My Husband Threw Our Feverish Daughter Out for His Sister

I came home through a hundred-and-two-degree heat, and my daughter wasn't there.

My husband said it like it was nothing. Dolly Abbott's running a fever, so I sent her downstairs.

My sister's coming to do her postpartum confinement here tomorrow. I need to disinfect the rooms so Dolly doesn't pass anything to her.

I stared at him. "It's blazing out there and she's burning up, and you threw her out?"

He frowned. "You're supposed to sweat a fever out anyway. What's the problem?"

"Don't worry, I already worked it out with the after-hours daycare in the complex. Dolly can stay at their place for the next few days."

"They'll come pick her up in a bit. I'll pay them a hundred a day for room and board."

"Relax. The second she's better, I'll bring her home."

I nearly passed out from the fury of it. "Dolly's sensitive, and she's a little girl. She's always been scared of strangers. She's five years old. How could you do that to her?"

He looked put out. "Mavis Henson, what gives you the right to throw a fit? I'm doing this for you, aren't I?"

"Once my sister gets here, you'll be looking after a new mother, looking after a newborn, cooking for my parents, plus Dolly on top of it all. It'd run you into the ground."

"So I spend a little money to send Dolly off for a while. Isn't that taking the load off you?"

I looked at him and couldn't manage anything but a bitter laugh.

A man who could sacrifice his own daughter. How could I trust him with the rest of my life?

Let's divorce. The apartment is my premarital property. Your family can find somewhere else to do their confinement.

......

I turned to go downstairs and bring Dolly home.

But Jasper Dickerson got angry, shouting at me. "Mavis, what's that supposed to mean?"

"My sister's coming tomorrow, and you want to drag a source of infection back into the house? What are you trying to pull?"

I said coldly, "This is Dolly's home."

"If your sister's so worried about catching something, then she shouldn't come. Besides, I never agreed to her coming in the first place."

Jasper exploded. "Why can't she come? What's wrong with my own sister staying here a few days?"

"So because I married you, I'm supposed to cut off every relative I've got?"

I let out a small laugh. "A few days... exactly how many days is that?"

Jasper said impatiently, "At least until her maternity leave's over."

"Oh," I said. "So, six months."

His brow furrowed. "What if it is six months? I'm her older brother. She could stay her whole life for all I care."

I gave a cold laugh.

My sister-in-law is named Renee Dickerson. She moved into my home before she'd even given birth last time.

She said my place was close to the hospital, convenient for the delivery.

If it had only been her, fine. But she brought her in-laws and my in-laws too, five people in all.

The apartment was never big to begin with, and it was packed to the walls.

That month I lived in hell, plain and simple.

Every morning the bathroom was occupied. I was late for work over and over, and my whole perfect-attendance bonus got docked to nothing.

Dolly was late for school too, and kept getting scolded by her teacher.

I'd come home from work drained to the bone, and still had to cook for seven or eight people.

Every time I finished in the kitchen and came back to the table, the Dickersons had already eaten their fill and left me half a bowl of broth.

The worst of it was that my and Dolly's room got taken over.

We had to sleep on the living room sofa, walled off with nothing but a thin curtain.

Those old people had no sense of boundaries. One time Renee's father-in-law actually pulled the curtain aside to see what we were doing.

It left a real scar on me. For a long time after, I couldn't sleep soundly, waking in the middle of the night to lie there tense, listening to every sound outside.

I was at my breaking point, and I had more than a few fights with Jasper over it.

That was when he trotted out that whole theory of his, that he was the older brother and had to look after his sister.

Going on about how precious family is, how you can't let yourself grow distant from your own blood.

Saying that if we helped Renee today, maybe tomorrow we'd need something from her.

He swore up and down to me that it would never happen again.

They'd already moved in, and I couldn't very well throw them out, so I gritted my teeth and put up with it.

The joke of it was, no thanks from the Dickersons ever came.

Renee had a boy, and the doctor said he had mild jaundice.

