The day my mother-in-law had her accident, it was critical. Only my husband, Mark, had her rare blood type. But Mark, the professor, was busy tutoring his high school sweetheart's kid in elementary school essay writing. Last time, I got to Mark just in time, and they managed to save Mom’s life. But then his ex’s little hellion messed with the electrical panel, and the kitchen exploded. She and her kid died in the fire. After I took care of Mom until she got out of the hospital, Mark kidnapped me, wrapped me in firecrackers and dynamite. I was blown to pieces, but that wasn't enough for him. He stabbed me over and over. "It's all your fault Sarah and little Timmy are dead!" he screamed. "Why do they have to die, and you get to live the good life? I'm going to make you feel the pain they felt!" I woke up on the day of Mom's accident. This time, I blocked Mark on everything. Turned off my phone. This time, maybe his ex's kid's essay will actually be good. 1 The harsh smell of disinfectant snapped me back. I turned and saw Mom being wheeled off the ambulance. I had to be dreaming. As a doctor, my first instinct was to check her injuries. Just like before, massive internal bleeding. She needed a transfusion, fast, or she was a goner. I knew Mark was the only one who matched her blood type, but this time, I'd do my duty as a doctor and nothing more. "Get her to surgery. Run a blood panel. Notify the family." The blood results came back. A young nurse asked anxiously: "Dr. Lewis, the patient has a rare blood type, O negative. We don't have any in the blood bank. What do we do?" I put down my scalpel, took off my mask. "We wait for the family. Hope someone's a match." The hospital contacted my father-in-law, Tom, who came running in, breathless. "Honey, what happened?" "Dad, Mom was in a car wreck. Hit by a semi. I already started surgery to stop the bleeding, but she's lost a lot of blood. Needs a transfusion." Tom, usually so steady, started pacing. "What are we going to do? I'm not a match!" Then his eyes lit up. "Mark! He's the same type as your mother! Where is he? Did you call him?" My voice went up, full of fake distress, tears welling up. "Dad, it was so crazy. My phone died. I didn't have a chance to call Mark." Tom shoved his phone into my hand. "I'm going to pay the bill. You call him! Tell him to get over here, now! "What good is a son if he doesn't show up when it counts?" Looking at his phone, I felt a wave of dizziness. My husband, who swore he'd love me forever, had completely changed after his old flame came back. I called in sick so he could pick up his ex’s kid from school. When I tried to talk to him, he just waved me off, annoyed. "What's wrong with you, Claire? I'm good to you, aren't I? I bring you dinner every night!" "Learn to be grateful!" But the dinners he brought back were leftovers from his ex and her kid. My husband, who never lifted a finger at home, was now cleaning his ex's house every day. I, his wife, couldn't even ask a question without him calling me a pain. I thought if I just stayed quiet, he might at least glance back at our family. Keep us together. Instead, I got brutally murdered. The memory of that pain snapped me back to reality. I grabbed Tom's phone, hit record, and dialed Mark's number. His voice came on: "Hey, Dad, what's up?" 2 "It's me. Mom's in a bad wreck and she's in surgery. You need to get here now." Mark's tone shifted the second he heard my voice. "Why are you using Dad's phone? What are you trying to pull?" "Claire, didn't I tell you not to call me today? I'm busy! Really busy!" His voice was getting louder. "And now you're wishing Mom would get hurt? You're so messed up! This is exactly why I can’t stand you!" "If you keep bothering me, I won't come home for a week. Try me!" He hung up before I could say anything. Tom came back, hurrying, asking if Mark was on his way. "He said I was wishing Mom would get hurt, said he didn't believe it was real, and told me not to bother him." I started to cry as I handed him the phone, playing back the recording. Tom's face turned red. "That ungrateful kid! I'll call him myself!" He dialed Mark's number, hitting speakerphone. It rang a few times, then Mark's voice exploded through: "Claire, I told you! Don't bother me. Can't you understand plain English?" "I'm telling you, I'm not coming home all week, you negative hag. Get lost!" Then he hung up. Tom's hand froze in mid-air. His mouth hung open, unable to believe those words came from his son. Just then, a nurse ran over, frantic. "Dr. Lewis, the patient's blood pressure is crashing! The wound's bleeding again! The machines can't take it!" "Without a transfusion in thirty minutes, we're going to lose her!" Tom snapped back to reality, trembling. I cried, blaming myself. "Dad, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. Mark thought I was trying to ruin his tutoring session with his ex's kid. He wouldn't believe me." "What are we going to do? Mom's fading fast." Tom patted my shoulder, shaking. "It's not your fault, honey. We failed to raise that boy right." "I'm calling him again. There's still half an hour. Your mother can still be saved." Tom dialed Mark's number again and again, but he didn't pick up. Tom got so mad he threw the