Your Mom or Your Mistress, Pick One to Live

On Valentine's Day, I made a point of buying a gift and heading home early, only to walk in on my mother-in-law suddenly collapsing from a serious illness.

As her attending physician, I immediately opened the emergency fast-track and raced her to the hospital, fighting for every second.

But the moment we reached the emergency elevator, a woman planted herself brazenly in front of us and stubbornly hogged the elevator.

She had a few trivial scratches and wore a look of pure grievance.

"This hospital belongs to my dear Wayne. Who do you think you are, daring to drag this old dead weight through the emergency fast-track!"

My mother-in-law was barely clinging to life, so to save her I forced down my anger and gave way, again and again.

I never imagined that once she got upstairs, she'd take over the last emergency room outright.

And my mother-in-law, her life hanging by a thread, was left abandoned outside.

Every ounce of restraint finally snapped in that moment.

I turned away and dialed my husband's number.

"Your mother or your mistress. Pick one to live."

01

There was noise on the other end, but I could still hear his impatience.

"Tilda Simmons, do you know what I'm doing right now?"

"I told you I have a very important client today, and I'm in the middle of negotiations. You really have to make me waste my time dealing with these trivial matters of yours?"

His words stabbed into my heart like needles.

I didn't feel like explaining anything more, so I held the phone up to my mother-in-law's mouth.

She groaned twice, then said with great effort:

"Wayne... Mom isn't going to make it."

As she spoke, tears slid from the corners of her eyes without her meaning them to. No one understood the pain in her heart better than I did.

I'd given her a quick examination back at the house.

My mother-in-law, who already had a heart condition, was on the edge of heart failure.

If she didn't have surgery within the hour, she could very well die.

Just as I thought his conscience had kicked in and he was about to put the phone to his own ear, he gave another cold laugh.

"Tilda Simmons, it's May twentieth, Valentine's Day, and this is the clumsy little trick you use to get my attention?"

"I've told you before, ours is a relationship on the surface only. Why bother with all this unnecessary nonsense?"

"And my mother's getting on in years too. She hasn't got time for your fussing!"

With that, he hung up at once.

Staring at the screen after the call ended, I felt a little at a loss.

My mother-in-law tipped her head back and drew in a deep breath.

Tears dripped one by one onto the floor.

And all the while, that girl was still hopping around at the door of the emergency room.

"I don't care, this is Wayne's hospital to begin with, so why don't I get priority!"

"Get that old hag out of here, far away, I don't want to see her anymore."

"And the rest of you, call every doctor in this hospital over here to treat me right now. If anything happens to me today, Wayne won't let you off!"

Watching her throw her fit, I suddenly felt like laughing.

The truth was, I'd recognized her the instant she appeared.

She was the girl on Wayne Gilbert's lock screen, and also his secretary at the hospital.

Sylvia Sanders.

Face grim, I walked up to her, turned slightly to the side, and said:

"If you want treatment, any department can bandage you up, but the emergency room is for critically ill patients."

"Keep making a scene and I'll have someone escort you out!"

She looked up and stared at me coldly.

Then she clapped her hands, stood up, lifted her chin arrogantly, and said:

"Fine, in that case" she jabbed a finger at me, "then I want you to bandage me up!"

At those words, I clenched my fist hard.

I was the best cardiologist in the hospital.

If I left.

My mother-in-law would surely die.

I turned my head and looked at her, helpless.

But this time, I refused to back down just because she was Wayne Gilbert's little mistress.

I stepped up to her and seized her wrist.

"I am Wayne Gilbert's lawful wife."

"And who do you think you are, daring to throw a tantrum in this hospital?!"

It was as if he'd squeezed her too hardher face flushed bright red at once.

The woman she was now was exactly what I had been back then.

I had always known Wayne Gilbert had a first love he could never let go of.

Years ago, my father was being hounded by debt collectors, and he left me behind in some house.

I was terrified, so I crouched down in a patch of grass and didn't come out.

But they found me anyway.

Just when I thought they were going to torture me to death, Wayne Gilbert appeared.

He charged into my world like a beam of light.

He picked up a club, then tossed them a card and said:

"If you ever dare harass them again, I promise you won't walk out of Ashford City alive!"

That day, he scooped me up in one arm and carried me home.

