Ex-Husband, Keep Your Distance

The scent of disinfectant mixed with the clamor of the crowd; I had just finished a clinic appointment and was bent over, organizing the medical records. The clinic room door creaked open, three shadows falling across the desk—so familiar that my fingers froze. When I looked up, my heart clenched suddenly, as if gripped by an unseen hand. Eric Jones stood in the middle, a bit heavier than five years ago, with the woman linked to his arm being Ruby Xavier—his tearful first love back then. Ruby wore a light pink dress, her hand gently cradling her lower belly, her face framed by a deliberately soft smile. Next to Eric Jones stood Laura Carter, my ex-mother-in-law, looking me up and down with a disdainful glare, as if I were still the daughter-in-law she once controlled five years ago. "I really didn't expect this." Laura Carter's sharp, grating voice immediately caught the nurse's attention from the next clinic room. "Divorced for five years, and you're still slogging away in this lousy hospital with no decent way out?" I tightened my grip on the medical record, held back the flood of emotions, and said calmly, "The job here is stable, and I like it very much." "Like?" Laura Carter sneered coldly, stepped closer to me, and said, "Aren't you just unwanted by anyone else, so you have to cling to this place? If it weren't for your useless womb back then, not even able to have a son, do you think the Jones Family would have divorced you? Look at Ruby—she got pregnant with a boy straight away; that's the true hero who can carry on the Jones Family's name!" The patients waiting nearby began whispering among themselves, their gazes stabbing me like needles. Eric Jones fake-pulled Laura Carter aside, his tone dripping with false concern: "Mom, please stop. Emily, it's been tough for you these past years on your own. If you ever have any difficulties, actually I—" "I don't have any difficulties." I cut him off immediately, my eyes flicking to the hands Eric and Ruby held tightly together. "Mr. Jones, you're here for a prenatal checkup, right? Have you registered? Just follow the procedure; I have another patient waiting." Ruby leaned coquettishly against Eric's chest, her voice syrupy sweet: "Eric, I heard Dr. Lynn is a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology. Why don't we let Dr. Lynn do the checkup? It'd also be a good chance for her to see how healthy our baby is." Laura Carter immediately fired back, eyes blazing with challenge: "Yes, yes, let her have the examination! Let her see what it means to be a lucky woman!" Watching them echoing each other like that, I could only laugh: "My schedule today is fully booked. You can go to the triage desk and book with another doctor." "What exactly do you mean by that?" Laura Carter instantly exploded, "Are you deliberately making things hard for us? When you were with the Jones Family, you had the best food, clothing, and everything. Now you won't even agree to examine Ruby?" "The hospital has rules. We're just following protocol." I stood up and cleared the table. "If you don't have anything else, please step aside and don't interrupt my work." Eric's face darkened, his tone threatening: "Emily, don't be shameless. Ruby is pregnant now; if you dare to neglect her, I won't let you off." "Mr. Jones, this is a hospital, not a place for you to cause trouble." I looked up at him, my gaze hardening. "Besides, I'm a doctor. I'm only responsible for my patients, not for unreasonable people." Having said that, I turned away and called toward the door, "Next!" Laura Carter wanted to say more, but Eric Jones stopped her. I heard him lower his voice to Ruby Xavier, "Don't bother with her. Let's go book a specialist appointment and show her how well we're doing now." Their footsteps gradually faded away, and only then did I slowly sit down as the chill at my fingertips gradually faded. Five years have passed, and they're still the same—resorting only to petty, lowbrow tactics to feel superior. They just don't realize that I'm no longer the soft target they used to manipulate.