Women must be brave and tenacious

Vivian opened her eyes, and everything she saw was so familiar, so familiar that it stung her eyes. She blinked. Hmm, this seemed like her home, how could it not be familiar? She was a little dazed after just waking up. After shaking her head gently, she still had a strange feeling in her heart. Before she could dwell on it—in fact, she didn't think it was necessary—the phone rang, interrupting her train of thought. She reached for the sofa and picked up the phone, rubbing her neck with one hand as she softly said, "Hello." Although she wasn't a city dweller, that didn't stop her from becoming a cultured woman. "What did you call me about this afternoon? I was in a meeting and couldn't listen." A familiar yet distant voice came from the phone: "You called three times. Do you know how embarrassing it was for me in front of the boss? Okay, let's talk when I get home. I'm almost home and I have something to tell you." The person on the phone hung up without waiting for Vivian to speak, and Vivian was silent for a long time before muttering, "Home?" She finally realized why she had a strange feeling. This place was no longer her home. It should be said that it had ceased to be her home two or three years ago. She was so shocked that she looked around and didn't think about the impatient and blaming tone of the person on the phone: "Impossible, impossible, how is it possible?" She pressed the sofa, and it was indeed the sofa she had chosen personally that year, and it was the purple color she had always liked. Suddenly, a pain came from her head, and she knew that she was not dreaming at all. What was she doing before she woke up? She tried hard to recall but could not remember anything. The only thing that was certain was that before she woke up, she was definitely not in this house, nor was she sitting on this sofa, and it was even more impossible for her to receive a call from that man and hear him mention the word "home". After the headache subsided, she found that the phone in her hand was the Motorola she used a few years ago, not the Sony Ericsson she used later. There was also a piece of paper on the sofa, a slightly wrinkled A4-sized paper. She slowly reached out and picked up the paper. Seeing the lines of handwriting on it, her eyes moistened. Memories were like water behind a floodgate, rushing out with an impatient, rumbling roar after the heavy gate was opened. She would never forget this piece of paper, and today was even less likely to forget it. But, all of this was already in the past. No matter how many nights she'd cried her heart out, banged her head against the wall in regret, those wrong decisions could no longer be undone. Just like, right now?! How could this be possible? She looked at the paper in her hand in confusion. The paper was a hospital diagnosis, clearly stating that she had congenital heart disease. She didn't understand many of the terms, and even now she still couldn't understand them, but she still remembered the doctor's words - there was something missing in her heart that prevented it from closing completely. However, it was not very serious, so she didn't feel anything special for many years. However, after she became pregnant, the burden on her heart increased, which made her symptoms appear, but it did not attract the attention of her or those around her. In addition, in the few years after she gave birth, she was busy with work and childcare. The heavy burden made her heart worse. She often suffered from shortness of breath and chest tightness, and sometimes her lips would be slightly blue and purple, but she would be fine as long as she rested for a while. So, she never took it to heart. If she hadn't fainted on the ground after receiving a call from her hometown a few days ago, she wouldn't have gone to the hospital for a check-up. She fainted and was awakened by the doctor downstairs without waiting for the ambulance. However, she still followed the doctor's instructions and went to the hospital. The reason why she fell asleep on the sofa was that she was frightened by the words "congenital heart disease" on the diagnosis book - this is what she remembered. She had originally thought this congenital condition was serious, and the fact that it was a heart problem made it even more serious. The doctor's advice that she needed to go to the hospital for surgery as soon as possible frightened her even more. She immediately called her husband after receiving the diagnosis, but couldn't get through. Her husband, at that time, he was still her heaven, her earth, her everything, so when she encountered such a big thing, the first person she thought of was him. Even hearing him say a few words to her could make her calm down a lot, but when she needed him the most, not to mention the sound of his voice, she couldn't hear him. She had never imagined that she would have such a serious illness. She was suddenly frightened and lost her mind. After returning home, she sat on the sofa in a daze, waiting for her husband to come back to discuss when to go to the hospital for surgery. While waiting, she fell asleep unknowingly. Vivian looked at the paper in her hand, rereading it again and again. She couldn't help but pinch herself again, groaning in pain, to make sure she was really awake. How many years had she gone back? Looking at the calendar on the table, her eyes widened. She had really gone back a few years! She returned to the day that had made her regret and hate countless times - perhaps, it was still not too