The Gunshot
In the Commander's office, the papers in his hands rustled as he crushed them tightly. For a moment, silence filled the room. Heiner set the documents down and asked in a clipped voice.
“……How is she?”
“She has no consciousness, but her condition is not critical, sir. She and……”
“I’m going right now. I’ll hear it with my own ears.”
Heiner spoke without probing further into the details of the incident, his tone decisive. The subordinate officers standing in front, who had been reporting, stared at him with faces full of astonishment.
“Where’s the hospital?”
“Luther Hospital in Lonchester, sir.”
Heiner hung up the phone and pressed the call button on the intercom.
“Prepare the car downstairs.”
He rose from his chair and draped his overcoat over his shoulders. The subordinates exchanged glances at the completely composed face of their superior.
“I’ll hear the full report later.”
“Yes, sir!”
In a crisp salute, the subordinates stood at attention, hands raised. Heiner ignored it completely and strode out of the office, his steps heavy.
With every step, the floor beneath his feet felt unstable. He clenched his hands until his knuckles whitened, the faint tremor running through them. All sounds in his ears rang like terrifying noise.
Heiner ran down the stairs without waiting for the elevator. The moment he climbed into the waiting car, he spoke.
“Luther Hospital. As fast as possible.”
Throughout the drive to the hospital, Heiner could not hide the tension in his expression. He rummaged through his pocket, pulled out a cigar, and put it between his lips. He did not light it.
He tilted his head back, cigar clamped between his teeth. His fingertips drummed rhythmically against his thigh. She was not in critical condition. Yet she had no consciousness.
Questions like who, when, where, why—they simply did not arise in that moment.
Just…… nothing coherent rose in his mind. Only the bare reports from the wire services drifted endlessly through his thoughts.
Heiner swept his tired eyes downward. The nape of his neck felt cold; he touched it unconsciously, but found nothing.
The car soon arrived in front of the hospital. He tossed the unlit cigar roughly into the ashtray, stood up, and walked quickly inside, stopping at the desk.
“Annette Waldemar. A gunshot wound patient.”
“……Ah, yes! Yes, yes. A-4 room…… Walter, sir! I’ll show you the way.”
A hurried staff member emerged from inside and personally led him to the room. Heiner followed with his lips pressed tight.
The moment heiner stepped into the private room, the doctor followed right behind. It was clear he had rushed here after receiving the urgent report; beads of sweat dotted his forehead.
“Doctor Janus, eh, Schultz. It is an honor to meet you, sir.”
Heiner paid the doctor no attention at all, instead staring intently at Annette, who lay pale and still. His gaze probed her with ruthless intensity. He did not realize that his own face had become completely distorted.
“How is her condition?”
“She was transported quickly, and the gunshot wound was not deep. We stabilized her safely. The injury will heal quickly……”
The doctor stretched his words, hesitating. However, Heiner’s entire focus was on Annette, and he failed to notice the doctor’s unease.
“However, sir, I don’t know if you’re aware, but…… my lady……”
“……”
“My lady was pregnant.”
“……”
“It was still very early, unfortunately, and due to this incident, she has miscarried…… The injuries will heal quickly, but there may be aftereffects of the miscarriage……”
“……What?”
Heiner asked belatedly, his head turning with a sharp creak.
“What did you just say?”
“Ah, I mean, my lady has miscarried……”
“She was pregnant?”
“Yes, yes. Around eleven weeks. When she arrived, she was bleeding, and that was the cause of her loss of consciousness.”
Heiner stood frozen, saying nothing. The doctor added hesitantly.
“I’m sorry to say this, sir, but in my professional opinion…… due to this incident, my lady may find it difficult to conceive in the future.”
“……”
“My lady’s constitution was already weak to begin with, so even if she had given birth as is, it would have been difficult to conceive again.”
Heiner listened to the words without even drawing a proper breath. The doctor’s every utterance felt like a nightmare.
Pregnant…… pregnant?
Miscarriage?
Two words collided chaotically. Heiner turned his head again, his gray eyes unsteady as he looked down at Annette.
In the past, she had desperately wanted to have a child. Even after the doctors had informed her that conceiving would be difficult, she had refused to give up.
After they married, they had spent many nights together for a year, and even after the revolution, Annette had continued to demand intimacy.
Perhaps there had been a hope of pregnancy in those moments. A vain fantasy that a child would bring them back to how things had been before.
Yet despite all her efforts, in the four years since, she had never conceived even once.
Naturally, the question of a child no longer surfaced. Heiner had vaguely assumed she was infertile.
But she had been pregnant. Annette.