Hearing the water running in the bathroom, I opened the door by accident.

Our eyes met, and he turned, threw me down on the bed, and we had a one-night stand.

When I woke the next morning, he pulled on his clothes and said to me flatly:

"Let's get married. In name only."

"After all, there's someone I love."

It was only after we married that I understood he had given me nothing but a title.

He was afraid I would hurt Sylvia, so he never once let me meet the woman.

And his mother had always known Sylvia existed.

So she had always felt she owed me.

To keep me from telling the truth, Wayne Gilbert helped me fulfill my dream.

Five years married, and I had seen straight through this man within the first three.

My mother-in-law had also promised me that if Wayne ever truly wronged me, she would let me go.

I thought now was the perfect moment.

Sylvia's crying pulled my thoughts back.

While I wasn't watching, she reached out and shoved me hard.

My body slammed against the wall, and my head suddenly rang.

Before I could react, her shrill voice pierced my ears:

"Tilda Simmons, I know you better than anyone. I was the one meant to marry himso why did you get there first!"

"The way I see it, you're the mistress! The mistress who broke up someone else's family!"

The girl threw her arms out, blocking the way to the emergency room, a flash of stubbornness in her eyes.

"Today I refuse to let her go in there for surgery."

"Aren't you the best doctor in Harborview? I don't believe you can't finish this surgery out here!"

"I want everyone to see how Dr. Simmons kills a patient!"

Before I could open my mouth, my mother-in-law forced herself upright.

Clutching her heart tightly, she pointed at Sylvia and cursed her out.

"I knew itmy decision back then was the right one. You're not fit to set foot inside the Gilbert home!"

Then my mother-in-law turned her gaze on me.

A flicker of apology crossed her eyes:

"Tilly, it's my family, the Gilberts, who wronged you. If I die, you can do whatever you want with that wretched boy!"

Hearing that, Sylvia clenched her fists at once and marched toward her.

"You old thing, you must be the Gilberts' maidhow dare you speak to me like that."

As she spoke, she thrust out her wrist and held it up before my mother-in-law's eyes:

"Open your dog eyes and take a good look. Wayne gave me this himself. What makes you think you're fit to raise your voice at me?"

"Now get out of here, and quit getting in my way!"

My mother-in-law shook with rage.

She had already begun gasping for breath in great, ragged gulps.

My whole body jolted, and for a moment I was at a loss.

The instant I turned my head, I saw a familiar face.

Wayne Gilbert was walking toward me, step by step.

"Tilda Simmons," he shouted my name in fury, "how many times now have you caused me trouble!"

Before I could react, Sylvia's legs gave out and she crumpled to the floor.

Then her shrill voice pierced my eardrums:

"Wayne, honey~" She got back to her feet, like a wounded little woman, and threw herself straight into Wayne Gilbert's arms.

Her soft voice sounded as if she had already pronounced me guilty.

"Wayne, honey, that old hag keeps blaming me."

As she spoke, she held up her finger, pouted, and said to Wayne:

"My finger hurts so much, and she won't let me into the emergency room. She insists on getting that old good-for-nothing in instead."

Wayne didn't even glance behind me; he just turned and demanded of me:

"Sylvia! This is the sixth time this month you've lured me to the hospital. What trick are you pulling this time?"

"You just want to relive the feeling of when we first met, don't you? Fine, I'll give it to you!"

With that, he rushed at me like a madman.

He grabbed my shoulders and yanked my clothes down.

My tears suddenly burst out.

I threw out my foot and kicked him in the leg.

He looked up at me in disbelief.

Because this was the first time I had ever gotten physical in front of him.

In that instant, I saw a flash of red in his eyes. He slowly lifted his head, his whole face full of the pain of humiliation.

"Wayne Gilbert, I've had enough of you for a long time now!"

"Since you love this woman so much, then let's get a divorce!"

Wayne had only taken one step forward when Bridget, behind him, suddenly braced herself against the wall and sat up.

Looking at him, she said:

"Wayne Gilbert!" Her voice sounded weak. "If you dare have anything more to do with this woman, I will never claim you as my son again!"

The two of them locked eyes. When Wayne saw his mother, he seemed to remember something, and the corner of his mouth curled up slightly.

