My wife, Ruth Quarmby, had a twenty-year-old male apprentice named Craig Smith. He secretly turned off a diver’s scuba tank underwater. This caused an accident.

He then posted three posts on his social media feed.

The first post said, [I played a little prank underwater by shutting off my instructor’s mother-in-law’s scuba tank. Now, she’s in a coma and heading into surgery. But hey, I’m innocent!]

The second post said, [Toast one: from a broke mountain kid to a certified diver. All by myself! Toast two: I confessed my love to someone I shouldn’t have, but I didn’t cross that line. Toast three: here’s to every lonely night I suffered through.]

The third post said, [Best instructor ever. Without her, who else would cover for my pranks?]

I told my wife to pay for the surgery to save the person quickly.

But in front of the operating room door, she told me solemnly to give up on the surgery.

“Your mother is old and fragile. Saving her is a waste of resources. Even if she makes it out alive, she’ll be bedridden. She’ll wish she were dead. Just let her go.”

She quickly signed the Refusal of Treatment form. Then, she threw the signed form in my face.

I kept quiet.

The person lying in the operating room was her own mother.

I sent over a hundred messages to my wife, Ruth Quarmby. I refused to rest while waiting outside the operating room that held my mother-in-law, Adeline Quarmby.

Every call I made to Ruth went unanswered for the entire night.

I kept calling her relentlessly.

[Something happened to Adeline. Where are you?]

[The doctor says the situation might be critical. You need to get here now!]

When my calls would not go through, I sent texts. All were left unread.

My hands trembled. My mother shared the same first name as Ruth’s mother, Adeline. She said, “Zac, this is all my fault! If I hadn’t given my diving spot to Adeline, this wouldn’t have happened.

“I was the one who was supposed to pay for this. If anyone should’ve gotten hurt, it should’ve been me.”

My mind was a complete mess.

To begin with, my mother had just recovered from a serious illness. She had not traveled in over a year.

I thought I knew what was best for her. So, I signed her up for Ruth’s diving program. I wanted her to see the wonders of nature.

But then Adeline, Ruth’s mother, found out about it and accused me of favoritism.

“I haven’t gotten a single day of happiness since my daughter married you! You buy a spot for your mother but not for me?

“Your mother is old and fragile. The diving opportunity should’ve gone to me!”

I knew I had overlooked her this time. So, I promised her I would arrange the next one for her.

Adeline pretended to agree. But behind my back, she did the exact opposite.

She stole my mother’s gear from the locker room and went into the ocean with Craig Smith.

She had never received professional training for scuba diving.

So, when Craig played his prank, she panicked and drowned.

My mother wiped away her tears. “I’m not just worried about Adeline. I’m also worried about how this might affect your relationship with Ruth.”

I knew how close Ruth was to her own mother.

Her father died young, and her mother raised her alone.

Even in the early days of our relationship, Ruth made it clear that she would not marry me unless we agreed to let Adeline live with us.

“Anyway, it’s almost noon. I’m going back home to cook.

“If Ruth shows up, try to comfort her.”

After she left, Ruth finally arrived.

Unlike me, who looked disheveled and worn out from travel, Ruth had perfect makeup and an indifferent expression on her face.

She did not look worried at all.

“I’ve been trying to call you, but I just couldn’t get through! She’s still in the operating room.”

I stood up to explain the situation, but I noticed Craig behind her.

“Why did you bring him here? Hasn’t he done enough?”

In sharp contrast to my frustration, Ruth said indifferently, “I brought him here to apologize to your mom.

“Craig is young and doesn’t know any better. But he didn’t do this on purpose.”

Craig nodded and shoved a bag into my hands.

“I even went out of my way and bought food as an apology. She can eat it as soon as she gets out of surgery.”

I glanced at the food in the bag. There was fried chicken, burgers, and barbecue meat. Such food was not suitable for a patient.

He said, “Since I didn’t know what she liked, I bought stuff that I like to eat. Pretty smart of me, right?

“If she doesn’t make it and they take her to the crematorium, this bag can double as an ash holder. It’s super convenient!”