“Eleven weeks……?”
At that time, it would have been the last or the one before last. Before the conversation about divorce, Annette had never come to his room.
Coincidentally.
Someone had played a dirty trick—as if to spite him. There was no other way to explain it.
Heiner examined the chain of events with a sharp mind, one by one.
Coincidentally she was pregnant, at exactly that time, with exactly this happening, she miscarried, her body was already in poor condition, and in the future she would never conceive again…….
The thoughts crumpled like paper. They did not make sense, nor were they logical. Heiner touched his lips with a trembling hand.
“……First…… I understand.”
“Yes, sir. My lady will regain consciousness soon. The matter inside the uterus will be naturally expelled.”
“Expelled…….”
The word felt dry and devoid of any life, deeply irritating. Heiner could not understand why.
“However, if the bleeding does not stop or her condition does not improve, surgery may be necessary to scrape out the remaining matter.”
Heiner tried to absorb every word the doctor said, but he could not be sure he was truly listening. After hearing about possible aftereffects of a miscarriage, he finally managed to speak.
“The details of the miscarriage must not leak to the outside.”
“Of course, sir. If there is anything else you need to know or inquire about, please let me know.”
“……My wife has always suffered from insomnia, and it seems to have worsened recently. Could this be related to the pregnancy?”
“It varies by individual, but early pregnancy can cause various symptoms. If she had insomnia beforehand, it may have worsened.”
Heiner could not remember exactly when Annette’s insomnia had started to worsen. He had deliberately avoided paying attention.
He clenched his fist, then opened it, and asked in a low voice.
“Is it all right to continue taking the existing medication?”
“As long as it is something you were taking without issue before, it should be fine.”
“Could you check? If there is a better medication, please prescribe that instead.”
“Of course, sir. If you need anything else, please let me know at any time.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Even as he answered indifferently, his gaze remained fixed on Annette.
“Yes, then……”
The doctor glanced discreetly at the huge back of the Commander and left the room. Feeling that he could not make a sound, he closed the door firmly, his fingertips pressing hard against it.
Thud.
“Huu…….”
The doctor wiped the sweat from his forehead and straightened his coat. The young Commander, known by rumors, was far more ruthless than expected. He was strikingly handsome, yet possessed an overwhelming presence.
They said the wife was one of Lonchester’s most beautiful women, but the photo had failed to capture her full beauty. Although the accompanying stories were ominous.
Excluding any newspaper rumors or behind-the-scenes gossip, just looking at their appearances, the couple seemed perfectly matched. Their eyes when they looked at her…….
The doctor recalled the Commander’s expression and tilted his head in confusion.
They had said they were not on good terms, hadn’t they?
***
“Heiner.”
Annette stood before his bedroom door, holding a lamp, her lips trembling. The pale light from the lamp illuminated Heiner’s sharp, angular face.
“Is today…… busy? If you’re not busy, then……”
Her voice trembled at the end. Heiner surely understood what she meant. Over the past three years, she had come and begged countless times, yet he had never grown accustomed to this strange shame.
Heiner looked down at her in silence. Annette pulled her lower lip slightly and bit it. Those ash-like eyes of hers seemed on the verge of suffocating him.
If you don’t want me, say it.
If you hate me, reject me.
Don’t kiss me, don’t hold me, just throw me away.
The words boiling up in his throat were swallowed back down.
Annette lowered her head, carefully gripping the hem of his coat. If only she had said she didn’t want him. If only she had refused. If only she had not begged him not to throw her away.
She wanted to touch him. Even though her head knew the relationship had already fallen apart, when he held her, everything felt all right.
Even while knowing that after the relationship ended, only misery would remain.
Heiner’s gray eyes moved from below upward, then back down from above. His gaze settled on the cleavage visible between the loosely open gown.
Annette’s hand, clutching the hem, trembled faintly. Heiner looked at that hand for the last time, then quietly led her into the room.
The door closed without a sound. Annette was pushed inside as if by force. Her figure slowly vanished into the darkness. Bang. The door shut.
Only one bare bulb illuminated the room, casting dim light. Heiner walked over and turned off the light. The room plunged into darkness in an instant.
He sat on the edge of the bed. Annette approached him and began to loosen her gown. The smooth fabric slid down her shoulders.
They were close. The big, hot hands wrapped around her waist. In the pitch-black darkness, his body heat was clearly felt.
Heiner lifted her lightly and laid her on the bed. The sound of him undressing followed. His clothes fell to the floor, skin brushed against skin. Annette closed her eyes tightly.
No words were exchanged. That was all there was.