Sentenced to Marriage by MadlainQ

Saving him | stared desperately at the surface of the water, swallowing my tears. | kept glancing at Chris; he was composed at first but becmore restless by the second. He held his hand on my shoulder as if he was saying that Aren would be all right, but he couldn't know that. It was unimaginably dark under the surface of the water, and the currents were unpredictable. Down there, Max wasn’t Aren’s only opponent; he needed to fight the forces of nature as well.

“Aren..."” | wept quietly, my hot and salty tears falling down to the bay waters. Chris cleared his throat. “He’ll be all right. He is an excellent swimmer.” He didn’t sound convinced at all. | guess he wanted to reassure himself just as much as he wished to bringcomfort.

A few minutes passed, Jack joined us, and finally, Chris admitted that it was tto call for a rescue mission. | sat in the splace, numbly watching the divers go under the water while the lifeguards swam in boats, flashing lights at every corner. “This cannot be happening,” | muttered, petrified by the thought that I could suddenly hear that someone had found Aren’s body.

It was a nightmare. | still felt his touch on my skin, the warmth of his body against mine. He couldn’t have died.

| stood up, driven by swild, unexplainable force, and shouted, “This is unacceptable! You cannot die! | won't allow you to die! Do you hear me?!” My voice cracked at the last note as | stumbled, exhausted by my cry.

Jack rushed to grabby my shoulders before | fell. | hated being so weak. | hated the fact that | was so useless, but most of all, | hated the fact that he wasn’t there with me. “I haven't even told him...” | mumbled breathlessly.

“You will tell him everything once we get him back,” Jack said, rubbing my cold, stiff arms.” Besides, I'm sure that whatever you wish to tell him, he already knows.” ; | shook my head. “No... I've never told him the way | feel about him...” | murmured, my voice barely audible.

Jack didn’t say a word, and | couldn't tell if he heard what | said or not, but | didn’t care. | only knew that | would have shouted from the rooftops that I loved him if | had cback to me.

“We found him!” The lifeguard’s voice almost made my heart stop. | was so terrified, wondering if he was alive or not, that all sounds got stuck in my throat. “How is he?” Jack asked instead of me, his grip on my arms tightening protectively as he most likely thought that | might collapse after hearing the news. “Something hit his head and he is badly bleeding, but he is alive.” The lifeguards’ boat ccloser, and | could see Aren lying there with an oxygen mask on his face, his eyes closed. He was pale, probably from blood loss and exhaustion. My heart ached as | watched the lifeguards bring him in his state closer to the shore. “We found him with his hands wrapped around the bridge pillar. He was nearly unconscious, and | cannot explain where he found the strength to hold on until we got there.” Jack chuckled. “His strength? You are looking at her,” he said to the lifeguards, pointing at me.

| cried and laughed at the stime. | was amazingly relieved that Aren was alive, but his condition could have turned unstable. The paramedics had been already waiting to transport him to his private clinic. | was supposed to go with Aren in the ambulance while Jack and Chris had to stay to take care of all the legal issues and testimonies. “What about that other guy? Asian, black, very short hair, not too tall?” Chris asked when another group of guards cback. They shook their heads, and one of them stepped forward. “The guy is most likely dead. The currents could have taken his body, and we’ll most likely never find him.” Chris nodded in acknowledgment before glancing at me. In his eyes, | could see the skind of anxiety that | felt, and | was certain that Max had survived and that one day we would meet him again... | got inside the ambulance and sat by Aren, holding his hand. The paramedics said that his condition was stable, although he remained unconscious from the moment he landed on the boat. The wound on his head had been treated, but it wasn't clear whether the injury had caused more than superficial damage.

| kept staring at his face, inwardly telling him to open his eyes and look at me, but he didn’t. | stayed silent the entire way. | must have looked pitiful since the paramedics who sat there withfelt the need to comfortand kept tellingthat my husband was going to get better. | responded with brief nods and nervous smiles, but it didn’t lessen my anxiety.

When we got to the clinic, Miranda was there waiting for the ambulance to come. She didn’t choose to treat Aren herself. She admitted that she wasn’t composed enough to keep her mind clear and let her colleague, Doctor Park Sol, make decisions on Aren’s treatment.

“Don’t worry,” she said, squeezing my hand as she ledto the clinic's ER waiting room,” Doctor Park is an excellent specialist. He will take care of Aren better than | would at this moment...” | didn’t blher for stepping down. She must have been nearly as panicked as | was about this whole situation.

Miranda waited for the news with me. She also kept saying that Aren was strong and that he would be all right, but | recognized that tone from before and found her words even less reassuring.

“You don’t have to do that,” | told her with a weak smile. “Don’t say that he will be all right just to makefeel better. | strongly believe that he is going to wake up soon and that there would be nothing wrong with him, but every t| hear someone comforting me, | becmore anxious than composed.” “I'm sorry... | didn’t mean to...” “It’s OK,” | sighed and patted her shoulder. “I know you are worried too, and you meant well.” She smiled atand gavea hug. Afterward, we waited in silence until Doctor Park had finally left the room where Aren had been treated. He looked like he was around his thirties; he had dark brown hair and dark eyes, which held a sharp gaze, ennobled by black, thin-rimmed glasses. He pulled the glasses up on his nose as he walked toward us, looking at us composedly.

“Mr. Lan’s condition is stable, although he fell into a coma. He had a concussion, and that’s what currently prevents him from waking up. We took care of the internal bleeding. He also had two broken ribs, several bruises, and cuts, but nothing life-threatening. | guess it’s just a matter of tnow until he regains his consciousness,” he explained calmly.

“How long is it going to take?” | asked, holding my breath. An uncomfortable grimace formed on Doctor Park's face. “It’s hard to tell... A day, maybe a few days, or weeks.” “W-weeks?” | breathed out, feeling that my head had started to spin. “I apologize that | cannot be more specific,” he said before bowing and walking away. My reality froze at that moment, and every following hour felt the same. The uncertainty and the waiting drained my life force with every second that Aren was unconscious. Miranda tookto his room, where he lay, plugged into all sorts of monitoring equipment. His face was pale and lifeless. His state remindedof my Grandmother's; the only difference was that my Granny was well diagnosed and | knew what should happen for her to wake up, and her procedure had already been scheduled for three months from now. With Aren’s condition, everything remained unknown and unpredictable. | sat by his bed, held his hand, and stroked his cheeks. His body lacked the warmth | used to treasure so deeply. | couldn’t stand it.

“Miranda... is there anything else we can do?” | asked with a barely audible voice. She sighed and placed her hand on my shoulder. “We treated Aren the best way we could. With his condition, he could only receive more specialized treatment at a neurological clinic.” My eyes widened as | looked at her. “You mean... like Crawford's Neurological Clinic?” “Yes. If you want to transfer Aren there, then | will support your decision,” she said. My face turned into a big question mark. “What do you mean by saying if | want to transfer him? She gavea warm smile and stroked my hair. “Cora, honey, haven't you figured this out already? You are Aren’s legal wife and the only family he has on his medical card. Every procedure and every kind of advanced treatment would require your signature.” My lips curved into a sad smile. “It might sound stupid, but | had no idea that he made this kind of decision...” Miranda smirked, “Well, his life is literally in your hands. So what do you want to do, Cora?” | took a deep breath before announcing confidently, “Make the arrangements to transfer Aren to Crawford's Neurological Clinic.”