It's a common enough thing, but the Dickersons insisted it was the food I'd cooked.

Renee went further, throwing herself down and wailing that I'd made her son sick.

Jasper wore me down with his coaxing, telling me to keep the peace and not sour things too badly with the relatives.

I swallowed my disgust, bought a gift, went to the hospital to visit Renee, and pressed a red envelope with a few thousand in it into her hands.

Only then did the Dickersons grudgingly forgive me.

At the time I told myself she'd finally had the baby, that I was finally free.

I'd just keep my distance from these relatives from here on out.

Who would have thought that in the space of a single week, they'd be back to do another confinement.

This time, I really couldn't stand it anymore.

Seeing how firm I was, Jasper sighed at me. "Mavis, put yourself in my shoes for once, can you?"

"My sister just gave birth. The mother and the baby are both at their most fragile right now."

"If anything happened to either of them, that's a regret I'd carry my whole life."

"Her family's out in the countryside. Nothing's convenient out there."

"If she does her confinement at our place and something feels off with her health, how much easier it'd be to get her to a doctor."

I said coldly, "Your daughter is running a fever right now. She feels awful right now. And you're putting yourself in someone else's shoes?"

"Jasper, how did you get to be so selfless?"

I threw the jab at him and didn't say another word, just yanked the door open and ran downstairs, meaning to bring Dolly home.

When I found her, she was sitting under a tree, drenched in sweat, her face flushed red.

My heart ached as I took her hand. "Dolly, come home with Mommy."

Her mind had gone hazy. She stared at me a long time before she recognized me.

She said in a small voice, "Mommy, I can't go home. Daddy won't let me."

And with that, she fainted.

I scooped Dolly up, crying, and ran to the car as fast as I could, driving straight for the hospital.

The doctor examined her and started emergency treatment right away.

It wasn't until dark that Dolly came back to consciousness.

The doctor told me it was heatstroke.

She'd already been running a fever, and then she'd been out in the heat for so long that it had turned into a severe case.

Luckily I'd brought her in early and they'd treated her in time, so she was out of danger.

Half an hour later and her organs would have started failing, and by then there'd have been nothing anyone could do.

The fear of it hit me all over again, and so did my fury at Jasper.

That night, Dolly ate a little rice porridge and fell into a deep sleep in the hospital bed.

I called my mom and asked her to come sit with the child for me.

I drove home to get my documents.

But when I stood at the door, I froze.

The lock code wasn't working, no matter what I tried.

I pounded on the door, and Jasper's voice came from inside. "Mavis, promise me you won't bring Dolly in, and I'll open the door."

"I've disinfected every room. If Dolly comes in, my whole afternoon's work is wasted."

I said through gritted teeth, "Fine. It's just me. Dolly isn't here."

The door opened.

I didn't say a word to Jasper. I went straight to the study and packed my ID, the deed to the apartment, my insurance card, everything, into my bag.

As I turned to leave, Jasper stopped me.

"Where are you going?" he said, annoyed.

I said it one word at a time. "Dolly's in the hospital. Severe heatstroke."

Jasper blinked.

I stared him dead in the eye, and there wasn't a trace of guilt on his face.

He even shook his head, put out. "You've spoiled Dolly rotten. And she's got no constitution to speak of."

"When we were kids, we ran around outside all summer and nobody got heatstroke."

"My advice is, don't let her stay in the hospital. The longer she's in there the more delicate she gets. Let her tough it out, she'll come out stronger for it."

He took out his phone. "My mom wants to video with you. You can go after that."

Not once, from start to finish, did he ask how Dolly was.

Jasper dialed the video call, and his mother picked up at once.

The moment she caught sight of me, she rattled off, "Mavis, the confinement meals are on you, then."

"Put some effort in this time. Don't be like last time and give the baby jaundice."

"Renee's got a good heart. She's willing to trust you again. Don't let her down."

I said flatly, "I'm not doing it. Why on earth would I make her confinement meals?"

