Chapter4 My Daughter-in-Law Deserves Bett
1833 Words
The marriage certificate lay in Sebastian’s hand.
Wendy stared at it for a full half minute， too shocked to speak.
Then she finally came back to herself. She snatched the certificate from him and opened it.
“Don’t try to fool me.”
In the photo， the young woman standing beside her son had her hair tied back in a clean ponytail.
No makeup.
Clear features.
A face that looked soft， fresh， and calm， with the kind of beauty that did not need to announce itself.
Wendy looked down at the name on the certificate.
“Ava Wynn?”
She looked up at Sebastian.
Sebastian nodded. “Yes.”
Wendy had never heard that name before.
That only made her more suspicious.
“She isn’t one of the girls I introduced to you. Don’t think you can get some fake certificate and trick me.”
She held the paper closer， checking the county seal and the clerk’s signature.
“I’m not lying to you.”
Sebastian lowered his eyes.
“I met her yesterday while I was handling hospital onboarding. She happened to need to get married quickly too. I thought we were a good fit， so we got married.”
The moment Wendy heard that， she exploded.
“A good fit? What part of that is a good fit?”
“Forget love at first sight. You secretly took a girl to the courthouse and married her without telling anyone? Are you trying to kill me?”
As she scolded him， Wendy smacked him hard on the arm.
In Sebastian’s memory， this was probably the first time his mother had ever actually hit him.
And she did not hold back.
She hit him while questioning him.
“I told you to go on dates. Did I tell you to go straight to a courthouse wedding?”
“Where’s the ring? Where are the family introductions?”
“You married someone’s daughter without preparing anything. Is this how I raised you?”
Earlier， when Wendy had been accusing Sebastian of staying single， half of her anger had been exaggerated.
But now， she was truly angry.
Sebastian saw that his mother’s eyes had gone red from frustration.
“Mom，” he said. “She didn’t object.”
“She didn’t object?” Wendy snapped. “Did she whisper that into your ear herself?”
Wendy refused to accept that.
In her mind， marrying a woman should be formal， respectful， and properly arranged.
There should be a ring.
There should be a family meeting.
There should be wedding plans.
There should be enough sincerity to let the girl know she was valued.
Nothing at all?
Then the woman was the one being wronged.
Now that the marriage was already done， Wendy gritted her teeth and turned toward the stairs.
“I’m going to prepare a proper gift first. When your father comes home， I’ll have him beat some sense into you.”
“Mom.”
Sebastian called her again.
“Don’t make this complicated.”
“Complicated?”
Wendy shook off his hand.
“That is not complicated. That is basic respect.”
“You gave her nothing. No wonder my daughter-in-law didn’t even want to come home for dinner after the ceremony.”
“She didn’t refuse.”
Sebastian corrected her.
“Ava is a doctor too. She’s Chief Cardiology Fellow this year. She practically lives at the hospital and doesn’t have time.”
“Really?”
Wendy was still half doubtful.
Sebastian nodded.
Wendy thought for a second.
“Fine. If she doesn’t have time， I do. I’ll go to the hospital to see her.”
Sebastian refused immediately.
“About coming home for dinner， I need to ask her first.”
The upgrade from “son’s future date” to “daughter-in-law” had happened too suddenly. Wendy’s mind had been a mess， so she had not reacted properly.
After Sebastian reminded her， she finally calmed down a little.
“Yes. We should respect the girl’s wishes.”
Then she pointed at him.
“So ask her. Soon.”
Two mitral valve repairs.
Three stent procedures.
Ava had been scrubbed in or assisting for almost all of them.
The twenty-pound lead apron had pressed on her body for nearly the entire day. By the time she walked out of the procedure area， she was so tired she could barely stand.
She took her phone out of her locker.
On the lock screen， there was a missed call from Sebastian two hours ago.
Nine thirty at night.
Calling back at this hour might disturb his rest.
Ava decided to return the call tomorrow morning.
But once she stopped moving， she suddenly found that she could not make herself walk.
So she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes for a moment.
Dr. Grant had just finished his last procedure and stepped out of the operating area.
As soon as he turned the corner， he saw the pitiful scene.
Ava was curled up near the wall， eyes closed， stealing a few minutes of sleep.
Her mask was pulled halfway over her eyes to block the light.
Dr. Grant knew his student well.
If she had not been exhausted past her limit， Ava would never have fallen asleep in the hallway.
He walked over.
“Ava.”
Ava opened her eyes and checked the time.
She had slept for ten minutes.
She stood up. “Dr. Grant.”
Dr. Grant looked at her.
“Tired? The hallway is cold. Go back to the on-call room and rest.”
