Two kids were in the same car crash, and I only saved one. My husband condemned me for being cold. My mother-in-law went ballistic, demanding, "Why didn't you save your son?! Why didn't you save my grandson?!" Because I did it on purpose. 1. In the hospital, Ethan was still in surgery. Little Chloe clung to me, her small body trembling. "Auntie Amelia, is Ethan gonna be okay?" I glanced towards the operating room, my expression flickering. Ethan's legs were practically crushed. Even if he pulled through, he wouldn't keep them. I pulled out a wet wipe and gently cleaned the grime off Chloe's face, murmuring softly, "He'll be okay, sweetie. Don't worry." Then, I checked her scrapes again. Her arms and knees were scraped raw. They'd been cleaned up, but looking at them still made my heart ache. "How about you? Does it hurt bad?" Chloe shook her head, poking my arm lightly with her little hand, her eyes red-rimmed. "I'm okay, Auntie. You're hurt really bad. You should let the nurse bandage you up." I'd been so focused on the kids that I hadn't even registered my own injuries until she mentioned it. A big patch of skin was gone from my elbow, raw and bloody, looking nasty. It happened when I’d grabbed Chloe and rolled during the crash. Seeing the fear and worry in her eyes, I softened my voice even more. "Okay, Auntie will go get bandaged right now. Don't cry, Chloe. Later, Auntie will buy you some ice cream, how about that?" Chloe quickly shook her head, showing surprising maturity. "I want to wait for Ethan to wake up. We can buy it for him." Right. Her mind was completely fixated on Ethan now; she had no appetite for treats. I patted her head gently and didn't push it. After I got my arm bandaged, my mother-in-law, Carol, and my sister-in-law, Sarah, rushed into the hospital. They frantically asked about Ethan. When I told them the truth, Carol grabbed my arm, her voice cracking with desperation, "Why didn't you save your son?! Why didn't you save my grandson?!" I just stared back at her meltdown, expressionless, saying nothing. 2. "He's our family's only grandson! Do you want us to have no one to carry on the name?! Amelia Stern, if anything happens to my grandson, I'll never forgive you!" I finally spoke, my voice eerily calm. "It all happened so fast. I could only grab one of them." Sarah, Mark's sister, shoved me, her eyes blazing red. "Amelia, are you crazy?! Why is Ethan the one in there?!" I looked at her losing control and gave a cold smirk. "Who did you think it should be? Chloe? Could you stand it if she were in there? She's your daughter." "You!" Chloe squeezed between us, hugging Sarah's legs tightly, crying out, "Mommy, don't pull Auntie! Auntie's hurt! Auntie's hurt!" "Get off me!" Sarah kicked Chloe away. I reacted instantly, scooping her into my arms. The anger I'd been suppressing finally surfaced. I glared hard at Sarah, warning her, "Sarah, if you try that again, I won't be so nice!" Both Sarah and Carol froze, stunned. In all the time they'd known me, this was the first time I'd ever spoken to them with such harshness. Just then, a doctor walking by sternly told us to keep quiet. That finally shut them up. While waiting for the surgery to end, mother and daughter huddled together, looking utterly terrified and anxious. It was almost funny to watch. I glanced down at Chloe's downcast face, my heart clenching. I hugged her closer. "Chloe, are you hungry? How about Auntie takes you out to get something to eat?" Before Chloe could answer, Sarah shot me a venomous look. "Are you serious?! How can you even think about food right now?!" I swallowed my anger, my voice cold. "Ethan's surgery could take hours. Are we all supposed to starve while waiting? Besides, isn't Chloe your daughter? She's hurt and scared too. Are you only concerned about my son and have no thought for her?" Sarah was speechless, her face flushed red with anger. Chloe gently tugged my hand. "Auntie, I'm not hungry. Let's wait for Ethan to come out." Out of consideration for Chloe's feelings, I held back the harsher words I wanted to say. A little later, my husband, Mark, arrived. 