late? She suddenly crumpled the paper into a ball and closed her eyes, trying not to let the tears flow. Over the years, she had become accustomed to smiling. The more pain she felt, the more she would smile, never letting the tears flow. If she wasn't strong, who would she show her weakness to? No, even if she died, she would never let anyone see her tears again. Now she needed to think carefully about what to do next. Time was running out. She was very excited and confused, with so much disbelief. All the real years that had passed in her life, the ups and downs left behind by them, came flooding back. It was not easy to calm down, even though she knew she had to. Not for anything else, but for the sake of her child, for her darling who is only a few years old at the moment, she has to stay calm. Thinking of her child, Vivian stood up suddenly. Yes, a daughter, her daughter! Now her daughter was alive, her daughter was alive! She hugged herself with both hands, tears welling up again and almost rolling out of her eyes. Her lips trembled as she murmured gratitude to the heavens: "God has eyes, God has eyes." For her daughter's sake, she couldn't let it all start over again. She unfolded the diagnosis, slowly sat back on the sofa, and desperately told herself that being able to start over was a gift from God, and she absolutely couldn't waste such a good opportunity. She couldn't make the same mistake again. Suddenly, there was the sound of a door lock turning gently, and then the door opened and a tall and handsome man came in. It was Vivian's husband Paco. Paco saw his wife frowning slightly as she stared at him unblinkingly on the sofa, and a wave of disgust welled up in his heart. He couldn't stand this woman anymore, he really couldn't stand it anymore. He was fed up with everything about her: her nagging, her immaturity, her lack of progress, her manners, her dress—in short, he was fed up with everything about her. "What are you calling me about?" Even though he hated the woman before him, he still hadn't forgotten that it was she who had accompanied him from nothing to where he was today. So, instead of rushing to talk about his own affairs, he asked. He had always been a man who was grateful for what he had received, and this was certainly the case now. Vivian looked at her husband who looked much younger. Well, it seemed that everything was true. She really went back many years ago. Only now did she truly believe it. "It's nothing important," she gently pushed the diagnosis book on the sofa behind her: "Didn't you say you had something to tell me? What is it?" Even though she already knew what he was going to talk about, her heart still shrank the moment she asked. She couldn't forgive him. Paco didn't expect Vivian to speak so simply this time. She didn't ask him if the road was easy, didn't ask him if he was thirsty or hungry, and didn't ask him if there was anything going on at the company... This time, she didn't say anything at all and just asked him directly if he had anything to say. Suddenly, his mouth seemed to be blocked by something, and the words he had prepared were a little difficult to say. Of course, he had thought it through on the way here, no, it should be said that he had thought it through clearly during his three-day "business trip". Just before entering the door, he did not feel that there was anything difficult about the words he was about to say, but now he just couldn't say those words that he wanted to say directly. "Oh, by the way, you went to the hospital to get the results today. How was it?" He asked this question involuntarily, just to give himself a chance to breathe. No matter what, he must make things clear today. Although he is a grateful person, he will not sacrifice his entire life for a favor. He is also a human being and he has the right to pursue his own happiness. Vivian was stunned. Paco had never asked her such a question in her memory. Instead, he had laid it all out straight away and told her—I want a divorce. What was going on? Why was this situation so different from what had happened before? She looked at Paco and said, "I've been there. It's nothing serious. I just need an operation. Please sit down." She looked at her husband, who stood stiffly after hanging up his clothes. "You should talk about your business first. You're busy and time is tight. We need to go to the hospital to discuss the operation with the doctor." Paco coughed twice and sat down opposite his wife, looking around: "Surgery, surgery these days is like taking cold medicine. I will find some time to find a good surgeon tomorrow or the day after tomorrow." He just ignored the matter of his wife fainting, because he didn't want to care about her in the first place. But he still didn't know how to start the conversation. He looked around and said, "I'll pick up Rick later. Let's go out for dinner." After he said that, he really wanted to slap himself twice. You know, he didn't have time to accompany Vivian and Rick for dinner tonight. What happened to him today? He always said the wrong things. He couldn't help but look at his wife. He always felt that something was wrong with his wife today, which made him say the wrong things one after another. Vivian didn't expect that he would have to accompany his daughter and herself to dinner. Thinking of the person he would accompany tonight, she couldn't help but smile sarcastically: "You, really have time to have dinner with your daughter?" Now he still loves his daughter very much, but this love has become thinner later.