After Rebirth, Husband Regrets His Past

Chapter 1

My sister-in-law, Carrie, was eight months pregnant when some lowlife shoved her, and she ended up bleeding out on the sidewalk.

I was driving by, saw the whole thing, but I just rolled up my window, stepped on the gas, and kept going.

Last time, I stopped. I found Carrie unconscious in a pool of blood, and I rushed her to the hospital.

Things got crazy fast. She had a major hemorrhage, then an amniotic fluid embolism. My husband, Tom, is the best OB-GYN in the city.

I called him, begging him to come to the hospital ASAP. But he was convinced I was just being a jealous wife, trying to ruin his dinner with his old flame and her family.

He thought I was using Carrie’s situation to manipulate him.

By the time his family finally got there, Carrie was gone. The embolism had done its damage, and they couldn’t save her.

Tom’s whole family blamed me. They said I deliberately made him think it was a false alarm, which led to Carrie’s death.

Her husband, Dave, flew in from out of town, listened to their lies, and, consumed by grief, he went completely ballistic at Carrie’s funeral and stabbed me to death.

Now I’m back. I’m reliving the day Carrie got pushed.

1.

My head spun. The traffic light turned red, and I slammed on the brakes without thinking.

Then I heard screaming from the sidewalk.

“Call an ambulance! Pregnant woman down, she’s bleeding bad!”

My hand shot to the door handle, ready to jump out and help. But then it hit me. I saw Tom and his family, their faces twisted with hate, screaming at me, telling me I killed Carrie.

And…

I touched my stomach. This was where Dave’s knife turned me into mincemeat.

Phantom pain made my whole body tense up.

I pulled my hand back. The light turned green, and I floored it. I needed to get away from here.

To keep Tom’s family from pinning the blame on me again, I went straight to his mom’s house.

“Hey, Mom, Tom’s working late, so I brought you some fish I picked up.”

I walked in, acting like I didn’t notice her frantically ending a video call.

“Honey, you’re here…”

She didn’t finish the sentence before her phone rang.

Her face went white. Tears streamed down her face, and she practically tripped over herself to get to me.

“You have to get to the hospital, Carrie fell!”

I already knew, but I put on my best shocked face and helped her into the car. We sped to the women’s hospital where Tom worked.

This time, without me interfering, some bystander called an ambulance and got Carrie to the ER.

When we arrived, Carrie was already in surgery.

“Family member needs to sign here. Patient is 32 weeks pregnant, suffered a fall, massive bleeding, needs an emergency C-section.”

Just like last time, Tom’s mom, Susan, signed the papers with shaking hands.

I told her, “Tom’s the best OB-GYN in town. I know he’s on shift, but just to be safe, I should call him and get him here.”

She hesitated, then nodded.

I called Tom. Three calls went straight to voicemail.

“Mom, Tom must be busy. I’ll go find him in his department.”

Susan’s eyes flickered, but she nodded. As soon as I walked away, she called Tom herself.

I knew he wasn’t at the hospital. I wasn’t about to waste my time looking for him.

I stood in the stairwell, watching Susan call him over and over. Her expression went from calm to worried to downright panicked. I couldn’t help but smile.

She probably didn’t know her precious son had his phone on silent so he could spend quality time with his mistress.

Right before I walked in, Tom had called Susan on video, just to keep her busy and out of his hair while he was hooking up with Bethany.

Watching Susan squirm, I pretended to run back, all out of breath.

“Mom, Tom’s coworkers said he isn’t even working today! I keep calling him, but he’s not answering!”

A guilty look flashed across Susan’s face, but she still covered for him. “He probably got called out somewhere. If you can’t reach him now, just try again later.”

Just then, Tom’s aunt, Carol, and Carrie’s in-laws showed up.

Carol saw me and her eyebrows shot up. “Where’s Tom? Isn’t he an OB-GYN? What good are you doing here? Why haven’t you told him to come over?”

Aunt Carol was Tom’s dad’s older sister. After his dad passed away, she basically ran the whole family.

Last time, when the doctor told us Carrie was dead, I barely had time to react before Carol slapped me across the face. “You’re Carrie’s sister-in-law! You should have done something to prevent this.”

This time, I wasn’t giving her the chance.

I said with a sad smile, “Aunt Carol, I can’t get ahold of Tom. He told me this morning that he was working late, but I went to his office, and his coworkers said he wasn’t even there today. He’s not answering his phone.”

Susan mumbled something, but didn’t say anything else.

“Are you stupid? If he doesn’t answer, you keep calling! Useless!” Carol screeched.

I pulled out my phone and started dialing.

Finally, on the tenth try, he picked up.

2.

I put the phone on speaker right away.

“Honey…”

“What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you blowing up my phone? I told you I’m working late! I’m busy. Leave me alone!”

“Honey, Carrie fell and she’s bleeding bad. She’s in surgery right now. Where are you?”

There was a pause, then a sugary sweet voice came on the line.

“Looks like your wife’s checking up on you! Honey, your coworkers might get the wrong idea. And you shouldn’t say those things to Tom. You’re being too evil.”

“No, I’m not. Tom, Carrie’s really in surgery. You can…”

“Get off it! You can’t even come up with a good excuse. Carrie’s at her in-laws’ house, how could she fall? If this affects my chances for a promotion at the end of the year, I swear, I’ll kill you!”

He hung up before I could say another word.

The murmuring outside the operating room went silent.

I smiled sadly, trying to look devastated.