3. "How is he? How's the kid?" he asked, out of breath. Carol seemed to find her anchor, collapsing into Mark's arms, sobbing, "Ethan's still in surgery... it looks really bad... I don't know if he's going to make it!" "And your wonderful wife here," she spat, glaring at me, "didn't even save her own son. Cold-blooded, that's what she is!" Mark turned to me, his expression dark with displeasure. "Amelia, what the hell happened?" Impatiently, I repeated myself again. "It happened too fast. I could only save one." "Then why didn't you save Ethan?!" "Why, why, why? Enough with the whys!" I looked at their faces with disgust. "All you care about is Ethan! Doesn't Chloe's life matter? If Chloe were the one lying in there, would you even care?!" Just then, the doors to the operating room opened. Ethan was wheeled out. He was no longer in immediate danger, but his head injury was significant, and both legs were gone. He would need to be monitored and treated in the ICU. Hearing this, the Davis family completely fell apart. Carol and Sarah buried their faces in their hands, sobbing uncontrollably. Even Mark's eyes turned red. While their attention was entirely focused on Ethan, I gently patted Chloe, who was crying silently. "Don't cry, sweetie. Ethan's going to be okay. Let me take you to get something to eat, alright?" She shook her head, wiping her tears. I tried a different approach. "Okay, then... how about Chloe keeps Auntie company while I eat? Auntie is really, really hungry." Chloe glanced at her family, bit her lip, and nodded. I took Chloe to Pizza Hut and ordered a bunch of her favorite things. But the poor kid had no appetite, her little face clouded with worry. I wanted to comfort her, but I didn't know where to start. From her perspective, seeing Ethan hurt so badly must have been devastating. "Auntie, why didn't you save Ethan?" Chloe's sudden question startled me. I paused, then gave a wry smile. "Didn't Auntie tell you? I could only save one person." "But... Ethan's your real kid..." The little girl looked confused, and there was a hint of guilt in her eyes, as if she felt she'd stolen the health that rightfully belonged to Ethan. I dropped the smile, my expression becoming serious. "Then tell Auntie this: if I had saved Ethan and not you, would you be sad?" 4. Chloe thought for a moment. "If I lost my legs, I'd be really, really sad. But... if you hadn't saved me, I wouldn't be sad at you. Ethan's your real son. You were supposed to save him first." She was so young, yet her maturity was heartbreaking. Compared to Ethan, who was basically the same age – maybe born a few minutes earlier – but acted like a little terror. Before, I'd just thought Chloe was exceptionally well-behaved. I never considered what kind of environment must have shaped her into being so quiet and compliant. "Chloe, in Auntie's heart, you are very, very important. Maybe even more important than Ethan." The little girl looked up, surprised and confused. "Why?" "Because Ethan has so many people who love him. He doesn't need one more from me." Chloe paused, then looked down sadly, poking at her food. "Yeah... Mommy and Grandma Carol... they love Ethan a lot..." "So, you see, since so many people love Ethan for me, I should love Chloe more, right? Now, does Chloe want to show Auntie how much she appreciates that love?" Chloe nodded vigorously. "Yes!" "Then you need to eat your food, okay? No being sad. Don't make Auntie worry, alright?" "Okay!" Whatever it took, at least the little girl started eating properly. Whenever she used to visit my house, she’d always eye Ethan’s snacks and toys with envy. When I took them both out, she’d watch Ethan ordering whatever he wanted, buying things impulsively, while she never asked for anything herself. She loved Pizza Hut. Every time I brought her here, her eyes would light up with undisguised joy. Back then, I could never understand it. Okay, Carol favored boys, that was obvious. But Sarah was Chloe's mother. Why was she so harsh with her own daughter? For a long time, I assumed it was because Sarah was a single mom, projecting her anger towards Chloe's father onto Chloe herself. That's why she couldn't love her properly. The Davis family was busy fussing over Ethan. I took Chloe home first to rest. She was exhausted, physically and emotionally. After eating, she quickly drifted off to sleep. Once Chloe was settled, I walked around the house, finally stopping by the window. My hands trembled as I lit a cigarette. It was residual fear, mixed with the overwhelming relief of surviving something… again. Who would believe that I'd already lived through this accident once before? The only difference was, last time, I saved Ethan.
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