Chapter 6 - The Groom's Dilemma
The harsh fluorescent lights of the hospital waiting room buzzed above us like angry bees.
Derek paced back and forth, his hands running through his hair in a frantic rhythm.
I sat on a plastic chair, feeling completely numb.
Marcus arrived twenty minutes later, bringing two cups of terrible coffee and sitting beside me.
"Is there any news?" he asked gently.
I shook my head just as my parents burst through the automatic sliding doors.
My mother saw Derek and practically threw herself into his arms.
"It's all because of this stress, she couldn't handle the thought of losing you!" my mother cried.
My father stood awkwardly behind her, refusing to make eye contact with me.
Then, my mother turned her vicious glare toward where I sat.
"Are you happy now, Amanda?" she screamed, pointing a trembling finger at me.
"You couldn't stand to see her happy, so you pushed her to this!"
I stood up, my own anger finally breaking through the shock.
"Do not put this on me," I said, my voice dangerously low.
"She forged my signature and stole my inheritance, I am the victim here."
Derek gently pushed my mother away.
"Amanda is right, Susan, Stephanie's lies put her in this bed, not Amanda," he said firmly.
Just then, the attending physician walked into the waiting area with a clipboard.
"Family of Stephanie Sterling?" the doctor asked.
We all gathered around him, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife.
"She is going to be perfectly fine," the doctor stated in a calm, professional tone.
My mother let out a massive sigh of relief.
"Did you pump her stomach?" my mother asked tearfully.
The doctor looked confused and checked his notes.
"Pump her stomach?" he repeated.
"Ma'am, she only ingested three standard over-the-counter melatonin gummies."
The entire group went dead silent.
"Melatonin?" Derek asked, his voice cracking.
"Yes, she claimed she took a whole bottle of prescription sedatives, but her bloodwork showed only mild sleep aids," the doctor clarified.
The doctor gave us a sympathetic, albeit annoyed, look.
"She essentially induced a panic attack to get a ride in an ambulance," he concluded.
The doctor walked away, leaving my parents staring at the floor in absolute humiliation.
Derek pulled the gold wedding band off his finger and dropped it into my mother's hands.
"Tell your daughter the annulment papers will be delivered to her room," Derek said.
He turned and walked out of the hospital without looking back.
I thought it was finally over, but then my father's phone rang.
May you like
He answered it, listened for a few seconds, and went completely pale.
"Eleanor just froze all of our family's bank accounts," my father whispered.