Susan avoided my eyes. A look of embarrassment flashed across Carol’s face, and she didn’t say anything.

Carrie’s in-laws looked disgusted and sighed at each other.

Just then, the operating room door burst open. A nurse ran out, looking panicked. “The patient’s having an amniotic fluid embolism! You’re Doctor Chen’s family, right? Who can get ahold of him, ASAP!”

My eyes flickered. Everything was playing out exactly like last time.

Susan’s legs gave out and she collapsed on the floor.

Carol couldn’t pretend she didn’t care anymore. She started calling Tom, muttering, “It’ll be okay, Tom’s the best doctor. He’s saved other patients with embolisms. He can save Carrie!”

The golden window to save someone with an amniotic fluid embolism is only like fifteen minutes. It’s a race against time. Tom had saved five patients in the last three years and only lost one.

That’s how he became the head of the OB-GYN department.

Carol finally got through.

She started crying, “Tom, you need to get to the hospital! Your sister’s having an embolism, you’re the only one who can save her!”

I could hear kids screaming and laughing in the background, along with the sound of people toasting.

“Aunt Carol, is my wife crazy, or are you too? I work my butt off for her 365 days a year. Can’t I have one day to myself? And Bethany and I are just friends! I’m just having dinner with her family! Can you please just give me a break!”

“Tom, I’m not lying! Your sister really is in trouble! It’s an emergency, you need to get here now! Please, you’ll regret it if you don’t!”

“I’ll regret it if I do!” Tom said coldly, without a hint of emotion.

Susan was losing it. She grabbed the phone and screamed, “Son, your aunt’s not lying! Your sister’s in the hospital! You have to come back, now! You can’t let your sister die!”

I sighed. I thought Susan was a horrible person for covering for Tom’s affair.

But for Carrie, she was a good mom.

“Tom, did you hear your mother! You have to come back now!” Carol was freaking out.

“Mom, you…” Tom sounded hesitant.

“Oh my god! Tom, my eyes! My eyes hurt really bad!”

Bethany’s whiny voice cried out, along with the sound of someone scolding a child.

“Why did you throw that marble at Aunt Bethany’s face!”

Then Tom’s voice, full of concern, “Bethany, are you okay? Don’t move, I’m a doctor, let me take a look.”

Then Tom turned to the phone, his voice icy, “Mom, stop acting. Even if you’re telling the truth, it doesn’t matter. I had a few drinks, so I can’t drive. I’m not coming back.”

Then he hung up.

The phone slipped out of her hand and crashed to the floor. Susan’s head hit the ground with a thud.

Carol knelt on the floor, tears streaming down her face, muttering, “What happened to Tom? How could he do this? How could he choose some girl over his own family? He’s a monster.”

I helped Susan up, but I didn’t feel bad for her at all.

After what felt like forever, the operating room doors opened again.

“I’m sorry. We did everything we could.”

3.

Carrie was gone, along with her baby. Susan was in shock, refusing to eat or drink, clutching Carrie’s clothes and sobbing.

Carol was furious. She told every relative about what happened at the hospital, cursing Tom as a heartless bastard.

Carrie’s in-laws were devastated, especially when they found out Carrie was carrying a boy.

Carrie’s husband, Dave, flew in from out of town that day. When he saw his wife and son, his face twisted with grief, his eyes bloodshot.

He couldn’t believe his wife, who he had just left a few days ago, was dead.

After hearing the truth from his in-laws, Dave wiped away his tears and quietly helped me plan the funeral.

No one bothered to tell Tom, especially after finding out he was across the street at a restaurant with Bethany’s family.

Even Susan had given up on him.

But I wasn’t about to let Tom miss out on such a monumental event.

The day Carrie was buried back in her hometown, I made sure someone let him know.

The day of Carrie’s funeral was cold and rainy. I stood by the car, holding an umbrella and watching as people carried Carrie’s casket from the funeral home.

Last time, this was the day Dave stabbed me to death, my blood mixing with the rain to create a red carpet for Carrie.

Before the casket even made it to the gate, Tom’s car screeched to a halt. He jumped out, storming towards me.

I stared at him, numb, not even saying a word.

‘Smack!’

He saw the black-and-white photo in my hands and slapped me across the face. “You crazy bitch, you dared to curse my sister to make me come back!”

I fell to the ground. The picture frame broke, and mud smeared across Carrie’s face, leaving only her cold eyes visible.

Tom’s eyes were bloodshot, filled with fear and rage. All traces of his former gentle demeanor were gone. He looked like a wild animal, attacking me without mercy.

“I’ll teach you to lie! I’ll teach you to curse my sister!”

I curled up, letting the rain wash away the tears.

I stared at Carrie’s picture, whispering, “Carrie, you need to see who your enemies are. When you get to hell, don’t accuse the wrong person.”

“Enough! What are you doing!”

People ran out of the funeral home after hearing the commotion. Carol pushed Tom away, crying and screaming, “You monster! We called you, begged you! You left her to die! You killed your sister, then you come here and make a scene! What do you want?”

Tom stumbled backward, trying to look calm. “What are you talking about? She’s lying, and you’re all trying to trick me! Are you doing this because she’s pregnant? Did you do this to trick me.”

I curled up tighter, letting the rain fall on my face.

So, Tom knew I was pregnant this time.

“You’re lying! I want to see Carrie! Carrie!”

Tom charged toward the funeral home, but was forced back.

The black casket, carried by eight men, slowly came through the doorway.