He Never Loved Me Until the Day I Finally Left Him novel Chapter 404

The suffocating sense of dread from before was now spiraling violently out of control.

Helena took a deep breath, forcing herself to maintain composure.

She resumed her walk toward the NICU.

But before she even reached the doors, the tension in the air hit her like a physical blow.

The usually quiet entrance to the NICU was in a state of absolute chaos.

Every medical professional's face was etched with grim urgency.

All the color drained from Helena's face; her first agonizing thought was of Hope.

Hope was the only baby currently admitted to the NICU.

It was a highly restricted floor; no other children would be brought here.

Before Helena could even fully process the scene.

She saw Hope's tiny incubator being rushed frantically toward The Emergency Operating Room.

Without a second thought, Helena sprinted after them.

"Mrs. Hayes, you can't go in there," a nurse intercepted her.

Helena grabbed the nurse's arm, her words spilling out in a frantic rush. "What's wrong with my daughter? Why is she suddenly in emergency resus?"

The nurse didn't sugarcoat it. "The baby's condition deteriorated rapidly and without warning. Immediate surgery is our only option now. It's the only way."

Helena froze in sheer horror.

The operating room doors had already swung shut.

The surgical sign flashed a blinding red.

It took a long time for Helena to snap out of her shock.

She had been here every single day for the past three days.

While Hope's condition wasn't perfect, it certainly wasn't critical.

She had been stable.

The doctors were merely deliberating the optimal time for surgery.

But once the date was set, they kept pushing it back.

That alone had filled her with crippling anxiety.

That single sentence made Helena's blood run cold.

"What exactly is wrong with her?" Helena demanded, her voice shaking.

"The baby's health had already been deteriorating significantly. We managed to artificially stabilize her with a heavy regimen of medication, which gave the illusion of improvement. Naturally, we wanted to maximize the chances of a successful surgery. The entire team was being exceptionally cautious, hoping to wait out a stable window of three to five days. That would have been ideal. But medically speaking, we all knew it was a long shot."

"..."

"Today's crash wasn't entirely unexpected; it was within our calculated risks. Under these circumstances, whether we operate or not, the ultimate outcome is tragically similar."

Dr. Xiao delivered the unvarnished truth directly to Helena.

Proceeding with the surgery offered a microscopic sliver of hope.

But the success rate was abysmally low, and she would face an incredibly perilous postoperative critical period.

Forgoing the surgery meant artificially prolonging her life, exhausting every medical resource just to buy her perhaps another week or two of agonizing existence.

For the infant, it would be sheer, unadulterated torture.

Ultimately, the destination remained the same.

The only person incapable of accepting that reality was Helena.