The Rose Wilted, The Marriage Followed Chapter 03

The Rose Wilted, The Marriage Followed Chapter 03

Arthur rescheduled my mom’s surgery.

I didn’t find out until the night before.

The morning slot had been pushed to late afternoon.

The resident who handed me the new schedule wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“Mrs. Sterling, they added an emergency case to the morning block.”

I flipped to the schedule page.

Clara’s name was in the emergency add-on column.

She wasn’t the patient.

She was listed as next of kin.

The patient was her late husband’s mother.

I took the schedule straight to Arthur’s office.

The door was open.

Clara was sitting on the sofa with a cafeteria coffee in front of her.

Arthur stood by the desk, studying a scan.

I placed the schedule in front of him.

“Explain this.”

He only glanced at it.

“Her mother-in-law’s case is more urgent. We’re taking her first.”

“My mom’s been fasting since yesterday. Her pre-op meds have been held. And now you’re telling me she has to wait?”

Arthur took off his glasses.

“It’s a few hours, Eleanor. It won’t affect the outcome.”

“And who made that call?”

“I did.”

His voice didn’t waver.

Steady the way a blade is steady when it’s already halfway in.

Clara stood up, her eyes already filling with tears.

“Eleanor, please. My mother-in-law is elderly, and the doctors said any more delay could be dangerous. I know your mom needs surgery too, but at least you still have Arthur with you.”

I looked at her.

“And who’s he with right now?”

Clara had no answer for that.

Arthur frowned.

“Her son died in the line of duty. He caught an infection during a rescue mission and ended up on my table. The hospital has a priority policy for families like hers.”

“Does that policy include pushing my mom down the schedule?”

“That’s out of line.”

Arthur pressed the schedule flat under his palm.

“I’m a doctor. I prioritize by medical need, not by who I’m married to.”

What a noble thing to say.

If I weren’t the one standing on the other side of it, I might have even believed him.

I took a deep breath.

“Then tell me. Are you saying her surgical risk is actually higher than my mom’s?”

Arthur didn’t answer right away.

That pause told me everything.

It wasn’t higher.

He’d simply chosen Clara’s family first.

The office fell still.

Clara stepped toward me and held out the white roses.

“Eleanor, give these to your mom. Think of it as my apology. Please don’t fight with Arthur. He’s been exhausted.”

I looked down at the roses.

The wrapping had the logo of the hospital gift shop.

Not like the roses from the restaurant on our anniversary.

But white roses were all the same.

Clean, soft, falling apart at the lightest touch.

I didn’t take them.

Clara’s hand hung there between us.

Arthur’s tone grew colder.

“She’s apologized, Eleanor. What else do you want?”

I looked up at him.

“I want my mom’s surgery back in its original slot.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

He didn’t even pause.

“The OR schedule is set. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

Harder than it has to be.

I nodded.

“Okay.”

Arthur’s shoulders dropped. Relief.

“Go be with your mom. I’ll do the surgery myself this afternoon.”

I turned and walked to the door.

Behind me, Clara started crying again.

“Arthur… does she really hate me that much?”

Arthur’s voice softened.

“She’s just stressed. Don’t worry about it.”

My hand was on the door handle. My fingers tightened around it until my knuckles ached.

Down the hall, my mom sat in a wheelchair, waiting.

She was fiddling with the hospital wristband the nurse had put on her, smiling like it was just another day.

“Did they change the time?”

I crouched down and smoothed the blanket over her knees.

“Yeah. Pushed to this afternoon.”

My mom touched my hair.

“That’s all right. We’ll just wait a little longer.”

I kept my head down.

She couldn’t see that my eyes were burning.

Across the hall, a nurse wheeled Clara’s mother-in-law toward the operating room.

Arthur bent down and tucked the blanket around her himself.

A single white rose stem peeked out of his breast pocket.