I was about to shout at him when the doctor walked out of the operating room.

“The patient’s condition is very critical. Severe pressure damaged her lungs and brain nerves. Multiple organs are failing. She needs major surgery right away. It’ll cost two hundred thousand dollars. You need to decide whether to save her or not right away.

“If you decide not to save her, just sign this form.”

The doctor handed over a Refusal of Treatment form.

After the doctor finished speaking, I frantically opened my bank app to check my balance.

“I just put my last chunk of money into the stock market. Pulling it out now shouldn’t be too late. I’m still short of thirty thousand dollars. You should be able to cover that…

“Don’t worry. Your mom’s going to be okay—”

Before I could finish speaking, Ruth cut me off.

“Don’t bother saving her. I’m not paying for it!”

“What? That’s your mother in there! You don’t want to save your mother?”

I thought she was worried about the two hundred thousand dollars. So I tried to reassure her.

“We have enough money. Don’t worry.”

Ruth pulled a pre-written liability waiver out of her bag.

“Half of your money is mine. That’s marital assets. I refuse to let you use it to save your mother.

“I know you’re hurting right now. But what’s done is done. Everyone has to move on, right? The mortgage and car loan cost money. You can’t let your mother hold us back.”

I was confused as I listened to her. She thought that I was talking about my own mother?

“Even if you save your mom, what then? Even the doctor said all her organs are failing. She might end up bedridden for the rest of her life.

“Have you ever thought about how much trouble that would cause our family?

“I’ve worked so hard for so long. I didn’t work this hard to spend money on something like this.”

She said a lot of things, but I was fixated on her calling the person in the operating room my mother.

Was that why she could stand in front of me so calmly and refuse treatment?

“You won’t save her just because you think the person in the operating room is my mother?”

“Yeah. I’m not heartless, but this is just reality.”

At that moment, I felt nothing but bitterness.

“What if it were your mother lying in that bed? Would you still say that?” I asked agitatedly.

Craig said rudely, “Zac, how could you say that just because your own mother isn’t going to make it?”

“Shut up! If you hadn’t turned off that scuba tank, none of this would have happened!”

I grabbed Craig by the collar in anger and raised my fist to punch him.

Ruth stepped in front of him.

My fist was close to her face, but I managed to stop in time.

There was a time when she used to shield me like that.

However, she stood on the opposite side of me to shield another man at this moment.

“Have you lost your mind?”

Ruth slapped me across the face.

“You need to calm down!

“I get how you’re feeling, but Craig is my best instructor. I’m not letting anything happen to him!

“He feels terrible and guilty about what happened. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have spent the whole night on the phone with him, helping him work through it.”

I trembled all over.

“Was that why you were ignoring my calls and messages all night?”

Craig nodded.

“Yeah, Ruth gave me a hundred dollars to cover my phone bill. We talked on the phone all night.”

I was speechless. I felt like I did not even know her anymore.

Craig tilted his head and added, “Zac, I really didn’t think your mom would be that fragile. Can’t she take a simple prank?

“Also, your mom is such a poser. She doesn’t know anything about diving, but she still wants to do it anyway. It’s like she was asking for trouble.”

Rage surged within me when I heard that.

It did not matter whether Adeline was posing or not. There was no justification for harming her.

Even I, who did not know much about diving, knew that turning off someone’s scuba tank underwater was extremely dangerous.

How could he say it like it was just a harmless prank?

“A prank? Do you realize that this falls under attempted murder?”

Just as I was about to confront him, Ruth shoved me aside.

“Enough! Stop this!”

Neither Ruth nor Craig answered my question.

“Don’t try to change the subject. Even if you keep saying all that, it doesn’t change the fact that your mother is lying on that operating table.

“I know the situation was urgent, but this is not the time to throw a fit.”

“Listen to me, Ruth! The person in that operating room is your mother. If you don’t want to regret this later, come with me right now and pay for the surgery.”

Craig added fuel to the fire.

“What kind of mother is she anyway?”