No matter how tired a woman in her twenties was， she still would not admit it easily in front of her mentor.
Ava shook her head.
“I’m not tired. I was just a little sleepy. Closing my eyes for a few minutes helped.”
No one knew how many emergencies might come in tonight.
Ava followed Dr. Grant down the hall.
Dr. Grant was still worried. After a few steps， he turned to look at her again.
Her face did look pale.
“It’s harder for women in this field，” he said. “Hang in there.”
Ava understood what he meant.
There were still too few women in the cardiac center.
Everyone knew the reasons， even if no one liked saying them out loud.
Cardiothoracic surgery meant marathon operations that could stretch past ten hours.
Interventional cardiology meant long hours in lead aprons and constant exposure concerns.
For young female doctors， the questions were always harsher， more personal， and far less fair.
Back then， Dr. Grant had pushed through a lot of opposition to keep Ava among a group of male trainees.
He had not wanted her to be underestimated because of her gender.
And every Chief Cardiology Fellow had to survive this stage.
Only when women reached high enough positions would they have the power to help change the rules.
Ava understood.
“Don’t worry， Dr. Grant.”
She straightened a little.
“If you asked me to stay Chief Cardiology Fellow for another year， I could still do it.”
That finally made Dr. Grant laugh.
“Keep dreaming. Even if you wanted to， I wouldn’t allow it.”
They walked a few more steps.
Before they parted， Dr. Grant’s tone turned serious.
“Ava， you’re talented. Before I retire， I want to see you become a senior attending.”
Ava had not even secured her first attending position yet.
Senior attending still felt far away.
But those words instantly gave her energy.
She nodded hard.
“I’ll work hard， Dr. Grant.”
Only then did Dr. Grant leave， satisfied.
Mia was on night shift tonight.
As Chief Cardiology Fellow， Ava had her own on-call room with a small bathroom.
Every time Mia worked nights， she came over and stole Ava’s spare bed.
Tonight was no exception.
When Ava returned to the on-call room， Mia was already making the bed.
There was food on the desk.
Ava’s last meal had been a rushed bite in the hospital cafeteria between procedures. After seven or eight hours， her stomach was completely empty.
She washed her hands， picked up a slice of pizza from the desk， took a bite， and asked Mia， “How much was the delivery? I’ll split it with you.”
“I didn’t order it.”
Mia climbed down from the upper bunk after fixing the sheets.
“Julian Whitaker sent it.”
Ava stopped chewing and looked over.
Mia said， “Julian stayed at the hospital until six. When he saw that you still hadn’t come out of surgery， he bought late-night food before leaving.”
Ava frowned.
“Don’t accept it next time.”
Mia did not want to accept it either.
“But Julian said it was for the entire department. How was I supposed to refuse?”
Mr. Whitaker Sr.’s emergency operation had been handled by their team.
Julian always did things properly. Every time he sent something， he said it was to thank the whole department.
Ava paused.
Then she asked， “You didn’t tell him I’m married?”
Mia gasped.
“Of course not. Why would I go around announcing your private business?”
Ava fell silent.
Her expression turned thoughtful.
After so many years of friendship， Mia immediately saw what Ava was thinking.
She quickly stopped her.
“I advise you not to make it public.”
Ava looked at her.
Mia stared at her with helpless eyes for a few seconds.
Then she said with obvious disgust， “Who knows whether the man you married is a romance scammer?”
“If you go public now and this turns into some scandal later， your attending review is coming up. You can’t afford that kind of mess.”
Mia called Sebastian “the man.”
Her attitude could not have been clearer.
Ava remembered that she had not had time that morning to explain Sebastian’s background to Mia.
She straightened her expression.
“Mia， Sebastian Sullivan is not a romance scammer.”
Mia once again felt that the name sounded familiar.
But she still could not remember where she had heard it.
She looked serious.
“You can know someone’s face without knowing their heart. You two only met once. How much do you really know about him?”
Ava smiled despite herself.
“We met before.”
“You met before?”
Mia’s eyes sharpened with curiosity.
Ava nodded.
“At last year’s medical conference.”
Mia’s brows relaxed slightly.
“So… he’s a doctor too?”
Ava nodded.
“Cardiothoracic surgeon.”
“If I hadn’t seen him before， this misunderstanding wouldn’t have happened.”
Mia understood.
Her mother had told Ava that Evan Sullivan was a cardiothoracic surgeon.
Same last name.
Same specialty.
And Ava had already seen Sebastian before.
No wonder she had mistaken him for the setup date.
“That is kind of a coincidence，” Mia muttered.
But an even greater coincidence was still waiting for them.
- Writer
