The intern, pale as a ghost, stood firmly at the operating room door, no longer calling him "Mr. Riverton" and yelled, "Gerald, don't lose your mind! Eleanor is carrying your child, she's already five months along! And now you, her husband, want to cut her open? Are you trying to kill her?"
Gerald ignored the desperate words, slamming the operating room door shut behind him.
Through the gap, I heard the intern's urgent voice, "Gerald has lost it! Call the hospital director immediately!"
"No, call Miss Barren! Tell her that Gerald is about to perform a cesarean section on Eleanor!"
Driven by his determination to appease Joanne, Gerald didn't even bother to administer anesthesia. Grabbing a scalpel, he pressed it against my abdomen.
He said, "Eleanor, you brought this on yourself. If you hadn't deliberately run your car into Joanne, or spread lies about being pregnant with my child, would Joanne be heartbroken enough to leave the country and enter a marriage alliance?"
Fear overwhelmed me and tears mixed with sweat soaked my hospital gown, "Gerald, don't touch my stomach! I'm begging you, the child just kicked me, asking for help …"
I cried out, "We can divorce. Isn't that what you want? I swear I'll leave you and Joanne alone and I'll stay far away after we split. You'll never see me again! You can do whatever you want. I promise to stay away from you after the divorce and never appear in front of you again."
"Gerald, please … let's just get divorced ..." my pleaded is in vain.
The scalpel suddenly halted, hovering above my skin. Gerald frowned, a shadow of hesitation flashing across his face.
Joanne coughed lightly, her red-rimmed eyes turning toward me, "Eleanor, please don't quarrel with Gerald because of me. I'll book my flight and leave the country right away." She turned as if to leave, but Gerald stopped her.
Facing me again, any trace of doubt vanished from his expression, "Eleanor, this will only take ten minutes. If you're afraid of the blood, just close your eyes."
The harsh surgical lights cast deep shadows on Gerald's face, making him look more like a cold, unfeeling machine. Under Joanne's influence, he held the scalpel and methodically cut into my belly.
Warm liquid splattered onto my arms. To my surprise, I didn't feel any pain.
I didn't know how much time had passed before the operating room door was violently flung open.
The sharp crack of a slap echoed in the room, followed by the furious voice of the hospital director, "Gerald! What are you doing?"
With a loud clang, the scalpel fell to the floor. All the strength seemed to drain from Gerald's body as he slumped weakly against the operating table.
Staring in a daze at my opened abdomen, he stammered, "Director ... E-Eleanor's stomach ... how is there a child inside?"