"And doesn't she have a home of her own? Why is she coming to my place for her confinement? I won't have it."

Julius Dickerson heard that from his end and exploded, roaring, "Mavis, do you even hear yourself?"

"You're the older brother and his wife. Aren't you supposed to look after his sister?"

"Turning your back on your own family, what are you if not an animal?"

"And on top of that, Renee had a boy this time!"

"Dolly's a girl. Once she's married off she's water poured out the door, no use to anyone. What are you going to lean on then?"

"When you two are old and something happens, you'll be begging Renee's son for help."

"You'd better start behaving now. Wait till you actually need him, and it'll be too late to regret it!"

Jasper cringed and groveled. "Dad, Mom, Mavis didn't mean it like that."

"We've already sent Dolly away, so don't worry."

He hung up, then said to me through his teeth, "Mavis, you're getting more and more out of line. You even talk back to my mother."

"She's your elder, she's my mom! Do you have any sense of respect left? Any shame at all?"

I looked at him coldly. "They just said Dolly's a daughter married off, water poured out the door, no use to us."

"That someday we'll be begging your sister's son, so we have to behave now."

"Is that what you think too? Is it?"

Jasper dodged and looked away, and didn't answer me.

He pointed at the kitchen. "I already bought the groceries for you. Go cook, quick."

"I'm heading to the hospital to stay overnight. We'll be back tomorrow morning, and you'll have a hot meal ready for the whole family."

Jasper left, and I shook my head, done with it.

Two minutes later, I took out my phone and made a call.

The lawyer who picked up was one I knew well.

I told him plainly, "Draw up a divorce agreement for me. I want a divorce. Tomorrow you'll go as my representative and get Jasper Dickerson to sign it."

"And I want to file for asset preservation. Freeze the house for now."

"Every asset that's mine, not one cent goes to them. Everything that belongs to me, they don't touch."

The lawyer agreed without hesitation. "Don't worry. I'll handle it."

When I got back to the hospital, I found my mother keeping watch over Dolly, heartache all over her face.

The moment she saw me, she started muttering complaints about Jasper under her breath, every word laced with resentment.

I gave her a small smile. "Mom, don't worry. I'll take care of this."

She looked worn out, so I sent her home to rest.

After she'd been gone a while, I tried to lie down on the empty bed beside Dolly's, but I couldn't fall asleep no matter what.

I took out my phone and saw that Jasper still hadn't sent me a single message. Not one word asking how his daughter was.

Instead, he'd put up a post. From the maternity ward.

Running around, packing things up for Renee, changing diapers for her son.

But I couldn't remember him ever caring for Dolly like that. He'd always said a kid's diapers were too filthy, that he didn't want to touch them.

I let out a faint sigh.

Just then, Dolly woke up.

She called out softly, "Mommy."

I rushed over and gently gathered her into my arms.

Dolly said in a small voice, "Mommy, does Daddy not want me anymore?"

For a moment I had no words.

I wanted to comfort her, to tell her Daddy loves you very much.

But I didn't want to lie to her either.

Then Dolly said, "Actually, I know. Daddy doesn't like me."

"One time when you weren't home, Daddy looked at me like he couldn't stand me and said, why couldn't you have been a boy?"

I looked at her, my heart aching, and said quietly, "If Daddy and Mommy get a divorce, could you accept that?"

Dolly nodded. "I don't want Daddy to bully you."

"Last time Auntie came to our house, you were so worn out, and Daddy didn't help at all. He even fought with you."

Her words made my eyes sting all at once.

In those days, my daughter was the only one who helped me.

She was only five, clumsily picking through vegetables for me, sweeping the floor, taking out the trash.

At night, when I was so tired I couldn't straighten my back, she'd ball up her little fists and pat my shoulders.

After Jasper and I fought, I'd curl up on the couch and cry without a sound, and more than once Dolly had come over and held me gently.

She understood everything.

