrew, my mother is dying. Please have Dr. Sterling come back to perform the operation. Please, I'm begging you."

Irritation filled Andrew's voice. "Madisyn sprained her ankle, and Dr. Sterling is looking after her. Will your mother really die from waiting a little longer?"

From the other end of the call came a woman's plaintive voice. "My ankle hurts terribly, Andrew. Please come and hold my hand..."

Emilia pressed her nails so deeply into her palm that she drew blood.

"There isn't another surgeon anywhere in this hospital who can perform the operation besides Dr. Sterling. Any further delay, and it'll be too late!"

"Your mother has been in that hospital bed for five years. Why would something suddenly happen to her now?" Andrew's voice grew cold. "Quit bothering me," he said, "or you'll have to find a way to cover her medical bills yourself this month."

Before Emilia had the chance to respond, he ended the call.

She tried calling again, only to find that his phone was switched off.

Beside the bed, she dropped to her knees and rested her forehead against the back of her mother's hand. Her tears kept falling onto the white sheets.

"Mom... I'm so sorry..."

Just then, the monitor let out a shrill, unbroken tone.

The line on the EKG monitor went completely flat.

Doctors hurried into the room and tried CPR and epinephrine, using every measure available to revive her mother.

In the end, the doctor in charge stopped and gave a gentle shake of his head.

"If Dr. Sterling had been here, she might still have had a small chance. But now... I'm sorry. You'll have to arrange for her funeral."

Emilia flung herself around her mother, holding her close as the warmth gradually faded from her body.

Now the one person who had mattered most to her was gone.

Meanwhile, her own husband had deprived her mother of a chance to survive, all so he could accompany another woman receiving treatment for a sprained ankle.

Emilia sobbed until her voice gave out. Even after her tears ran dry, she could do nothing but heave dryly.

A nurse came to urge her to complete the release paperwork. Her mother's body needed to be taken to the funeral home for cremation.

With the documents officially certifying her mother's death in hand, Emilia walked out of the hospital building. She felt utterly empty, hardly conscious of each step she took.

Someone stepped directly into her path.

There stood Madisyn Davies in extremely high heels, with immaculate makeup and a smile on her red lips.

"I already told Andrew there was nothing seriously wrong with my ankle, but he insisted that the hospital's best doctor treat me." She made a point of raising her foot and moving her ankle around. "That's just how he is. He always favors me."

Staring at Madisyn's high heels, Emilia bit her lip with all her strength.

"There's nothing wrong with your ankle at all!"

"Of course there's nothing wrong with it." Moving closer to Emilia, Madisyn lowered her voice. "I suggested to Andrew that Dr. Sterling should save your mother first. Guess what he told me? He said that my ankle was far more important than your mother's life."

Emilia felt her blood turn to ice.

She raised her hand and struck Madisyn hard across the face. As she went to slap her a second time, Madisyn grabbed her hand and sank her nails into its back.

"Ah!" Madisyn suddenly shrieked before toppling backward.

A strong, outstretched arm caught her firmly.

Holding Madisyn against him, Andrew glared at Emilia. "What did you push her for?"

"I never pushed her!"

Madisyn immediately leaned into Andrew's chest and spoke in a feeble voice. "Andrew, please don't blame Emilia for pushing me. She's probably in a bad mood right now."

Andrew's eyes flashed with anger. "Emilia, don't be so petty. I'll arrange for Dr. Sterling to give your mother a thorough examination. Are you satisfied now?"

Emilia began to laugh.

She kept laughing until tears streamed down her face.

"A thorough examination? She's already dead. What could there possibly be left to examine?"

Andrew stiffened. "What did you just say?"

"My mother is dead." Emilia intoned each word slowly and clearly. "She died while you were accompanying that woman as she had her ankle treated. Because you sent Dr. Sterling away, no one at the hospital could perform the surgery. That's why she died."

Emilia looked at the man she had loved for the past five years.

Over those five years, she had learned to cook for him, sacrificed sleep for him, and put up with his coldness and indifference.

Whenever his stomach troubled him, she would get up at three in the morning to prepare breakfast for him.

On nights when he suffered from insomnia, she remained awake beside him until morning.

If he was in a good mood, he would say a few affectionate things to her. Otherwise, he behaved as if she were invisible.

All Madisyn had to do was call, and Andrew would leave Emilia behind without a second thought.

Emilia had finally reached her limit with everything she had endured.

"Andrew." After wiping away her tears, Emilia spoke in a voice that was frighteningly calm. "Let's get a divorce."