Peter, the embodiment of confidence and composure, faltered. He stammered, fingers fidgeting and crushing the edges of a medical file in his hands.
“How is that possible? Tonight, five deliveries, four of them successful, only…” his mind churned, clearly shaken.
“Could it be Gia?” Millie gasped, her face blanching in sudden panic as she bolted toward the emergency room.
But when Millie reached the operating room, her expression twisted into one of sour disappointment as she eyed the unfamiliar face lying on the table.
The male nurse clarified quickly, "Doctor Peter, this is a high-risk case just brought in from emergency. You’re the only one here with the skill to handle it."
A bitter smile crept onto my face as I mocked myself for ever believing in Peter’s devotion.
Outside, Peter had steadied himself, his hands now deftly grasping the hemostatic forceps, poised and in control. He was back to being Doctor Peter, the well-regarded obstetrician at Central Hospital, known for his expertise and calm under pressure.
His reputation had been built on a career of skillful interventions, saving countless women and children from the brink of death.
The walls of his office and study were littered with plaques, certificates and banners lauding his achievements.
It all felt absurd now.
I, his own wife, had died under his care, my life slipping away due to his own rigid, misguided judgments.
Then came the call from the operating room, a jubilant voice crying out, “Mother and baby are safe!”
The tension of the emergency ebbed, replaced by the quiet satisfaction of another life saved.
Peter, perhaps softened by the successful delivery, appeared to fall into a daze. His gaze shifted absentmindedly toward my ward, though he couldn’t see the slow, crimson trickle pooling beyond the closed door.
If only he had stepped closer, he would have found my lifeless body marked by the silent testimony of blood, a wound deep enough to condemn.
But Peter’s small flicker of attention was cut short. Millie’s voice, sugary and possessive, broke the moment, as she sidled up to him with a coy smile, slipping her arm around his. She tugged him playfully toward the single restroom nearby.