Before he could speak, Sylvia trotted up to him and looped her arm through his.

Pointing at Bridget with an arrogant look on her face, she said:

"Wayne, honey, it's all her! She wants to take my spot in the emergency room, when I'm the one hurting this badly!"

"Didn't you say I could come to this hospital anytime I wanted?"

Seeing Wayne's reaction, I smiled and said to him:

"Wayne Gilbert, so this is the little lover you've been keeping on the side! Overbearing and unreasonable, nothing but a shrew!"

"And since you want your little lover treated so badly."

"Then I won't bother with your mother's illness either."

In an instant, the whispers came flooding in around us.

"So Mr. Gilbert plays around this much even at homeone woman isn't enough to wait on him."

"Isn't it something everyone in Harborview knows already? Wayne Gilbert's got a little lover on the side~"

But there wasn't a trace of shame on Sylvia's face.

Only smug arrogance.

I just gave a cold laugh, walked up to Bridget, gently took her by the wrist, and said:

"Wayne Gilbert, your mother's condition is very serious right now."

"If she doesn't get surgery in time, her life will be in danger!"

"If you choose to let Sylvia take up this emergency room, then I'll have the crematorium send someone right now to collect the body!"

Bridget's tears fell onto the back of my hand.

All these years, Wayne had kept his focus entirely on Sylvia.

He had never once cared about his mother's condition.

He didn't even know she was this ill.

The man lifted his foot and walked, step by step, over to his mother.

His eyes still held a faint trace of red.

He looked up at her and said earnestly:

"Mom, why are even you joining in her nonsense too?"

"I know you've never liked Sylvia, so I've never let her come around."

"She's just sick and came to see a doctor. Are you really going to take even that little bit of freedom away from her?"

Bridget's face went ashen with anger.

The other doctors nearby quickly stepped forward to explain:

"Mr. Gilbert, her injuries are all minor, but your mother's illness truly can't wait any longer!"

In an instant his gaze darkened, and he snapped his head up to look at the girl.

He said nothing, but the viciousness in his eyes didn't fade one bit.

It frightened everyone into scattering, no one daring to say a word.

The next second, he stood up, turned to me, and said:

"Tilda Simmons, I gave you the hospital as a gift, not so you could do whatever you want!"

"Now you're even lying to my mother. Are you really this jealous?"

"And arrange surgery for Sylvia right now! I know my mother's health very well; she's only playing along with your nonsense."

I'd already made it perfectly clear on the phone.

Sylvia and his motherhe had to choose which one lived.

It was obvious. He chose Sylvia.

Smiling, I set the surgical consent form in front of him and said coldly:

"Sign it."

He stared at the line that read "Family Consent" and suddenly froze.

Frowning, he looked up at me again:

"Tilda Simmons, your jealousy has gone this far!"

"You'd even push away the position of a wife? Is it so shameful to be my woman, Wayne Gilbert's woman?"

I said nothing.

For all his talk, he still signed his name on it.

I looked at Bridget with pity.

The next second, Bridget bent over and spat out a mouthful of bright red blood.

Everyone froze.

I gripped the edge of the bed tightly, as if aching for her.

The other doctors immediately rushed over and began giving Bridget some basic first aid.

Wayne, standing off to the side, only watched coldly.

Sylvia, meanwhile, turned and buried herself in his arms, crying and sobbing, as if she were terrified.

"Wayne, it's blood, I'm so scared."

"Isn't it some prank prop Tilda brought just to scare me?"

The fear on Wayne's face vanished, replaced by a cold sneer:

"Tilda, do you really think we're stupid? This is obviously stage blood!"

He let out another impatient sigh:

"Mom, do you really have to come make trouble together with this woman?"

"I've got things to handle at the company. I don't have time to play house with you two."

"And," he turned to look at me, saying each word slowly, "Tilda, I'm giving you one last chanceapologize to Sylvia!"

"Otherwise, I'll tell the police officers every mistake your father ever made and make sure he rots in prison for the rest of his life!"

The moment he said it, my eyes went red.

Had he forgotten that my father died last year?

My lips parted slightly, but before I could get a word out

An anxious voice came from behind.

"It's bad! It's bad!"

"Dr. Simmons, your mother-in-law's heart has completely failed. She'll probably be dead within ten minutes!"