Keith threw up three more times until he had nothing left in his stomach. The dry heaving sounded even more painful than the vomiting.

I was so sure my car would smell like that for months unless someone scrubbed it really clean, and I wasn't that someone. I couldn't really wash a car to save my life.

When we got there and I briefly explained what was going on to the doctors and they left with him, I sat down and buried my face in my trembling hands to calm my racing heart.

Just then, Keith's phone rang and it was his mum calling. I had called her on the way but she hadn't picked, so I assumed she just saw the missed call notification.

"Keith?"

"Good morning Amanda. This is Danica."

I swear I felt the frost from her end over the phone. "Where is Keith and why are you with his phone?"

"We are at the hospital. Keith is not feeling well. He has been vomiting and we just got to the hospital..."She cut me off.

"Is he okay?"

"I..I don't know. They just left with him and they haven't told me anything yet."

"I'll be there soon." She said and disconnected. Letting out a deep breath, I buried my face in my hands again and waited for them to call me in as I whispered a small prayer to God that Keith would be okay, that whatever it was that he had wouldn't be serious.

*******

Ruptured Appendix. That was what the doctors said he had. Apparently the pain had started the day he came back and he just ignored it and took painkillers to keep the pain away instead of going to the doctor to know why he had severe abdominal pain, nausea, loss of appetite, diarrhea and other symptoms. The doctor said it had been 'glaring' that all wasn't well but Keith had ignored it.

Who ignores his body like that? He has a doctor for crying out loud.

If he had let his doctor know, none of this would have happened. They would have discovered it earlier and done the surgery earlier. But since he didn't, the inflammation got worse, the appendix ruptured and he suffered a complication, something they called peritonitis.

The surgery took almost two hours. Apparently, because of the rupture they had to clean out his abdominal cavity.

I just couldn't believe he neglected his body to that extent. No one should do that. I mean, why will you have really bad symptoms and then instead of seeing your doctor, you ignore it and take pain medications? It made no sense to me.

I raised my head to look at the door when someone knocked. It was Jason. He was on duty that day.

"hey you" I said with a small smile which he returned as he sat down beside me. "hey. I'm on break now, so I came to check on you. Hope you're doing okay. " I just shrugged. I wasn't doing okay. I was still trembling a little inside. The fear of expecting the worst news when I brought him in, the fear that he wasn't going to wake up. I hated the sound of the machines beeping. It just made everything more realistic.

What I needed was food, a warm hug and for someone to tell me not to worry, that he'd be fine. Jason gave me the last two.

"you know you give the best hugs." i muttered into his chest and he chuckled and that was when my mother in-law walked in. Did I spring away from Jason with a guilty look on my face? No, because I wasn't doing anything wrong. She didn't say anything, at least not immediately. Jason left, I told her what the doctors said while she ran her fingers through his hair. No matter how horrible a person she was, she loved her son.

Deciding to stretch my legs for some minutes, I stood up to leave and then she said "I'd rather you keep your relationship with the nurse outside this room and away from him."

I sighed before replying "We weren't doing anything wrong." She scoffed. "I'm not blind neither am I stupid."

"I..*sighs* I didn't say you were any. And I'm really really tired right now Amanda. I can't deal with whatever you want to dish out right now. You saw and believed what you want to and I can't change that for you or make you see things differently. Besides you have no place to complain. Keith and I have an open marriage. So you can't be so accepting of his past girlfriends and introduce him to women and expect me to remain there and grow old alone."

She gave me a look of disbelief. "Please. Who would even want you?"

I pointed at her sleeping son. "He does." and that wiped the smirk off her face. "That's not possible."

"I really don't know why you hate me and still arranged this marriage. I don't know what your deal is. You got the company you wanted, so leave me alone and look for other playthings 'cause it's not me anymore. I don't pay attention to you any longer and your words do not affect me anymore. I'm done with your shit, his shit, everyone's shit.. Whatever problem you have with me is your problem. Now i'm going out there to stretch my legs and I will be back before you know it."

"Don't come back here. I don't want you nursing him."

"I'm not letting anyone that isn't me nurse my husband for me. It's my responsibility as his wife. He ceased being yours the day he got married to me. So cancel whatever plans you already made because none of them will hold today. Bye." I said in one breath before closing the door behind me. I did the fist pump immediately and couldn't stop smiling. I was so happy I stood up for myself. Keith and I had ended the open marriage thing but i said it to piss her off, and that look on her face had been priceless.

Oh Shit! That felt so good didn't it Maya? Enough is enough. She can choke on my fingers if she wants to.

I was really tired but I felt fulfilled. My daring side was happy. I did her proud. I wasn't joking when I told her I was done. I really was done with her drama. She could choke on my fingers for all I cared. I just went to the cafeteria to eat some shitty hospital food while I waited for Jason to meet me there.

Fifteen minutes later, Jason walked me back to Keith's recovery room and I hugged him tightly and muttered a thank you to him before he left and just then, she came out again.

"Come with me. There are fruits in the car which I called the driver to get now just in case he wants some when he wakes up." She said as she walked towards the elevator, expecting me to follow her. She obviously wanted to say things to me because she could have easily told her driver to bring whatever it was up to Keith. I remembered I would need a change of clothes since I couldn't just leave him there to go home, so I speed dialed Avery and asked if he could help me get some clothes, that i'd meet him down in the parking lot to take them and when I finally disconnected, we were already at the parking lot. I took the basket of fruits from the boot of the car and when i turned to go in, she made a statement that made me pause in my steps.

"You are such a slut, just like your mother."

"What did you just call me?"

"A slut. Just like your whore of a mother. I hope she rots in hell."

I just looked at her as so many emotions coursed through my veins. Disbelief at how low she just stooped, anger for desecrating my mothers name, disappointment, and so on.

"I swear to God who made me, if not because I was raised to respect my elders, I would have bitch slapped the shit out of you for saying those words and badmouthing my mother. You can say whatever you want to say about me but never mention my mother's name." My mother may not have been world's best mum, she may have chosen her career over me, she may have told me never to call her mum, but i wasn't going to let anyone say that about her.

"The truth hurts doesn't it? The difference between both of you is that she was a beautiful fiance stealing whore while you are a fat ugly married skank."

That infuriated me and confused me at the same time. I didn't even notice what she called me, all i thought about was the fact that she called her a man thief. It must have showed on my face because she continued.

"Of course they didn't tell you. Well she was a whore who would go as low as getting pregnant for a man to trap him into marriage."

"That's a lie. I'm the product of an unplanned pregnancy. My mum never wanted to get pregnant. i was an accident." I argued.

"Believe whatever you want to believe. Ask your father if you want to know more. My problem is, I don't know whatever it is that is going on between you and my son but whatever it is, if you hurt him the way your parents hurt me, I will come after you Danica, and you will not believe what I will do to you. I will fucking destroy you."

With that, she got into the car and they drove off, leaving me behind in the parking kit with just a few words going through my mind.

What...the actual fuck is going on here?