But he only sneered, folding his arms dismissively. “Stop trying to get out of it! As a doctor, I have the right to refuse surgery. As your husband, I refuse to sign for it. If you have enough energy to scream like this, you could have given birth already.”
With a sharp gesture, he directed the nurse to silence me, stuffing a rag into my mouth.
My cries faded, becoming a shadow of agony in the sterile room, even as echoes of laughter and murmurings of passion seeped from the nearby bathroom. The life I had been nurturing for nine months now felt like a weapon, tearing at my insides, flooding me with pain.
After a night spent together, he held Millie close in the morning, his tone warm and sympathetic.
“Gia must learn her lesson. Millie, go find another doctor to handle the delivery. Then we’ll go home together.”
Yet there I lay, motionless, cold, my breathing stilled as I slipped into a final rest.
——
“She’s so loud! Does anyone not feel pain during childbirth?” he sneered. “She’s probably exhausting herself by making things difficult for everyone instead of just focusing.”
Peter buttoned his coat and flipped up collar to hide a telltale mark on his neck.