Ruining Me, Ruining You

"Go away! Get out of here!" I shouted at Shaun.

He snorted coldly and strode toward the door.

Before he left, he added, "Know your place, Nancy. If you end up crippled, it'll be hard for you to get married. For old times' sake, I'll give you a piece of advice. If you're willing to stay home, take care of the family, and raise our kids, I can still treat you like I used to."

His condescending tone made it seem like marrying him was some monumental blessing for me.

My response was to throw all the apples from the bedside table at him. I didn't stop until I had driven him out of the ward completely.

…

After staying in the hospital in Dalspire for a few days, I hurried back to Strathmore as my patients at the hospital were still waiting for me.

They were all late-stage cancer patients, with limited financial means and no way to afford expensive medications and chemotherapy to sustain their lives.

These poor souls were counting the days and living on borrowed time.

I was the one who had given them hope.

They had traveled from far and wide. All of them had come to the hospital because they believed I could perform the surgeries that might save them.

No one wanted to die, not even cancer patients who were already enduring unimaginable pain.

With my right hand still wrapped in bandages, I couldn't stop worrying about my patients and went straight to their ward.

However, I saw Flora and Shaun at the door. Flora was smiling gently as she spoke to my patients.

I immediately recalled the ruthless look in Flora's eyes during the earthquake. I frowned at that vivid memory, and my heart tightened.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned.

Flora maintained her smile and turned to look at me. "Oh, you're back. How's your right hand? Will you still be able to perform the surgery scheduled for next week?"

She then feigned surprise and covered her mouth. "Why, I almost forgot. Your hand was injured so badly that you can't hold a scalpel anymore."

I knew she was trying to mock me, but I hadn't expected her to bring it up in front of my patients.

Cancer patients, especially those in late stages, live on the brink of life and death. Their emotional well-being was critical, and any sense of despair could be devastating.

What Flora was doing was unimaginably harmful.

Upon seeing the confusion and panic on my patients' faces, I was livid. "Flora, enough already! If you have something to say, discuss it with me in private. Stop speaking nonsense in front of my patients!"

Shaun suddenly stepped in front of Flora protectively.

He said grimly, "What Flora said isn't wrong. Isn't it true that your right hand is useless now and you can't perform surgeries anymore? You're their attending physician. You may be able to hide this for a while, but can you hide it forever?"

Then, he turned to the patients and added, "This is Dr. Blanche, and she studied with Dr. Zahn, just like Dr. Smith. She knows everything Dr. Smith knows. You can trust her with your treatment—"

Before he could finish, I cut him off sternly, "Enough! How can you treat something as serious as saving lives like this? Stop this nonsense immediately!"

Flora smiled and retorted, "Nancy, you're the one being unreasonable."

She then spoke with a tone of feigned sympathy.

"Dr. Zahn fell ill a few days ago. All his notes and research materials are now in my hands. Since you can't perform surgeries anymore, I'll handle the surgery next week for you."