Chapter 743 Uterine Septum
Amelia Winters received a text message from Tiffany, who informed her that she was coming to the hospital for a body checkup. The former was startled and thought there was something wrong with the latter’s health, so she told Eleanor that she had to leave to attend to some matters and requested Sean to take care of their mother for the time being.
After leaving the ward, Amelia immediately called Tiffany. Once the call was connected, she asked directly, “Tiff, are you feeling unwell? Why did you come to the hospital for a checkup all of a sudden?”
“Babe, don’t worry. I’m all good. I just wanted to check if there’s anything wrong with my body. Derrick and I have been married for months now. We aren’t using any contraception, but I’m not pregnant yet. I don’t wish to have a child so early, but you know my mother-in-law. So, I thought of going for a checkup in the hospital. Could you ask James to arrange the best gynecologist in his hospital for me?” Tiffany explained.
Amelia understood what she meant instantly.
After a woman got married, most of the time, things were beyond her control, especially when it came to matters like having a child. It was as though it was a sin if a woman could not conceive. Because of that, many loving couples ended up parting ways.
A child did not only help to sustain the relationship between the husband and wife but also affected how a woman would be treated by her mother-in-law.
Some families would even condemn the woman for not being able to bear a child.
At times, life was hard for women.
“Come over then. I’ll have James arrange an expert for you,” said Amelia.
After hanging up the phone, she purposely waited for Tiffany downstairs.
The latter drove an eye-catching red Audi and stopped the car somewhere not too far from the hospital. Once she got out of the car, she walked toward Amelia.
Amelia swept her gaze across her best friend, checking out her attire for the day—a bright red hat, a pair of black-framed glasses, a red dress, and red lipstick. Basically, she was wearing red from head to toe.
Her lips could not help but twitch at that sight. What kind of look is this? Why is she wearing red from head to toe? Does she think she doesn’t look flashy enough?
“Tiff, why did you dress up like this?” Amelia asked, baffled.
Tiffany let out a sigh and said, “My mother-in-law matched this outfit for me. She heard I was coming to the hospital for a checkup, so she insisted on having me wear everything in red. According to her, it would bring me endless luck, and we had to take every single step seriously so that I could get pregnant as soon as possible.”
The hint of weariness in her voice was evident. “Babe, although my mother-in-law looks fashionable and pretty on the outside, she has all kinds of conservative and backward thinking in mind. She has tried every method just to help me to conceive. I’m going to get kicked out of the family by her if I still can’t get pregnant.”
“This is not something you can rush, and it’s not like you can get pregnant at any time as you wish. You need to take things easy. If not, it’d be harder for you to conceive when you’re under so much stress because of her. Besides, the problem doesn’t only lie in you. Why didn’t you call Derrick along?” Amelia asked.
Holding her best friend’s hand, Tiffany walked into the hospital. Her striking red outfit had caught everyone’s attention.
“I wanted to, but my mother-in-law said Derrick is strong and healthy. Even if there’s something wrong, it’s surely my problem. Derrick was worried that his mom would keep picking on me, so he told me to come to the hospital alone. Everyone from his family has been urging me to have a child soon, but none of them is willing to accompany me to the hospital, including my husband,” Tiffany complained.
They entered the elevator, and Amelia observed Tiffany’s expression as she inquired cautiously, “Did something happen between you and Derrick?”
Tiffany was stunned for a moment before her face fell. “Babe, you’ve noticed that. I fought with him because of his mom yesterday. It wasn’t a big deal. I accidentally commented something about his mom, so we started arguing. But I guess we will be fine in a few days,” she remarked disappointedly.
Amelia felt her heart aching as she stared at Tiffany. Tiffany is supposed to look happy and dazzling after getting married to the love of her life, but she looks slightly pale. Besides, her face looks skinnier. It seems like she has been having a tough time in the Hisson family.
“Babe, you’re caught up in many problems too, yet I keep telling you all these. I’m sorry. Just don’t bother about me. I’ll deal with the problem in my marriage. Later at night, I’ll find a time to talk with Derrick. I love him, and I’m sure he feels the same too. We won’t get a divorce,” Tiffany stated firmly.
Amelia reached out and wanted to remove the glasses on Tiffany’s face, but the latter dodged and said, “Babe, what are you doing?”
“There’s no sunlight in here. You can remove them.”
“It’s fine. I feel pretty comfortable wearing them.”
Amelia’s face turned grim in an instant. Without hesitation, she removed Tiffany’s glasses and spotted the bruise around her eye. “Tiff, what happened?” she questioned furiously.
Tiffany grabbed the glasses from her grip and put them back on. “Babe, stop asking.”
The two stepped out of the elevator, and Amelia asked in a low voice, “Was Mrs. Hisson the one who did this to you?”
Tiffany shook her head.
A shocked look flitted across Amelia’s eyes. “Could it be Derrick who hit you?” she asked incredulously.
Tiffany was rendered speechless.
“Not them, but my father-in-law. He heard me talking back to my mother-in-law, so he slapped me for being disrespectful. I accidentally fell on the coffee table and hit the corner of my eye. Fortunately, my eye wasn’t injured, or else I would’ve gone blind,” said Tiffany, pretending that she was unbothered.
Amelia was so furious that she was quivering. The Hissons are going too far! They’re hurting people over and over again. How uncivilized! They don’t even seem like a well-educated family, and they’re more unreasonable than rogues.
“What did Derrick say then? Did he not do something when you were bullied by the Hissons?” she questioned angrily, for she was quite disappointed in Derrick. She had entrusted Tiffany to him, thinking that he was a mature and trustworthy man. Amelia had not expected that he would turn out to be such an unreliable person.
