Forgiven Thrice, Done Forever

I always knew David was obsessed with boundaries.

He was a top OB-GYN at the city’s premier hospital. A star on the fast track.

He cared about his reputation more than anything.

I understood that and I respected it.

I thought he was just being professional. I had no idea how far his sickness went.

---

The first time was my period pain. It was blinding.

I asked him for a medical excuse note so I could take the day off. I thought he would sign it and drive me home.

He refused.

I couldn't believe it. I was doubled over, barely able to speak.

"Why?" I gasped. "I'm not lying. You ran the tests yourself. It’s all on record."

David just shook his head.

"It doesn't matter if it's real," he said with his face cold. "It matters how it looks.

“If I sign your leave, people will say I’m abusing my position for my wife."

I bit my lip so hard that I tasted blood.

"No one cares about a stupid sick note! I'm dying here!"

He didn't budge. He told me to just take an unexcused absence instead.

The painkillers didn't work. The room started spinning. I was on the verge of passing out.

Then my best friend, Wendy, called his phone.

"David, listen to me," Wendy snapped over the speaker. "If anything happens to Nora, I will never forgive you. You know how bad her pain gets!"

Just like that, his voice softened.

He signed the note.

---

The second time was my mother’s emergency surgery.

She had acute gastrointestinal bleeding. His hospital had the best GI unit in the state.

Yet David tried to transfer her somewhere else.

"Why?" I screamed at him in the hallway. "I'm not asking you to operate!"

"It doesn't matter," David said flatly. "The GI chief is my colleague. People will think I pulled favors."

Even the attending surgeon tried to reason with him.

"The paperwork is clean, David. I'm the lead surgeon here. Stop overthinking it."

David still balked.

I snapped.

"I want a divorce!" I yelled, tears streaming down my face. "My mother treated you like a son, and you're blocking her emergency care?!"

He stayed rigid.

Cold.

Unmoved.

Then Wendy called again.

"David, please," she murmured into the receiver. "She was like a mother to me, too. Don't do this."

Ten minutes later, my mother was admitted.

---

The third time was today.

I took a bad fall at work. I was bleeding. I was losing our baby.

David was the top OB-GYN in the building. He was the best person to save our child.

And still... he hesitated.

The nurses begged him. The department head practically ordered him into the room.

"No one is going to reprimand you for saving your own child, David!" the Chief yelled. "I'll take the fall if anyone complains! Get in there!"

David just stood by the doors, conflict written all over his face.

I lay on the gurney, lips pale, tears burning my cheeks.

Then Wendy burst into the hallway, rushing up to him.

"David, stop being crazy!" she cried, clutching his arm. "Don't you dare take away my chance to be a godmother!"

Only then did he put on his gloves.

As the anesthesia kicked in, I let out a bitter laugh.

He didn't break his rules for me.

Not for once.