A Cancerous Love

Ian's words lingered in my mind.

My husband, who had been married to me for ten years, caused a scene at the entrance of my ward—all because my attending doctor, Ian, refused to let him hold the baby.

"What's wrong with taking a look at my child?" Hector yelled. "Yara's waiting to hold the baby. I heard babies resemble the first person who holds them."

I didn't hear Ian's response.

Just then, Hector barged into my room and demanded, "Get up now and take the baby back home. Do you think we're that well off? Do you really think you can afford a VIP room?"

Indeed, we barely scraped by. But I didn't have the strength to get up.

Despite noticing my pallor, Hector continued, "Yara wants to see the baby. Let the doctor know, will you?"

I widened my eyes. It hadn't even been a day since the baby was born, and she was being tended by the nurses now. Why should I let Hector's intern handle my baby? Was Yara someone important?

Before I could ask, Hector saw the nurse enter with a few bottles of medicine—meant to maintain my health—and promptly stopped her at the door.

"Who gave her the medicine? Give me the prescription," he snarled. "With that worn-down body of hers, she doesn't need such expensive medicine. Cancel this and that."

The nurse was unyielding. "The patient needs these medications. She must receive them as soon as possible!"

Shoving her out of my ward, Hector snapped, "I'm a nutritionist. You should listen to me!"

He slammed the door shut in her face.

His phone suddenly rang at this time. Glancing at it, he immediately skulked out of my room to answer the call.

After what felt like ages—and as I was about to fall asleep—he came back.

He sighed and threw my jacket on my face. "My colleagues are going to come by later. Look at how disgusting you are. You're going to do nothing but humiliate me!"

Apparently, my appearance was barely presentable enough for others to see.

I tried to sit up and get dressed, but I hardly had the strength to.

Seeing this, Hector buried my head under the sheets. He knew I was awake; he just wanted to humiliate me.

"With your looks, it's better for you to just stay hidden," he spat. "Marrying you was a mistake."

I lay under the sheets, unmoving. Entering this marriage was a grave mistake for both of us.

The colleagues he'd mentioned were actually his students. After one of them left, the air shifted.

Through the gap between the sheets, I saw Yara Quigley wrap her arms around Hector's neck. She didn't seem to realize that I was awake.

"Babe, are they going to let me see our baby or not?" she asked. "I want to see whether she resembles me or you."

My heart skipped a beat. So, the baby that had been in my womb was their child.