“Get your best doctor in here!” I had just stepped out of the staff elevator when I saw my husband, Derek Hayes, yelling outside the operating room. What was he doing here? Didn’t he say he was on a business trip today and couldn’t be with me for our seventh wedding anniversary? Before I could react, he stormed over to a nurse, making a scene: “You have to save my wife and child, or I’ll make sure this hospital goes bankrupt!” His wife? The words hit me like a lightning bolt. If she was his wife, then who was I? I stood frozen, still processing, when a young doctor hurried towards me. “Dr. Miller, perfect timing. All the chief physicians are in surgery and can’t break away… Please, get into the operating room!” I took a deep breath, clenched my fists, and walked towards the double doors. Derek rushed over, blocking my path, his eyes blazing. “You’re the surgeon?” He didn’t recognize me? Even though I was completely covered by a surgical cap and mask, he couldn’t be so blind that he couldn’t recognize his wife of seven years! Maybe he just didn’t expect me to be here. I’d been temporarily assigned to this community hospital last month as part of a temporary rotation. I remembered telling Derek about it. At the time, he was engrossed in his phone, not really listening. Through my mask, I told him, “Family, please step aside.” I moved past him, but Derek shouted, “There aren’t any male doctors in there, are there? I don’t want any male staff in the room with my wife!” You must be out of your mind, I thought. My curiosity spiked. Who exactly was this “wife” Derek kept talking about? After sterilizing, I entered the operating room. A pregnant woman lay on the bed, barely conscious. When I saw her face clearly, my heart lurched. It was Tiffany Reed, Derek’s cousin-in-law! Derek’s cousin, Major Ryan Davies, was a military man, often deployed. Tiffany would often call Derek over with excuses like broken appliances or water outages. I was usually busy with work and hadn’t paid much attention to their frequent encounters. I never imagined… they were having an affair behind my back! A nurse handed me the patient’s chart, and I quickly scanned it. Tiffany was eight months pregnant. Her contractions were caused by intercourse during pregnancy, leading to a threatened miscarriage. Eight months… I remembered Derek’s cousin hadn’t been back in almost a year. So, the baby in Tiffany’s belly… was Derek’s? My vision blurred. Suddenly, some clues clicked into place. Derek and I had been married for years and hadn’t conceived. My periods were always irregular. Last year, I couldn’t help but want him to get checked, but he flat-out refused, insisting he was fine. Even my mother-in-law sided with him. Now I knew why. He had already gotten another woman pregnant! No wonder he was so confident! So, my mother-in-law was in on it too? My assistant asked, “Dr. Miller, should we prepare for a C-section?” I looked at the fetal heart monitor and the ultrasound results. At eight months, the baby could survive. It was sickeningly ironic. I was about to perform a C-section on the very woman who had cuckolded me. But as a doctor, bound by my professional ethics, I had no choice. I took a deep breath. “Yes, prepare the anesthesia.” We were busy with pre-op preparations when Tiffany on the operating table suddenly cried out, “Let my husband in! I don’t want to be alone!” The nurse tried to reassure her, “Ms. Reed, that’s against hospital policy…” “Against policy? Don’t husbands always accompany their wives in labor on TV?” Once the anesthesia took effect, Tiffany’s contractions eased, and she became fully energetic, yelling and demanding. The nurse patiently explained, “Those require prior application, and our hospital doesn’t have such a precedent…” Tiffany threatened, “My husband is an executive at a listed company! Be careful, or I’ll make sure you all pay!” Your actual husband is an active-duty military officer, I thought. Cheating with Derek means you’re both violating military marriage laws, which is a criminal offense! Clearly, Tiffany and Derek didn’t care. They openly referred to each other as husband and wife. Tiffany declared, “If you don’t let my husband in for the delivery, I’m not giving birth!”