phone on the ground, collapsing into a chair. I helped him up. "Dad, call from the hospital phone. He might believe it then." "If I call, he won't believe me. Use the hospital phone." Tom grabbed onto that hope, nodding, and hurried with me to the desk. I dialed Mark's number on the landline. It only rang a few times before he answered. Before he could say anything, Tom shouted: "You ungrateful son! Get to the hospital! Your mother's in emergency!" "If you don't get here in half an hour, your mother's dead!" "If you screw this up, I will never recognize you as my son again!" Tom's voice was shaking with desperation, but Mark didn't seem to hear any of it. He just sighed. "Dad, it's one thing for Claire to say Mom's in an accident, but why are you going along with it?" "You always take her side. That's why she gets away with everything." "I listened to you. I married the woman you wanted. Now, can't I do one thing for myself? Why are you helping an outsider keep me from my happiness?" "Put Claire on. She's lost it, trying to stop me from doing what I want!" I snatched the phone, my voice completely calm. "Mark, we're not kidding. Dad's not helping me sabotage your happiness." "This is real." Then, a little boy's voice came through. "Uncle Mark, I still don't know how to write it. I don't want to learn! You have to help me with my homework! If you don't help me, I won't let you see my mom!" The kid kept whining. Mark's voice suddenly turned soft. "Okay, okay, I'll help you. But it's our little secret, okay? Don't tell your mom." Then a woman's voice: "Mark, is everything alright? You've been on the phone a lot." "Why don’t you take a break, I can order takeout for Timmy and me, you go handle your business." Mark said: "Sarah, how can you say that? I don’t want you and Timmy eating takeout!" "You and Timmy can’t eat takeout. I'll be up all night worrying. Sit down and rest. You're not feeling well, you need to rest." "It's nothing. Just the crazy woman bothering me! She's like a rabid dog. I wouldn’t be surprised if she gets into an accident tomorrow and dies!” Mark gritted his teeth into the phone, his voice full of hate. "Claire, I'm telling you, you can scream all you want, I'm not letting you win!" "You wishing Mom gets in a wreck? I'll deal with that when I get home!" "If you call again, I'm done. We're getting divorced!" He hung up. I had hit speakerphone, and everyone heard. Everyone knew there was no point in calling again. He wasn't coming. Tom felt so humiliated, his face turned red. He leaned against the wall, muttering, "Our family's cursed." People started whispering around us. Not loud, but I heard every word. "Oh my god, I didn't know Dr. Lewis' husband was like that! Cheating and proud of it!" "Right? Dr. Lewis is such a strong woman. Works so hard, so talented, so kind, one of the people I look up to the most. I can't believe her home life is like this." "I know, right? No one's perfect, I guess. But still, so embarrassing. I'd want to crawl into a hole." "But it's not Dr. Lewis' fault! It's that guy. He's worse than an animal. Won't even save his own mother." "Poor woman. Having a son like that." I just stood there, silent, unable to explain. They were right. I married a monster. Now everyone knew. If this was the old me, I would have been ashamed and quit. Found a hole to crawl into. Never raised my head again. But I was dead once already. If I didn't make something of this second chance, I might as well have stayed dead in that room. The more people knew what Mark was, the better for me. 3 Time was passing fast. More than ten minutes. Even if Mark had a change of heart, it would be too late. Tom asked me, his voice hopeless, "Honey, is there anything we can do?" "I'd give her all my blood if it would help. Even if it's not a match, maybe if she gets enough..." He rolled up his sleeve, offering his arm. "Take my blood, Claire. There must be something you can do." Seeing him like that got to me. Suddenly, I had an idea! Mark once told me he donated blood to a student of his who had leukemia! It was a big deal at the school. Lots of teachers and students got tested, but only Mark matched. He got an award for being a lifesaver. The student's name was Kevin. After Mark donated blood, he still needed more treatment. He couldn't afford it, so I gave him eight grand to help. And the best part was, he rented an apartment near the hospital for his treatments! It could work! Mom could still be saved! If she was, I was done. I would divorce Mark without a second thought. I grabbed my phone, turned it on. A few texts popped up, but I ignored them, found Kevin's number. My heart was pounding. Would he answer? The phone rang and rang, but no one picked up. I tried again, thinking he might have missed it. Still nothing. My heart sank. Then, the phone clicked on. "Hello? Mrs. Lewis?" Kevin answered! I said, "Kevin, it's me. Can you come to the hospital right now? My mother-in-law's been in a bad car accident. She needs blood, and you're a match. Please, Kevin, help me save her!" Kevin sighed. "Mr. Lewis was right about you.” "I should have known you were this kind of person.” “You were always a jealous woman and would do anything, Mr. Lewis called to tell me not to answer your