“Derrick mentioned to his family before that it’d better for us to move out, as we’d get into arguments more easily if we were to live together.” Tiffany sighed before continuing, “But the night when he brought up this topic, his mom had another episode and was rushed to the hospital. Because of that, his dad reprimanded him for prioritizing his wife over his mom. His dad also said that they had been waiting for him to live together with them after getting married, and they hadn’t expected him to move out again because of a woman. After he was done with his lecturing, his mom regained consciousness just in time, and she played the good cop, saying that she was fine and told us to move out. All she ever wanted was to have her son come home to have meals with her and her daughter-in-law to talk to her. Then, she also mentioned that she only wanted to be a good mother-in-law, but it seemed like I disliked her. She didn’t want to force us to stay, as she also wouldn’t like being forced. Hence, she allowed us to move out.”
Regardless, Tiffany had become the culprit who caused a mess in the family.
In the end, she and Derrick had no other choice but to stay with them.
Derrick knew how aggrieved Tiffany felt. Even so, she had to do her best to get along with his family since she had already married him. In fact, Tiffany had tamed her own temper to please Kate so that he would not get torn between her and his mother. Alas, things did not work out as well as Tiffany had expected, as Kate remained hostile toward her when Derrick was not around, making it impossible for her to have the inspiration to work on her writing. The director had been rushing her to come up with the script and even scolded her a few times over the phone because of it.
Tiffany was caught between family and her career, and she could only keep her hardship to herself.
Amelia listened to her in silence and kept her company.
After a long while, she muttered guiltily, “Tiff, had I known this would happen, I wouldn’t have allowed you to marry into that family. Mrs. Hisson isn’t my mother-in-law. Even though my mother-in-law resented me for leaving with Tony without a word back then, she’s still a well-mannered person. She wouldn’t force Oscar to put her as his top priority.”
“I insisted on marrying him. Besides, I have no regrets. I love Derrick, so I’m willing to change for him. I’ll go in first, and I’ll follow you to visit Mrs. Hutton in a while.”
Amelia heaved a sigh as she watched Tiffany enter the room.
She had yet to finish her words.
Although Derrick seemed mature and trustworthy, he was not as bold as Oscar. Thus, she worried that he would eventually give in to his family. Perhaps, he was willing to go against his family for Tiffany’s sake before the marriage. However, when faced with neverending problems because of his family, Derrick might not be able to side with Tiffany as he always did.
That was Amelia’s concern.
She feared that all the sacrifices Tiffany had made would be in vain.
Even so, Tiffany knew nothing about Amelia’s worries. She entered the room and was told to lie on the bed by the doctor.
“Ms. Winters, lift your shirt, please. I’m going to perform a checkup on you, and it might feel a little ticklish. Please endure it.” The doctor was a middle-aged woman, almost in her fifties. Her tone was not as cold and stern as the other doctors.
Tiffany nodded and did as told.
The female doctor, Bridget Yeager, grabbed the device and pressed it against Tiffany’s abdomen in circles for a few minutes. Then, she slightly furrowed her brows.
“Ms. Winters, you’d better be mentally prepared. There’s a membrane that runs down the middle of your uterus, and it’s called a uterine septum. This condition is a type of congenital uterine anomaly. It will cause infertility, decreased fertility rate, ectopic pregnancy, and increased risks of having a miscarriage, stillborn, premature birth, and fetal malposition during pregnancy. I’d suggest you receive treatment as soon as possible,” the doctor explained.
“Dr. Yeager, please be honest with me. What’s the success rate of curing a septate uterus? Can I still get pregnant?”
“Ms. Winters, don’t worry. Considering that medical skills nowadays are pretty advanced, there will surely be a way to cure your illness. Besides, someone who has a uterine septum still has the chance to conceive. It’s just that the risk of miscarriage or having a stillborn is higher. Don’t stress out too much. Relax,” Bridget comforted.
Tiffany pursed her lips and said, “Dr. Yeager, please arrange the time for the surgery. I’d like to get treated as soon as possible.”
“Ms. Winters, it’s good that you’re willing to receive treatment, but you can’t rush to get pregnant. It’d be better to just go with the flow. It might be harder for you to conceive if you’re under too much pressure.”
Tiffany nodded in agreement.
“Ms. Winters, you should go home and take some time to compose yourself. Get your husband to come to the hospital to settle the admission procedure. Septate uterus isn’t a serious issue; you only need to undergo surgery. I believe you will be the most beautiful mom in the future.” Bridget flashed her a reassuring grin.
“Dr. Yeager, I feel that you’re different from the other doctors. You’re always smiling, and you’re great at comforting your patient.”
“The patients are already anxious when they come to the hospital. If I were to put on a long face in front of them, they’d feel worse. I’d rather relax and chat with them. In that case, they feel more at ease, and I can carry out the checkup easier.”
Tiffany gave the doctor a thumbs-up.
She only left after chatting with Bridget for a while more.
At the sight of her leaving the room, Amelia came forward and asked, “Tiff, how was it? Are you okay?”
Holding the report, Tiffany replied, “The doctor said I have a uterine septum, which means there’s a membrane that grows down the middle of my uterus. I will need to undergo surgery. I’m going to head home and discuss this with Derrick, and I think I’ll be coming to the hospital tomorrow for the surgery.”
“Don’t worry. It shouldn’t be a big issue if it can be cured through surgery. Once you’ve recuperated, you can conceive a child. Just take it easy. You can only get pregnant more easily when your mind is at ease.”
“I got it.”
Tiffany accompanied Amelia to visit Eleanor upstairs and stayed for an hour before she drove home.
At night, she told Derrick about her health condition.