My assistant asked what to do. I suppressed my anger. “Call the director for approval. I can’t authorize this!” Director Thompson quickly responded, agreeing to let Derek in for the delivery. The application forms could be completed later. Soon, Derek entered, wearing green scrubs. Seeing him, Tiffany immediately whined and played the damsel in distress. “Oh, darling, I’m in so much pain, I can’t take it anymore…” She’s blatantly lying, I thought. She’s semi-anesthetized; she wouldn’t feel any pain right now. Derek squeezed her hand, his voice full of feigned tenderness. “Honey, just hold on. After the baby is born, I’ll give you a big reward.” “I want that limited edition bag from H brand…” “Okay, okay, I’ll buy you as many as you want.” By now, seeing that scummy couple, I felt no more anger, just a cold detachment. I only had myself to blame for being so stupid! Derek had been distant lately, forgetting my birthday and our wedding anniversary, and I actually thought he was just overwhelmed with work! I kept telling myself internally. Chloe, you’re a doctor. You have professional ethics. Even if your enemy is on the operating table, you have to do your job! After bracing myself mentally, I picked up the scalpel. I skillfully made the first incision. Derek, who had leaned in to watch, suddenly rolled his eyes and collapsed. I ignored him, continuing to cut through the second layer. Tiffany shrieked, “Darling! What happened to you?!” She even tried to sit up, but my assistant quickly stopped her. “Ms. Reed, please lie still!” Two nurses rushed to help Derek to the side. I knew exactly what was wrong with him. The guy was a hemophobe, yet he still forced himself to come in for the delivery. Guess he really loves Tiffany. I scoffed internally. We successfully delivered the baby: a tiny, skinny boy. The umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, and his body was purple. Tiffany asked anxiously, “Is the baby out?” The assistant told her, “It’s a boy.” She beamed, then asked, “Why isn’t he crying?” The assistant didn’t answer. I calmly cleared the mucus from the baby’s airways, held him upside down, and patted his feet. A moment later, the baby finally let out a cry. Hearing the cry, Derek was about to get up, but seeing the baby covered in blood and vernix, he immediately stretched his legs out and fainted again. The midwife measured the baby’s length and weight, then brought him over for Tiffany to hold, explaining, “Your baby is a bit weak and needs to go into an incubator.” Tiffany yelled, “An incubator? Are you trying to scam us because you think my husband is rich?” My patience had worn thin long ago. I said in a low voice, “Premature babies with underperforming vitals must go into an incubator! If Ms. Reed doesn’t trust this hospital, she can request a transfer!” She bristled. “What’s with your attitude?! Transfer then! My husband has plenty of money! If it wasn’t for…” She paused, then continued, “Who would want to give birth in this rundown place!” I probably knew what she was going to say. If it wasn’t for me being a doctor at a top-tier hospital in the city, and their fear of exposure, they wouldn’t have chosen this small hospital for the delivery. I couldn’t be bothered with her anymore, leaving the remaining work to my assistant and the nurses. I walked out of the operating room, intending to get some rest, when I saw a woman adorned in jewelry yelling like a fishwife: “How could the baby be born before his due month?! I’ll sue you all! I’ll sue you until you lose everything!” It was my mother-in-law, Shirley Hayes!