calls and that if you did call, you would wish that your Mother In Law was in an accident.” “I knew better than to answer a call from you.” My heart turned to ice. My blood felt like it was freezing. “No Kevin, you need to listen to me, I swear I am not lying or pulling a prank, who would joke about such a thing!” Kevin interrupted me rudely. “Mrs. Lewis, just to stop Mr. Lewis from doing what he loves you are willing to do anything, I never thought you were such a woman, how can Mr. Lewis stand living with you.” “Who do you think I trust more the person who saved my life or a jealous woman?” “Kevin, Mr. Lewis may have saved your life, but I paid for your last five rounds of chemo.” “Without that money, you would not be alive today.” Kevin turned rude. “Mr. Lewis is your husband, so the money is his so he paid for the chemo and you had nothing to do with it!” “Stop bothering me, I am blocking this number, I never want to speak to you again.” Kevin ended the call and every bit of hope died with it. Tom looked at me, “Is there nothing else we can do.” I shook my head as tears streamed down my face. For the first time, I saw a very distraught Tom burst into tears. Tom and my Mother In Law were always nice to me, which is why I stayed with Mark. I am finally moving on. I comforted Tom as we waited for my mother in law to die. My Mother In Law died and I was filled with complex emotions. I hated Mark even more. 4 Tom could not take it anymore and collapsed at the hospital. I got Tom admitted into the hospital. Tom grabbed my hand and told me that he would handle the funeral. "My dear, I had no idea that he was treating you so badly." “If had I known, I would have kicked him out of the house. I hugged Tom and told him that he should not blame himself. “It is ok, both of you were good to me and I am grateful.” We got married because he was nice and told me that he would love me forever. Tom and I were happy so when Mark asked me to marry him I agreed. Mark told me that we should name are children Claire. I asked why and he told me that Claire was the only sunshine in his life. Later, I learned that his high school girlfriend’s name was Claire. His online username was Claire and I had always thought it was cute. I made him change the name, but he refused and told me that he had that handle for many years. When we would argue he would always change it back. After we got married Mark started treating me worse and worse. When I asked him why he told me that he was no longer playing the same character. “You are average and should be happy that I gave you a ring and a house.” The days turned into years and there were many bad days. As I walked out of the hospital room exhausted I thought about all the text messages that I received earlier. I looked at the first message and saw many photos of Mark cleaning Sarah’s house as well as some photos of them in bed together. The last photo was of Mark on his knees with a sign that stated he would do anything to make Sarah happy. The message stated that Mark was too tired from doing housework and having sex with her to help get his mother. How dare she! I looked at all these photos and wanted to destroy her. I always thought that Mark was cheating and he was wrong. The other woman was just as sick. She sent me all these photos just to taunt me. Watch out because I am winning this game. Sarah and Mark I am coming for you. 5 Mark had been gone for 3 nights and I was helping with my mother in laws funeral. I had to gather all her important documents and found out that Sarah’s message was the reason she died. Sarah sent her all the photos before Mark drove 160 miles an hour and crashed into a semi-truck. I had to do something to Sarah for killing my mother in law. The police stated that there was nothing that they could do. The police told me that I had no case even with the message that she sent because Sarah would just claim that she was joking. The police told me that I would have a weak case with no malice. I told the police that it does not matter to me that she gets away with this. I need to do something to get my revenge. I just have to wait and play my cards right. A week later it was time for my mother in laws funeral and Mark came back just in time. Mark wore the same clothes he wore for 7 days and smelled awful. He dropped a bag of women and children’s laundry on the floor. I saw many women’s undergarments in the bag and I was disgusted. I had no idea whether Mark was doing this to please Sarah or if they had a fetish for wearing dirty clothes. Mark pointed at the clothes and told me to wash them. I pulled out my phone and turned on the hidden camera that I installed the day before. You do not know how long I have waited for this and how bad I want to tell you what I really think about you. “Do not speak to me, you never told me that you were sleeping with a child’s mother and for the last week you have been running around with your whore. You better be glad that I do not divorce you.” Mark yelled who the hell do you think you are talking to I will divorce you if you say that again. Claire was so angry and did not know what else to do. I looked at Mark and told him that my mother in law had died.
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