The maternity ward was overcrowded that day. Doctors were rushing from room to room. The physician had just finished a grueling surgery and was about to take a moment to catch his breath when a new call came in: a patient in late-stage labor, complications arising, an experienced doctor needed immediately.
He pulled on a fresh gown, scrubbed his hands, and walked into the delivery unit with a confident stride. But in that same second, his heart sank. Lying on the bed before him was her.
The woman he had once loved more than life itself. The one who had held his hand for seven years and sworn she would always be there, only to vanish without explanation. Now she lay there, drenched in sweat, her face contorted with pain, clutching her phone convulsively. Their eyes met.
— «You?..» she whispered with difficulty. «Are you my doctor?»
The man clenched his jaw, nodded, and without a word, wheeled the bed toward the operating room.
The labor was agonizing. Her blood pressure was dropping; the baby’s heart rate was slowing. He barked out orders, led the team, and maintained his composure, even though he was falling apart inside.
A single thought hammered in his head: «Why her? Why now?»
Forty grueling minutes passed. Finally, the newborn’s first cry rang out in the room. Everyone exhaled in relief. The doctor carefully took the baby into his arms, but in that very instant, he turned pale at what he saw.
— «Is this… my child?» he stammered.
— «Don’t be ridiculous…» she muttered, turning away, but her voice wavered.
He pulled back the edge of the swaddling cloth and froze. On the infant’s tiny shoulder, a birthmark was visible. It was identical to his own. In the exact same spot.
— «My God…» his voice broke. «He has my birthmark. Is he my son?»
She covered her face with her hands, her shoulders beginning to shake. Finally, she let out a barely audible breath:
— «Yes. He is your child.»
— «Why did you stay silent? Why did you just disappear?» He spoke softly, but every word was laced with pain.
She looked up, her eyes swimming with tears.
— «I found out I was pregnant almost immediately before I left. I knew that for you, medicine always came first. The career, the research papers, the surgeries… A child would have been an obstacle for you. I got scared. I decided it was better to vanish than to drag you down.»
He stepped cautiously toward her bed, took her hand, and squeezed it.
— «I would have given up everything for both of you. The career, the positions… because nothing is more important than this moment. Nothing is more important than you.»
Meanwhile, the baby was quietly falling asleep, as if he had no idea that his arrival had changed everything—their past and their future alike.
