The first thing I saw when I turned from the billing counter was a strange woman dragging my fifty-five-year-old mother-in-law toward the abortion clinic by a fistful of her silver-streaked hair. The sight sent a splinter of ice straight through my heart. I started to run, to scream, but a nurse grabbed my arm, her grip surprisingly strong. “Don’t,” she hissed, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and excitement. “That’s Eleanor Reed, our Dean’s wife. She’s dealing with a mistress. You don’t want to get in the middle of that.” I frowned, the world tilting on its axis. “Eleanor Reed? But… my father-in-law is Dr. Robert Reed. My mother-in-law is his wife.” The woman’s grip on my mother-in-law’s hair tightened. “You pathetic bitch! You’ve got one foot in the grave and you’re still trying to pop out another heir to steal my son Ethan’s inheritance? You have no shame!” My mother-in-law, a gentle soul I’ll call Catherine, clung desperately to the doorframe of the clinic, her knuckles white. “I’ve been married to Robert for thirty years!” she cried, her voice raw with anguish. “Ethan is the son I raised! How dare you call him your son, your husband!” I twisted out of the nurse’s grasp and rushed forward, planting myself between them. “I’m Ethan Reed’s wife,” I declared, my voice shaking but firm. The woman, Brenda, just snorted, a cold, dismissive sound. “Well, look at this. I’ve stumbled into a whole nest of whores today.” Before I could process the insult, she had her phone out, a sharp-nailed finger jabbing at the screen. “Ethan, you’re not going to believe this. It’s not just your father who’s cheating. You are too.” Her voice dripped with saccharine poison. “You better get down here and handle your little slut before Ashley finds out.” The words hit me like a physical blow. Robert and Ethan? Father and son, both cheating? 1 Brenda hung up, a cruel smirk playing on her lips. I was still reeling, lost in the dizzying possibility of Ethan’s betrayal, and I didn’t see her move. One moment I was standing, the next my hair was being yanked, and my head slammed against the cool, sterile wall of the hospital corridor. Stars exploded behind my eyes. “Like father, like son, I guess,” she snarled, her face a mask of rage. “What did we ever do to you people? Did our family dig up your ancestors’ graves? Why are you two, mother and daughter, so hell-bent on ruining my life and my daughter-in-law’s?” Catherine, tears streaming down her face, scrambled to pull me into her arms. “We are not mistresses!” she screamed at Brenda. “Robert has been my husband for thirty years, and Ethan is the son I spent three decades raising! Olivia is his legally wedded wife!” She took a ragged breath, her voice trembling with conviction. “And I believe in them. My husband and my son would never cheat. You have to be mistaken!” Brenda let out a laugh that was more of a bark. She gestured wildly to the crowd of onlookers that had gathered. “Mistaken? Ask any nurse in this hospital who I am! Ask them if I’m Robert Reed’s wife! If I’m Ethan Reed’s mother! Are they all mistaken, too? Did I pay off the entire hospital staff just to frame you?” The nurse who had stopped me earlier nodded eagerly. “Yes, yes! That’s the Dean’s wife! Mrs. Reed! The young Mr. Reed and his wife always accompany her on her visits. We’ve all heard them call her ‘Mom.’ There’s no mistake!” She paused, then delivered the final, devastating blow. “But… the wife who comes with Mr. Reed isn’t this lady.” Vindicated, Brenda’s arrogance swelled. “See? The nerve of mistresses these days! Caught red-handed and still spinning lies. It’s a good thing this happened in my husband’s hospital, or I might have actually had a hard time proving it!” 2 While my father-in-law, Robert, was technically the Dean of Hillside Medical Center, he had stepped back from all administrative duties five years ago, leaving everything but his surgical practice in the hands of my husband, Ethan. In the years since, Ethan had implemented sweeping changes, and the hospital was full of new faces. The nurses here in the outpatient wing were all recent hires; they wouldn’t know Catherine or me from Adam. Seeing our silence, Brenda must have thought we were scared. She sneered. “Go on, what other tricks do you have up your sleeve?” she taunted. “I should have just exposed you online from the start. I was trying to be discreet, but I guess you flies can always smell the filth.” The murmurs from the crowd grew louder, stinging like paper cuts. “They look so well-dressed and put-together. Why would