Pregnant and Bleeding, My Husband Pickle His Ex Chapter 06
The mayor finished shaking Colton’s hand and turned to face the crowd.
Tom Whitmore. Colton’s uncle. Fifty–eight years old with a bald head and a politician’s smile.
“Thank you all for coming tonight,” he said into the microphone. “We’re here to honor those who served our community during the December storm.”
Applause. Polite. Scattered.
I sat in my seat and watched. Betty’s hand found mine and squeezed.
“First, I’d like to recognize Nurse Betty Kowalski.” The mayor gestured to Betty. “Thirty years of service. A pillar of our medical community.”
More applause. Louder this time. Betty stood up. Gave a little wave. Sat back down.
“Next, Dr. Quinn Ashford. Who traveled from Denver to assist during our crisis.”
Quinn stood awkwardly. Nodded. Sat down fast.
The applause was warm. Genuine.
“And finally.” The mayor’s voice got louder. Prouder.
“Dr. Colton Whitmore. Our own son of Millbrook. Who saved two lives during the storm.”
The applause was mixed. Some people clapped hard.
Others didn’t clap at all.
Two lives.
My hands clenched in my lap.
He saved Sienna.
But the person who saved me was Quinn. Was Betty. Was forty–two people who donated blood.
Not him.
Colton stepped up to the microphone. His white coat was crisp. His smile was perfect.
“Thank you, Mayor Whitmore. Thank you all.” He looked out at the crowd. “That night was one of the
hardest of my career. Two patients. Both critical. Both needing immediate care.”
He paused. Like he was remembering something difficult.
“I had to make a choice. A medical choice. Based on training. Based on assessment. Based on who had the best chance of survival with immediate intervention.”
Some people nodded. Buying it.
“I’m grateful both patients survived. Grateful for the team that worked tirelessly. Grateful to serve this community,”
More applause. Not as much as before.
He was good at this. At sounding reasonable. At making it seem like he’d done the right thing.
The mayor stepped back to the microphone. “Now, we’d like to hear from one of the patients. Maren Castellano. Who experienced firsthand the dedication of our medical professionals.”
He looked right at me.
“Maren? Would you like to say a few words?”
The room went quiet.
Every eye turned to me.
I stood up.
My legs felt weak. My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it.
But I walked. One step. Then another.
Down the aisle. Up the steps. To the microphone.
Colton was still on stage. His smile faltered when he saw me coming. Just for a second.
Then it came back. Confident. In control, I reached the microphone. Looked out at the crowd.
So many faces. People I’d known my whole life.
Mrs. Henderson in the third row. Jake near the back.
Sarah by the door.
Quinn in the corner. Looking at me. Steady.
I took a breath.
“Thank you,” I said. My voice sounded strange over the speakers. Too loud. “I appreciate the chance to speak.”
The room was so quiet I could hear people breathing.
“Mayor Whitmore is right. Dr. Whitmore made a choice that night.” I looked at Colton. “He chose to help Sienna Hartley first. Not me. His wife.”
Murmurs. Shifting in seats.
“He told Nurse Betty that I could handle it. That I was an athlete. That my body was stronger.”
The murmurs got louder.
“Then I started bleeding. Hemorrhaging. My placenta had separated from my uterus.”
I kept my voice steady. Factual.
“Nurse Betty called Dr. Whitmore. Told him I was dying. He said he’d be there in twenty minutes.” I paused. “He was at the pharmacy. Buying supplies for Sienna,”
The room erupted. Voices, Gasps.
“That’s when Dr. Ashford took over. That’s when forty–two people from this town donated blood to save my life.”
I looked at Quinn. He was still watching me. Still steady.
“I’m not here to attack Dr. Whitmore. I’m here to tell the truth.” My voice wavered. I steadied it. “The hero that night wasn’t the doctor who left his wife bleeding in a hallway.
The heroes were the people who showed up. Who donated blood. Who stayed.”
More murmurs. Some applause starting.
“I just think,” I said, looking back at the mayor, “that when we talk about heroes, we should talk about the right people.”
I stepped back from the microphone.
The applause started. Scattered at first. Then building.
Then Mrs. Henderson stood up.
“I have evidence!” she shouted. “Five hundred and thirty–seven comments on the town Facebook group. All talking about what happened. I printed them all out!”
She held up her folder, Shook it.
The mayor looked panicked. “Mrs. Henderson, this isn’t-”
“The whole town knows!” she continued. “Everyone saw it! Everyone heard it!”
Then Betty stood.
“I was there,” she said. Her voice carried without a microphone. “I called Dr. Whitmore. I told him his wife was bleeding out. He said, and I quote, ‘I’m at the pharmacy. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.“”
She looked at Colton.
“Twenty minutes. While his wife was dying.”
The room exploded. Everyone talking at once.
Jake stood up. “I’m just a guy who runs a gas station,” he said loudly. “But I know this. Maren saved my dog’s life. Stayed up all night with him. Didn’t charge me extra.”
He pointed at Colton.
“Her husband couldn’t even come see her. Couldn’t even check on her. He was too busy with someone else.”
“Please!” The mayor was waving his hands. “Let’s keep this civil-”
But people were standing now. Calling out.
“My wife won’t let Colton deliver our baby!”
“I’m switching to a doctor in Jackson!”
“How could he do that to his own wife?”
Colton stepped to the microphone. His face was red.
“This is being taken out of context,” he said. “I made a medical judgment—”
“You made a selfish choice!” someone yelled.
“Sienna had a documented heart condition-”
“And your wife was hemorrhaging!” Betty shouted back.
“I couldn’t let my personal feelings-”
“You didn’t have any personal feelings!” Mrs. Henderson was standing on her chair now. “That’s the problem!”
The mayor banged his gavel. “Order! Please! We need order!”
But no one was listening.
Colton tried again. “I’m a doctor. I took an oath-”
“You took vows!” someone yelled. “To your wife!”
He looked around. At all the angry faces. At people he’d known his whole life.
He looked at me.
I looked back.
Didn’t say anything. Didn’t have to.
The mayor banged his gavel again. “This meeting is adjourned! We’ll reconvene when everyone has calmed down!”
But no one was leaving. People were crowding around the stage now. Yelling questions. Making accusations.
Betty grabbed my arm. “Let’s get you out of here.”
We pushed through the crowd. People were patting my back. Squeezing my hand.
“You did the right thing, Maren.”
“We’re with you.”
“About time someone told the truth.”
Quinn appeared beside us. Creating space with his body. Not saying anything. Just being there.
We made it to the doors. Pushed through into the cold night air.
I took a breath. The air felt good. Clean.
People were still coming out behind us. Talking. Arguing. The parking lot was filling up with voices.
Then I saw her.
Sienna.
She was standing by a car near the edge of the lot. Away from everyone else. Her blonde hair caught the streetlight. She was holding a baby carrier.
She wasn’t moving. Just standing there.
Staring at the town hall doors.
At the chaos spilling out.
Then she looked at me.
Our eyes met across the parking lot.
She didn’t look angry.
She looked scared.
Betty was saying something. Quinn was beside me. But their voices faded.
All I could see was her.
The woman my husband had chosen over me.
She didn’t move. Neither did I.
We just stood there.
Looking at each other.