“Ruth told me everything. Your mom’s always getting sick with one thing or another. You’ve never been able to save any money all these years because of her. Honestly, she should be dead.”

I looked at Ruth with a conflicted face when I heard that.

“Zac, if you spend money on your mom’s surgery today, we’re getting a divorce.”

In that instant, my heart sank.

Ruth and I grew up together as childhood sweethearts. All these years, whenever her family had problems, my mother was the one who helped them out.

Even my mother’s chronic health problems were because she had risked her life saving Ruth from under a car in the past.

“Fine. Let’s get a divorce.”

When Craig heard me say that, his eyes lit up.

He continued putting up an act.

“Zac, Ruth only said that to test you. How can you take it seriously? I really have to question your love for Ruth at this point.”

Ruth gave me a cold, sideways glare. “You think you can pressure me by threatening me with a divorce?

“Stop wasting my time! Just sign the Refusal of Treatment form and the form declining to press charges.”

She shoved both the forms in my face.

I sneered and said, “What do I have to sign that? The person in the operating room is your mother.

“You’re the one who should sign it.”

Ruth frowned and glared at me.

“Zac, why are you throwing a fit right now? How could my mother possibly be lying on an operating table? You’ll say anything to trick me into giving you the money.”

Craig nodded. “Yeah, Ruth. Good thing you checked the dive roster beforehand. Otherwise, Zac really would’ve tricked us.”

“What if it really is your mother in the operating room?” I asked again.

Ruth saw how serious I looked. She hesitated a little.

Craig quickly tugged at her sleeve. “Ruth, don’t you fall for it!

“If she survives, you won’t be able to focus on diving anymore. Zac will have a million ways to keep you stuck at home taking care of his mom.”

Ruth said firmly, “Even if that is my mother in the operating room, I still wouldn’t save her.”

Just then, a man in a police uniform walked over from a distance.

Ruth glared at me. “You called the police?”

I sneered. “What else was I supposed to do? Don’t people have to pay for hurting someone deliberately?”

Craig was panicking.

“No! I’m still so young. I can’t have a criminal record!

“Ruth, didn’t you say you’d protect me? The police officers are coming to arrest me!”

When Ruth saw that I had no intention of signing the form, she signed both forms herself.

Then, she turned to the doctor. “We’re giving up on saving her.”

She looked at me and said, “I signed the form declining to press charges for you. I’m not going to let you ruin Craig’s future.

“As for your mother, I’ll give you ten thousand dollars as compensation. Take the money and stop making a scene.”

I lost all desire to argue with her when I heard her absurd words.

The police officer had indeed come to arrest Craig. “Where’s the suspect?”

Craig quickly hid behind Ruth. She also tensed up.

“Officer, this is all a misunderstanding! It was an accident, and the patient’s family has agreed not to press charges.”

She hurriedly pulled out the form declining to press charges that she had signed.

I grabbed her wrist and tried to reason with her.

“Who are you to forgive a murderer on your mother’s behalf? You’re just helping a monster.”

She pulled her arm away. “I told you! Stop saying that the person in there is my mother!”

I could not persuade her.

Just then, a voice broke the tense atmosphere.

“Ruth, you finally made it!”

My mother’s voice rang out. There she was, walking over while carrying a food container.

Ruth’s eyes went wide. Her expression shifted from surprise to panic.

“What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in the operating room? If you’re here, then who’s in there?

“Where’s my mother? No! There’s no way that’s my mother in there.”

Just as she started screaming, the operating room doors opened.

The doctor walked out, pushing a body covered by a white sheet.

“I’m sorry. We couldn’t save her.”

My mother quickly set the food container on the floor and pulled Ruth into her arms.

“Ruth, I’m so sorry! This is all my fault. I should’ve stopped your mother from going into the water with that diver. Otherwise, none of this would’ve happened.”

Ruth was still frozen in shock. Her whole body trembled as she lifted the white sheet in terror.

She lifted it halfway, revealing just enough to see Adeline’s lifeless eyes.

“Mom!”