Chapter 3 - The Hospital and the Medical Verdict
The ambulance sirens wailed as we rushed Sarah back to Seattle Grace Hospital. The medical team was waiting for us in the emergency bay. Dr. Alpert, the brilliant obstetrician who had saved Sarah's life during the initial postpartum hemorrhage, met us at the double doors with a grim expression.
"What happened?" Dr. Alpert asked, wheeling Sarah into an examination room while Clara and I hovered anxiously outside the curtain.
"She was forced up. She was pulled away from her baby," I said, my voice choking on guilt. "Her mother... my mother pushed her."
Inside the room, Dr. Alpert examined Sarah. The verdict came down swiftly and harshly: Sarah had partially torn her internal stitches due to sudden physical strain and severe muscle trauma. She would need to stay in the hospital for observation over the next forty-eight hours to prevent a catastrophic relapse.
When I walked into the sterile white room, Sarah was lying on the bed, an IV drip hooked into her arm, pale and exhausted. Tears leaked silently from the corners of her eyes, tracking down her temples into her hair.
I sank into the chair beside the bed, gently taking her cold, trembling hand in mine.
"I'm so sorry, Sarah," I whispered, pressing her knuckles to my lips. "I am so, so sorry. I thought bringing her here would help. I didn't know... I swear to God, I never imagined she could be this cruel."
Sarah turned her head slowly, looking at me with eyes hollowed out by pain and betrayal. "She... she told me I wasn't worthy of you, David," Sarah whispered, her voice barely a rasp. "She told me that if I died from the bleeding, you would easily find another wife—one who knew how to keep a house clean and obey her mother-in-law."
The words hit me like physical blows. Nausea churned in my stomach. My own mother had wished death upon my wife just to prove a point about domestic chores.
Clara stepped into the room, holding baby Leo, who had been brought along in a portable carrier under hospital clearance. Clara’s eyes were red-rimmed from crying. She walked over and gently laid the baby in the crook of Sarah’s arm.
"She's gone from the house, Sarah," Clara said firmly, stroking Sarah’s hair. "David had the locks changed immediately. Mom is out on the street with her bags. She tried to call me crying about how ungrateful we are, but I blocked her number. She's never hurting you again."
May you like
Sarah looked down at Leo, a small, fragile sob escaping her lips as she pulled the baby close. "She wanted to take him away from me, David. She said I was poisoning his environment."
"She will never touch him again," I swore, looking into Sarah’s eyes with absolute, unyielding resolve. "I am cutting her out of our lives completely. No more excuses. No more second chances."