Shirley was blocking the midwife, preventing her from taking the baby to the NICU. The midwife, exasperated, could only explain, “Ma’am, the mother was at risk of a threatened miscarriage, which is why we performed the C-section…” “What? A C-section?!” Shirley shrieked, her voice rising. “Naturally delivered babies are smarter! Who told you to give her a C-section?! Get your director out here!” I never knew she was so ignorant. I really learned something new today. My emotions were a complicated mess, and I desperately wanted to avoid getting involved in their mess. I’d go home, divorce Derek, and get away from these toxic people! I started to walk around Shirley. But Shirley noticed me, and with a swift move, she blocked me. “Was it you? Did you give my daughter-in-law a C-section?” I said coldly, “The C-section was performed with the patient’s and family’s consent! If you have a problem, ask your son!” Shirley didn’t recognize me either. She shouted, spitting everywhere, “Hey! How dare you talk to me like that? Do you know who I am? Who do you think you are? Just a damn doctor!” The midwife quickly took the opportunity to push the baby into the elevator. Shirley, caught between two fronts, couldn’t stop her. She directed her full fury at me. “How dare you make my grandson come out so early! What’s your agenda?! Do you want to make my grandson stupid?!” The other patients’ families waiting outside couldn’t stand it anymore and started chastising her. “How can you be so unreasonable? Your daughter-in-law was premature, the doctor was just following protocol…” “Exactly, your son and daughter-in-law both signed off on the C-section, what does it have to do with the doctor?” Some people had already secretly taken out their phones to record. Shirley aggressively retorted, “None of your damn business! Who else to blame but her?! My grandson wasn’t supposed to be born for another two months! It’s all this quack’s fault!” “Honestly, she saved your daughter-in-law and grandson, and you’re so ungrateful.” The two sides argued furiously. Shirley actually swung a fist at an elderly lady. I quickly intervened, warning Shirley, “Ma’am, if you keep causing trouble, I’ll call security.” “How dare you! Just try to touch me!” Shirley roared in a fit of rage. I shielded the elderly lady and stepped back, then told her, “Ma’am, please step aside for a moment…” When I wasn’t looking, Shirley pushed me hard. I staggered back a few steps, lost my balance, and fell to the floor. My head swam, and a heavy, dragging pain shot through my lower abdomen. Several family members quickly rushed to help me up. “Doctor, are you okay?” I swayed, unable to stand steadily. Shirley, the villain, was already playing the victim. “What are you faking? I barely touched you!” I clutched my stomach, too weak to argue with her. To my horror, a gush of warmth flowed down my inner thigh. I froze, too afraid to move. Just then, Derek came out with Tiffany, who was still on the gurney. Seeing Shirley, Derek asked, surprised, “Mom? What are you doing here?” Shirley immediately found her rock, twisting the facts as she spoke: “Your assistant told me you brought Tiffany here to have the baby! Tell me, son, did this quack trick you into a C-section? You didn’t even consult me about such a serious matter! These dishonest hospitals deliberately trick you into thinking your baby’s in danger, making you spend a fortune on ‘rescue’ just to scam you!” Several medical staff, unable to bear it any longer, said sternly, “Don’t you dare slander us!” “The mother’s water broke; the C-section was unavoidable!” Shirley put her hands on her hips and retorted, “How could my daughter-in-law’s water break for no reason? Don’t try to fool me!” I couldn’t stand her constantly saying “my daughter-in-law” anymore. I gritted my teeth through the pain and told her, “Because your son and your ‘daughter-in-law’ had intercourse during pregnancy, which caused the miscarriage!”
Derek nervously kept quiet. Shirley was clearly stunned, then immediately exploded. “Nonsense! My son would never do such a thing!” A nurse came over to help me. “Dr. Miller, don’t mind her. Let’s go…” Shirley wouldn’t let up, pulling and grabbing at me. “Stop right there! You think you can just run off? You’re responsible for my grandson!” A searing cramp twisted my lower abdomen. This wasn’t good! Cold sweat poured down me. In a panic, I flung Shirley away, and she hit her back against the wall. She immediately pretended to clutch her head. “Ouch! My head! You evil quack!” The nurse pointed out, “You hit your back! How could your head hurt…” Shirley started to whine. “I don’t care! Apologize to me, or this isn’t over!” She shouted at Derek, “Your mother’s being bullied, what are you standing there for?” Derek, who’d already been annoyed with me in the operating room, seized the opportunity. He pointed at me and commanded, “You, apologize to my mother!” I gasped for air, whispering to the nurse, “My… stomach hurts, please take me away first…” The nurse tried to help me leave, but Derek roughly grabbed my arm. “Where do you think you’re going? Don’t even think about leaving without apologizing!” The nurse tried to stop him but was shoved aside violently. “Derek! Look closely at who I am!”
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