I was burning with fever, my body aching as though Id been trampled, my throat raw and my skull throbbing. Sleep was the only escape, so I curled under the blankets, desperate for even a moments relief.
Thats when she came in.
The ice-cold water hit me like a shock, jolting me awake. I gasped, clawing at my face, blinking up at the shadow looming over memy mother-in-law, Margaret. Her lips were pressed into a thin, bloodless line, her eyes sharp as flint.
“Still lazing about?” Her voice was a whip-crack. “Up! Guests arrive in an hour! The house must be spotlesstable set, everything perfect! Stop lying there like some useless girl!”
I tried to speak, but my tongue felt heavy. Instead, I pushed myself up on trembling arms, wiping the water from my face, my whole body shaking.
“Mum my temperatures forty degrees I can barely lift my head,” I whispered.
She waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, stop fussing! Everyone gets ill. I worked through worse in my day! Dont you dare embarrass me in front of company!”
Something inside me snapped. Her words werent just cruelthey were indifferent, colder than the water shed thrown.
Thats when I did it.
Slowly, I dragged myself from the bed. The room spun, but I steadied myself, stepped past her without a word, and grabbed my phone. My fingers trembled as I dialed 999.
“Ambulance, please. I need help. Forty-degree fever. Severe headache, throat like fire yes, the address is 23 Willow Lane.”
Margarets face twisted in outrage. “Have you lost your mind? We have guests coming!”
“*You* have guests. *I* have an infection. And this is *my* house.” The words came out steady, final.
As I packed my things, she muttered under her breathsomething about “ungrateful daughters-in-law.” But when the paramedics arrived twenty minutes later, I was ready. The medic checked my temperature, examined my throat, and frowned.
“Hospital. Now.”
I pulled on my coat and turned to Margaret one last time.
“When I return, you and your guests will be gone. And you will never step foot in this house again unless I allow it.”
Her mouth openedsome protest, some demandbut I shut the door behind me before she could speak another word.