I looked into her eyes and nodded, steady. "All right. Then Mommy will get the divorce, and it'll be just the two of us from now on."

Dolly gave a little hum and kissed my cheek.

Right then, she caught sight of a photo on my phone.

It was one of Jasper's posts.

She pointed at one of the pictures. "Mommy, isn't that the present Grandma gave you?"

I froze, and only when I zoomed in did I see it. On Renee's wrist was the gold bracelet my mother had given me.

Around my mother-in-law's neck was the necklace my mother had given me.

That jewelry had gone missing a long time ago.

Because it was from my mother, I'd been heartbroken then, and I'd searched for it for ages.

Jasper had comforted me, saying, "It's all inside our own house anyway, so it can't really be lost. Stop looking. Maybe one day it'll just turn up on its own."

I believed him and stopped searching.

But it never crossed my mind that he'd already taken my jewelry and given it away.

Just then, my phone rang.

I glanced at the caller ID, and my brow drew tight.

It was Jasper calling.

I didn't want to pick up, but I couldn't swallow this either.

I wanted to ask him myself where my necklace and gold bracelet had gone.

But before I could get a word out, Jasper rattled off: "Babe, my sister just had her baby. Have you got a gift ready?"

"What?" I said.

He sounded put out. "You're really something. Did nobody ever teach you how the world works?"

"I'll try to stall a little on my end. Come home from the hospital around noon."

"This morning, go buy my sister a first-meeting gift. Get one for my nephew too."

"Don't be cheap about it. Gold, ideally. If it's silver, make sure the weight's decent."

I said coldly, "Am I your family's ATM? Why do you people keep bleeding me dry?"

Jasper flared up. "What's that supposed to mean? Do you even hear yourself?"

I said, "The necklace around your mother's neck, the bracelet on your sister's wristaren't those mine? Where did they come from?"

"I looked everywhere for them. How did they end up on those two?"

Jasper's temper snapped. "Mavis, are you done? My sister just gave birth and you pick now to make a scene?"

"You're a mother too. Don't you know how dangerous postpartum depression is?"

"Whatever your problem is, it can wait until my sister's out of confinement! Right now, go buy the gifts."

Before I could answer, someone else took the phone.

It had to be Renee, snatching it away.

She said in that simpering voice of hers, "Sis, stew me a whole chicken, would you? I want some chicken soup."

"Stew it until it's really tender, I can't eat anything hard right after giving birth. And don't let it go cold, whatever you do. You can't have cold food during confinement."

"Oh, and the baby's diapers and formula are almost out. Run to the baby store and grab some. Get a good brand, don't skimp."

Then it was my mother-in-law's voice. "My girl just came home from the hospital, and a lot of relatives will be coming to see her."

"When you cook, make extra. Cook for twenty or thirty people."

"Don't let the relatives show up to no food. That's cheap and embarrassing."

The whole family really did treat me like a maid, lining up to hand me their demands.

And when they finished, they hung up without waiting to hear a word from me.

I muttered, disgusted, "Sick, all of them."

I spent the whole morning with my daughter.

She was doing better and better, up and off the bed, even running and playing.

The doctor said we'd be able to leave after a little more observation.

Around noon, my phone, quiet for so long, suddenly went off like mad.

I ignored it outright.

Then he fired off one message after another.

"Babe, where are you? Why is nobody home?"

"Where's the gift I told you to get? My sister's so hurt she's crying. What kind of sister-in-law are you?"

"Ugh, thirty-some relatives came today and you didn't cook a single thing. What are they supposed to eat? I'm mortified."

"There's a lawyer here at our place. What is going on?"

"Mavis, have you lost your mind? You actually want to divorce me?"

"The lawyer says you filed for asset preservation, that the house has to be sealed for now, that no one can move back in until the divorce settlement is done. What's my sister supposed to do? What's this whole family supposed to do?"

I couldn't help laughing, and I texted back: "Jasper, do whatever you all want. Just sign. After this, the two of us are nothing to each other."