they lower themselves to being homewreckers?” “Oh, you know how it is. You can’t judge a book by its cover. They look all clean and innocent, but who knows what kind of dirty business they’re into behind closed doors.” “And you know… that other thing…” A man winked suggestively, and the crowd chuckled knowingly, their laughter echoing in the hallway. Catherine was a simple, kind woman. Her family had sheltered her growing up, and after she married Robert, he had preserved that innocence. The world knew that the brilliant Dr. Reed was married, but almost no one knew what his wife looked like. She had never been subjected to this kind of public humiliation, this vile language. Her face went deathly pale, and she clutched her stomach as a wave of pain washed over her. She looked so fragile, like she might shatter into a million pieces. I bit the inside of my cheek, hard, the sharp tang of blood forcing a sliver of clarity through my panic. The reason we were here. The appointment. “Mom!” I said, my voice urgent. “The marriage certificate!” Her eyes, cloudy with shock, cleared. “Yes, yes! The certificate!” Her hands trembled as she pulled it from her purse. The small, heavy booklet felt like our last hope, a tangible proof of our lives. But the moment it was out, Brenda snatched it from her hands. Her face, which had been a tight mask of suspicion ever since I’d mentioned it, twisted into a bizarre expression the moment she opened it. Then, she began to laugh. A wild, unhinged cackle that echoed off the tiled floors. She laughed so hard that tears streamed from her eyes. Catherine and I exchanged a look. A cold, dreadful feeling began to pool in my stomach. Finally, Brenda gasped for air, and under the bewildered gazes of the crowd, she threw the certificate to the ground. A beat of silence, and then the crowd erupted in laughter, too. “Not only are they shameless mistresses, they’re con artists!” “Hahaha, you had me going there for a second! I really thought there was going to be a twist. But this? This is hilarious!” In disbelief, I knelt and picked up the certificate. I flipped it open. Where the official text, our names, and Robert’s and Catherine’s wedding photo should have been, there was only a child’s crayon drawing of smiling stick figures under a lopsided sun. Catherine stared, her eyes wide with horror. She took the fake certificate from me, turning it over and over in her hands as if the truth might be hiding on the back. “How… how can this be?” she whispered, tears falling freely now. “I’ve kept it in the safe all this time… How did this happen?” Her eyes suddenly lit with a desperate spark. “Your father has another copy! Call him, have him bring it!” She reached for her phone, but Brenda was faster. She grabbed it, smashed it on the floor, and then, with a vicious swing, slapped both of us across the face. 3 “Enough of this!” Brenda spat, her voice dripping with contempt. “You two clowns are wasting my time.” She reached into her own designer handbag and produced a marriage certificate, dangling it in front of our faces. “Since you’re so interested, let me show you what a real one looks like.” She opened it, flashing it to the crowd. “See? The official seal! The photograph! The registration number! All here!” She looked down at us, crumpled on the floor, her eyes filled with scorn. “Have you seen enough, you hillbillies? How pathetic. You’ve probably never even seen a real marriage certificate. Had to draw one yourselves. You must be desperate to marry into the family.” She had flashed it so quickly, I hadn’t gotten a clear look. When I asked to see it again, she simply slapped me. “You don’t give up, do you?” she sneered. “You want another look so you can make a better forgery next time? Nice try.” The shock was becoming too much for Catherine. She swayed, about to faint, and I quickly caught her, holding her steady. “Mom, stay calm! You’re pregnant! You have to control your emotions!” She gripped my hand tightly, her other hand pressed against her abdomen. “Olivia,” she gasped, her face contorted in pain. “My stomach… it hurts.” Brenda just spat on the floor near us. “Serves you right. You sleep with another woman’s husband, you try to use a baby to secure your position. Did you ever look in a mirror? Who do you think you are?” Her voice was laced with venom. “I bet the little bastard in your belly knows its mother is a whore and is trying to kill itself out of shame.” The cruel words seemed to suck the air from Catherine’s lungs. Her breathing became rapid and shallow. I rubbed her back, trying