The Workaholic Wife ✅

Her Howling Heart

"Think whatever you want."

"I know you, wifey. Stop lying to me." With a pained expression, he bites his lip until he draws blood. "Still, you're cute when you're jealous."

I press harder into his hand, earning a yelp. "Why would I be jealous? Everything is in the past." I never knew I could lie through my teeth like this. Sure, I was angry at him for cheating on me with his assistant, but I can't live without him anymore. My children need him. Especially if I die.

And you love him.

The responder looks between the two of us, unable to concentrate on his current task of filling out the patient care report to hand over to the doctors.

All of a sudden, the sirens stop wailing, and the ambulance comes to a sudden halt. In the next three seconds, the large metal doors open, bringing in the cool night air. I'm rushed out of the van in the gurney, and there stands a group of residents, eager for a interesting patient.

I latch onto Aniket's hand, afraid for the first time. This time, it was for my life. If I don't make out of this, Aniket will never come to love the twins. I have to get through this, no matter the consequence.

"Get Alisha." I grunt. Aniket purses his lips, surveying the area for my best friend. A sudden realization crosses his face in the form of a slight widening of his eyes.

He struggles with his left hand for the custody of his phone, retrieving it from his pant pocket a moment later. I don't follow his actions after that. My attention diverts to the blurry situation surrounding me. Red lights blare around us, while the various interns, nurses and doctors surround the inexperienced paramedic.

"He doesn't know anything." I wince over to a familiar nurse. The middle-aged woman looks to me in confusion, and I fill her in on status of my vitals.

"Only problem is that I can't hear their heartbeats."

"Their!? Twins?" She asks. She should be asking if I took any medications; but, I guess her old, rattled brain can't handle a situation like this.

I nod. "Conjoined."

"Dammit! Contractions?"

"I couldn't time them properly, but they come about every eleven minutes." My hand unconsciously tightens around Aniket's. "I want a normal delivery."

The nurse's eyes widen in fear for me. "That's impossible. Their conjoined! We would have to risk all three of your lives."

I sigh at her incompetence. "One women gave birth to seventeen children at once. One set of conjoined twins were birthed normally without caesarean. Nothing is impossible."

"Ma'am—

I stop her, putting up my hand. "Get Dr. Zafar. She will be my surgeon." The nurse opens her mouth to argue, but quickly decides against it.

"Yes, doctor." The nurse runs off in a moment, and some of the overly-eager interns take her place to recheck the heartbeat of the twins.

"Krithi?" Aniket calls me with a quivering voice. "What are they saying? Are our kids really conjoined?"

I purse my lips. Before, I didn't want to tell him, afraid he will try to ask me to get an abortion. Although I know Aniket to be a good man, my doubts still lingered in the dark crooks and crevices of my heart. And once doubt steals a place, it will reproduce more if its offsprings and hide them away under a unreachable cliff.