My smart girl 3. Rewriting our stars

After feeding me lunch as promised — practically forcing me to eat twice my usual portion to “raise my glucose levels,” as he put it — Jay drove me home and then left for his shift. He ordered me to call him anytime if I started feeling bad again. I assured him I was already feeling better. He kissed me until my whole body trembled with sweet shivers, and only then did my personal doctor finally drive away. That evening we talked on the phone for a long time. Jay’s voice kept slipping with worry for me, but I repeatedly assured him that I was perfectly fine. Eventually he calmed down and stopped trying to convince me to go to the hospital for a check-up. *** But as it turned out, I celebrated too soon. The very next day… I lost consciousness right in the middle of class. When I came to, I was already in the medical room, and the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the frowning, extremely worried face of my boyfriend. How did he even get here…? I groaned and tried to sit up, but only managed it on the second try. Jay immediately pulled me into his arms, holding me tightly, and whispered into my hair: “Bambi, God… you scared me so much…” “Jay… Why are you here? And… what happened to me?” I whispered, unconsciously clutching his strong arms. I still felt slightly dizzy with a ringing in my ears. He sighed heavily and stroked my back, murmuring: “Lina called Tae and said you fainted right in the auditorium. He’s on duty right now, so I came to rescue you instead, my favorite little disaster.” I let out a dejected sigh, remembering that right before I blacked out, my chest had started hurting badly again. I looked up at Jay with guilty eyes, biting my lip. I felt extremely awkward that he had to drop everything and rush here to “rescue” me. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—” I began, but he gently pressed a finger to my lips and whispered tenderly: “Shh… Don’t apologize, silly. I know no one faints on purpose. Just tell me what happened this time? Did you skip breakfast again or get too nervous?” I shook my head. “I have no idea. I was feeling perfectly fine, but then my chest started stinging really badly, and after that… everything went dark.” Hearing this, Jay frowned even deeper. He leaned down, easily lifted me into his arms from the couch I was lying on, and ordered: “Hold on to me,” then confidently headed for the exit, ignoring the surprised and curious glances of the students passing by. “Where are you taking me?” I exhaled nervously once we were outside. Jay settled me in the car, got into the driver’s seat, started the engine, and only then answered: “We’re going to the hospital, Bambi. And it’s not up for discussion.” “Jay…” I whined, “I don’t want to go to the hospital… Please, don’t… I’m already feeling better, I swear…” “Rosé…” He sighed heavily and turned to me. Leaning in, he cupped my face with his warm palms and gently stroked my cheeks. I closed my eyes and fell silent, feeling my whole body involuntarily relax from his familiar, tender touch. Jay always had this effect on me — next to him, I felt an incredible sense of peace. “Don’t take me there,” I whispered, covering his hands with mine, but this time he remained firm. “We need to find out what’s wrong with you,” he said quietly but insistently. I realized I wasn’t going to get out of this. Still, I bit my lip and looked at him pleadingly, hoping he would change his mind. But not even my best “Puss in Boots from Shrek” eyes worked on Doctor Jay this time. My hopes were shattered when he said softly, yet extremely seriously, never taking his tense, worried gaze off me: “I’ve been turning a blind eye to your deteriorating health for a long time, but what happened today is completely unacceptable. This is very serious, Bambi. Don’t you understand? What if you had fainted in the middle of the street?” “But I…” I tried to argue again, but he shook his head and gently ordered: “Quiet, my love. This isn’t working. We need to do something about it, and the most important thing right now is to find out what’s wrong with you. So I’m not letting you go home. I’ll hold your hand and walk you through every office myself if I have to, until you’ve completed all the necessary examinations. Understood?” I sighed so heavily it sounded like he was taking me to my own execution. But my Romeo pulled me closer, softly kissed my lips, and whispered with a smile: “Don’t sigh like that, honey… And don’t be afraid of anything. You won’t have to go through this alone. I’ll be right beside you the whole time.” *** Jay brought me to the clinic where he and Tae were doing their internship. He wanted to carry me inside again, but I stubbornly shook my head, telling him that was too much. I assured him I wasn’t a helpless invalid and could walk perfectly well on my own. He chuckled softly but, fortunately, didn’t argue. He simply wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me to the entrance. *** I had never liked hospitals. They only reminded me of the nauseating smell of disinfectants, unpleasant procedures, and sharp needles — which I hated even more. But Jay was completely in his element here, like a fish in water. And I have to admit — it was worth ending up in a hospital at least once just to see him in a white coat. When he walked into the office where he had left me under Tae’s care (who had been pacing nervously the entire time), I didn’t even recognize him at first. Tae was almost more nervous than I was, asking every two minutes how I was feeling, and I reassured him every two minutes that I was fine. But the moment Jay appeared in the doorway, I fell silent mid-sentence, staring at him with wide eyes. He had always been associated in my mind with the colors black and silver, but… I never thought white would look so perfect on him. Noticing my stunned and admiring gaze, my personal doctor walked over, stroked my cheek, and said with a smile: “What’s wrong, Bambi? Why are you frozen like that?” “I… I just… Why have you never worn a white coat in front of me before?” I asked in an awed half-whisper. “You never asked,” he replied cheerfully with a shrug. Then he leaned closer, lowered his voice so only I could hear, and whispered: “So, baby… do you like what you see?” I could only nod, completely enchanted, staring at him. The cheeky brunette raised a dark eyebrow and purred almost against my lips: “Then… we could play another game sometime…” “What kind?” “A role-playing one,” he smirked teasingly. I flushed bright red, pushed the troublemaker away, and muttered in embarrassment: “Oh my God… you’re impossible… we’re not alone…” Jay laughed quietly. “I know, sweetheart. So all games will have to wait until we’re alone. Right now, it’s time for your MRI. Everything’s ready. Shall we?” He held out his open palm, and I placed my fingers in his without hesitation. Still, I quietly exhaled: “Um… will it hurt?” Jay shook his head and squeezed my ice-cold hand tighter. With a gentle smile, he whispered: “Of course not, baby. Would I ever let anything hurt you?” **Jay’s POV** I tried to act carefree and casual, as if nothing was wrong, but deep inside, anxiety was eating me alive. In truth, Rosé’s health had been worrying me for a long time. I suspected that not everything was as fine as she kept assuring me, but she stubbornly refused all my suggestions to get examined. And, just as I feared, it had been in vain. What happened today genuinely scared me. With horror, I realized I already knew what her diagnosis was going to be… and soon, all my worst fears were confirmed. When Tae called, I was at home getting ready to go to the clinic. My heart stopped, then dropped straight to my feet when I heard: “Jay, Rosé felt bad right in the middle of class! I’m on duty and can’t leave. Can you pick her up and bring her to the hospital?” Of course I could. I would drop everything in the world if my girl’s life was in danger — and right now, it clearly was. *** I reached her university in a record twenty minutes, which still felt like an eternity. I literally burst inside, called Lina on the way to find out where the medical room was, and when I flung the door open and saw Rosé lying on the couch with her eyes closed, I felt like my heart nearly stopped from the sheer terror I felt for her. She looked so fragile, small, and pale that I felt sick myself. My chest tightened with a terrible premonition. “Young man, who are you and what are you doing here? No outsiders allowed. Leave immediately!” the elderly nurse tried to protest, blocking my path. But I paid her no attention — all my focus was on Rosé. I only threw over my shoulder: “I’m her boyfriend. What happened to her?” Hearing that, the woman calmed down a little and shook her head regretfully. “The poor girl fainted right during the lecture. Most likely she’s just overtired. These study schedules are way too intense — I’ve been saying that for a long time…” But deep down, I already knew it wasn’t that simple. It wasn’t just ordinary exhaustion. And soon I received confirmation. *** Rosé was lying on the MRI table while Tae and I sat behind the monitors, watching closely. The little one was extremely nervous as we walked through the clinic corridors, repeatedly saying how much she hated hospitals. I just kept gently stroking her cold fingers in my palm and assured her that an MRI was nothing scary and completely painless, and that I would stay right beside her the whole time. At first, everything looked fine — no pathologies anywhere. But then an image of her heart appeared on the monitor, and I… stopped breathing. “What the hell is this?!” Tae exhaled in shock. “Jay, do you see this…?” I saw it. And I desperately wished I never had. Tae’s words, spoken in the silence of the room like a final verdict, changed our lives forever: “God… She has a heart defect.”