to soothe her. “Deep breaths, Mom. Just breathe.” I fought to keep my own voice steady. “There has to be a misunderstanding! Please, have some decency!” Catherine was in a bad state. I knew as long as Brenda was here, no doctor would dare help us. I pulled out my own phone to call for help, but there was no signal. A signal jammer. Brenda smiled, a predator’s smile. “You idiot. You’re on my turf. Do you really think anyone is coming to save you?” Her eyes, glinting with malice, fixed on Catherine’s stomach. “You should have thought about the consequences when you spread your legs. You brought this on yourselves.” And then, she drew back her foot and kicked. Catherine was only a few months along. A blow like that could be disastrous. Without thinking, I threw myself in front of her. The impact felt like my insides were being rearranged. A strangled scream escaped my lips. Catherine heard my cry and held me tight, her own pain forgotten. “Olivia is a Thornton!” she yelled at Brenda. “She’s from the Thornton family! Stop this, right now!” Brenda just laughed as if it were the funniest joke she’d ever heard. “Still trying to bluff your way out of this? Name-dropping at a time like this?” Just as she raised her hand to strike Catherine, a stern voice cut through the chaos. “What is going on here? This is a hospital, not a marketplace for your brawls!” The crowd parted, and a man in a doctor’s coat strode through. Dr. Peterson, the Vice Dean. Relief washed over me. Ignoring the throbbing pain in my side, I waved at him. “Dr. Peterson! It’s me! My mother is here, too!” He froze for a second, a flicker of recognition in his eyes. But as he started to move toward us, the nurse who had first stopped me intercepted him. “Dr. Peterson, sir, don’t be fooled by how pitiful they look! These two are mistresses to the Dean and his son. The Dean’s wife caught them in the act! Mrs. Reed has barely touched them, and they’re acting like they’re about to die!” Dr. Peterson’s gaze shifted to Brenda. She sniffed haughtily. “What took you so long? This hospital’s standards are really slipping. Are we letting just any riff-raff in now? It’s ruining our reputation as the top private hospital in the city.” Dr. Peterson’s brow furrowed. He shot a strange, unreadable look at Catherine and me, and my heart sank. Just as I feared, his expression slowly changed. “Ah, Mrs. Reed! Forgive my old eyes. It’s been so busy at the hospital lately, I didn’t recognize you. My sincerest apologies!” The flattery worked. Brenda’s expression softened. “It’s not your fault,” she said magnanimously. “This is a hospital, after all. Everyone who comes is a patient. I was just here for my routine check-up when I stumbled upon this… disgusting mess.” Hearing the Vice Dean himself confirm Brenda’s identity, the crowd’s murmuring turned into a chorus of sycophantic agreement. “This mother-daughter pair is really something else! The evidence is stacked against them and they’re still trying to lie their way out.” “And she even claimed to know the Vice Dean! Does she think she can just claim acquaintance with anyone? He’s already confirmed who the real Mrs. Reed is. I’d love to see what other lies they can come up with.” Dr. Peterson, as if just noticing our condition, adopted a tone of magnanimous professionalism. “While their moral character may be questionable, they are in a hospital, and as doctors, we must treat everyone equally.” The crowd burst into applause, moved by his display of impartiality. Under the cover of their admiration, he approached to examine us. I pleaded with him in a low voice. “Uncle Pete, you know this isn’t the truth. Why are you siding with her?” He knelt beside me, his voice a barely audible whisper. “This little gift… it’s from your husband, isn’t it? Such a good nephew.” He smiled, a chilling, empty gesture. “I was wondering how I’d ever get a leg up on the Dean. It seems I owe your husband my thanks.” Behind me, I felt Catherine’s hand grip mine with all her remaining strength. She must have heard. “I’m so sorry, Olivia,” she choked out. Then, a dark stain of red began to spread on the floor beneath her. Panic seized me. My mother-in-law’s life was on the line. I swallowed my pride. “Whatever it is, we were in the wrong today! Please, I’m begging you, just save my mother! She’s bleeding!” I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood, my gaze fixed on the growing pool of crimson. We were childhood sweethearts, Ethan and I. And Catherine had treated me like her own daughter since the day we met. I couldn’t let her die. Brenda just shrugged. “I was going to make her get rid of that bastard to clear the way for my son anyway. Her bleeding now just saves me the trouble.” Dr. Peterson, despite his ambition to oust Robert, didn’t want a death on his hands. He was about to speak, but another voice interrupted. “Mom! What’s going on? Are you alright?” 