Chapter 9 - The Husband's Defense
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The nurse didn't say a word to Caleb. She immediately walked to my bedside, silencing the blaring alarm on the monitor and gently checking my pulse. She looked at the red handprint blooming on my arm, then looked up at Dr. Harrison with a firm nod.
"We heard the emergency alarm all the way down the hallway," the nurse said quietly, her eyes locking onto Caleb's terrified face. "And we heard exactly what happened before it went off."
Caleb’s face flushed a deep, panicked crimson. He held his hands up in a placating gesture, completely desperate to regain control of the narrative.
"Listen, you really don’t understand," Caleb pleaded, stepping toward the doctor. "She’s my wife. She has a history of being dramatic and exaggerating her pain. We can't afford to keep her here. I have the legal right to take her home."
Dr. Harrison stepped fully into the room, effectively blocking Caleb’s path to my bed. He crossed his arms, staring the cowardly man down with absolute disgust.
"Being someone’s husband does not give you the permission to ignore strict medical instructions, and it certainly does not give you the right to physically assault a recovering trauma patient in my ward," Dr. Harrison stated, his voice ringing with absolute authority.
The room became incredibly silent.
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For three weeks, I had laid in this bed wondering why Caleb never came. I wondered if he was too scared of hospitals. I wondered if he was simply overwhelmed with single parenting.
But standing there, watching him try to smoothly explain away his violent behavior, I finally understood the dark truth. He wasn’t helpless. He wasn't scared. He was simply choosing not to care about my life.