4 The newcomer rushed to Brenda’s side, frantically checking her for injuries. Only after she was satisfied did she let out a sigh of relief. Speaking into her phone, she said, “Ethan, Mom’s fine. Don’t worry.” Brenda beamed, letting the young woman fuss over her. “Ashley, you’re so sweet! That worthless boy of mine calls but doesn’t even show his face.” Ashley smiled patiently. “Mom, Ethan’s parking the car! He was worried you were in danger, so he sent me up first to check.” Their warm, familial scene was a dagger in my heart. So it was true. Ethan had cheated. Catherine squeezed my hand, her voice a ragged whisper filled with apology. “I’m sorry, Olivia. It’s all my fault. I failed to raise my son properly. You shouldn’t have to suffer like this.” I wiped away my tears and squeezed back. “It’s not your fault, Mom. None of this is on you.” I looked back at Dr. Peterson. “Uncle Pete, please, get a doctor for my mother!” Before he could answer, he was shoved aside. Ashley, the woman who had just been so concerned for Brenda, launched herself at me, kicking and punching. “You slut! How dare you seduce my husband! I’m going to kill you today!” Catherine, with a sudden surge of strength, threw her body over mine, shielding me from the blows. “Olivia, it’s my fault,” she wept. “I had this whim to come to the hospital like a normal person, to experience it all. If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t be going through this.” Her voice broke. “Don’t worry. When you divorce Ethan, I’ll support you.” My own tears started to flow, hot and unrestrained. How could this be her fault? Catherine’s upbringing was one of privilege. Her marriage to Robert was arranged, but they had fallen deeply in love. They had a private family doctor, but by a cruel twist of fate, he had been in a car accident a few days ago and had broken his leg. I was the one who had jokingly suggested we could try being normal people for a day, waiting in line and filling out forms. Catherine, sweet and impulsive, had remembered and decided to do just that for this check-up. This was my fault. If I hadn’t had such a stupid, romantic idea, Catherine wouldn’t be in this pain, and her baby might still be safe… The scene devolved into chaos. People in the crowd, seeing the blood spreading, finally intervened, pulling Ashley away. And then, he arrived. Ethan. Ashley immediately threw herself into his arms. He held her, his expression tender. “Honey, does your hand hurt?” She pouted theatrically. “My hand doesn’t hurt, but my heart does! That woman over there claims you’re her husband!” Ethan’s eyes met mine for a fleeting second before sliding away as if he’d never seen me before. He raised a hand as if taking an oath. “Baby, that’s not true. It’s never been true! There’s only ever been you.” I bit my lip until it bled, forcing down the wave of grief and betrayal that threatened to drown me. Catherine was fading. “Dr. Peterson! Please, save my mom!” Ethan shot me a look of pure disgust. “Save who? If something happens, I’ll take responsibility. People have to pay for their mistakes.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Ethan, how can you be so cruel? That’s your mother! She’s unconscious!” Brenda’s face flushed with fury. “Son! You tell her! You tell her who your real mother is!” Ethan frowned, his gaze sweeping over me and the motionless form of Catherine in my arms, her face obscured. “My mother is standing right here, perfectly fine! Who are you trying to curse? Your own mother passed out? What’s that got to do with me? I don’t even know you. Stop trying to latch onto me.” With those words, the last bit of strength seemed to drain from Catherine. She went completely limp in my arms. I held her, pleading with them, with anyone. “She’s unconscious! Please, for God’s sake, get her help!” A triumphant, twisted smile spread across Brenda’s face. “I want her to bleed out. I dare anyone here to treat her!” Suddenly, a furious voice roared from the edge of the crowd, a voice I knew as well as my own. “I’d like to see who dares to not treat my wife!” This marks the end of the first translated segment, as per the original text's paywall point.
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