The Second Marriage Chance

Philip

Restless with nerves, I paced the hallway in the dim glow of midnight, unable to settle. Sarah had been in the labor room for what felt like an eternity, on the brink of delivering twins prematurely.

The anxiety gripped me tight. The twins, still weeks from their due date, now necessitated an urgent C-section due to complications. The mere thought of Sarah undergoing surgery sent waves of unease through me.

“Boss, it’s Mr. Benner!” Alex said, snapping me out of my worried trance.

Amir hurried over, his face etched with worry. I wasn’t prepared to face him, my mind racing with many emotions.

“Where’s Sarah?” Amir demanded, his tone accusatory.

Alex glanced at me, then back to Amir. “She’s inside, Mr. Benner, undergoing a cesarean section.”

“What have you done?!” Amir’s anger flared, seizing my collar with a fierce grip.

“What did you do? Sarah shouldn’t be giving birth yet! Did you stress her out about that video circulating online?” he accused fiercely.

“Could you, please? Don’t blame me-I didn’t do anything! Yes, Sarah was stressed-who wouldn’t be? But it wasn’t because of me!” I retorted, pushing his hand away in frustration.

Alex intervened, restraining Amir gently. “Mr. Benner, since the video came out, we’ve been working tirelessly to remove it and safeguard Madam Sarah’s privacy. Dr. Vanderbilt confirmed that Madam could no longer carry the babies, but the procedure will ensure their safe delivery without complications.”

Amir released my collar; his expression clouded with concern. “Where’s Josh? He’s the only one who could have leaked that video!”

“He’s dead!” I blurted out, turning away in frustration.

“What do you mean he’s dead?” Amir asked, stunned.

Amir was relentless. Couldn’t he see I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to talk?

“Did you kill him?” His mouth hung open in suspicion.

Alex cleared his throat.

“Did Sarah cheat with him?” Amir pressed again. “Did you decide to eliminate your rival by removing him from your lives?”

At this point, I struggled to contain my frustration with his relentless questioning. Yes, that’s right! Part of me wanted to kill Josh! And if this goddamn brother-in-law of mine keeps pushing would be next!

“First off, Sarah isn’t the woman in it. So, if you’re thinking my wife and I had a fight or that I suspected her of cheating, you’re completely off base. Second, I’m doing everything I can to investigate the video.”

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself.

“Lastly, can you please shut the fuck up?! Say one more word, and I’ll ensure you’re barred from Serenity Pines Estate. You won’t see even a strand of my children’s hair.”

Amir’s eyes narrowed as my heart raced with irritation. Only the sound of a baby crying from the room calmed me momentarily.

Damn it! I wasn’t calm at all. Standing up abruptly, I felt at a loss for what to do next. Furthermore, I wasn’t even sure if the baby’s cries belonged to my twins.

A medical staff member emerged from the wide door. “President Cornell, you can go in now.”

I rushed inside, hearing Amir complain behind me about why he couldn’t come in. This hospital area is tightly regulated and situated in a separate building from the main one. Inside the maternity ward, there’s a recovery area. I saw Sarah, the only patient in sight, through the large window.Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

Sarah’s hospital bed was slightly elevated, fatigue evident on her face as she kept her eyes closed. I longed to go to her side and check on her after her surgery. Worry consumed me, and I couldn’t hold back the tears of fear and relief.

“Philip!” Ethan’s voice called out urgently.

“Ethan! Is… is my wife okay?” I asked anxiously.

“She’ll be recovering for about six more hours. You should be able to talk to her properly tomorrow, considering she just had surgery.”

My chest ached with pain, a deep feeling that seemed to spread through my whole body. At that moment, I silently promised to every god I could think of: that I would forever protect and cherish Sarah, my beloved wife. She had sacrificed so much to bring our children into the world.

Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I turned to Ethan.

“Where are the babies?” I asked.

His eyes crinkled at the corners, betraying his own emotional state despite the medical mask covering half his face. He guided me towards a corner of the room I hadn’t noticed before-a small nursery.

Through the transparent sides of a modern bassinet, I caught my first glimpse of two tiny forms. My breath caught, and a choked sob escaped me. Wrapped in soft blankets, there they lay-perfect little beings.

Even from this distance, I knew without a doubt that these were my children. Something deep within me recognized them instantly.

They were incredibly tiny, their delicate features slightly swollen from birth. Their little hands were tightly clenched into fists. Joy overwhelmed me. If only Sarah could share this moment.

“Hello, my precious little ones,” I whispered through sniffles. It was a happiness unlike any I had ever felt before.

“Congratulations, brother! Damn! I never thought you’d start a family before me!”

Before I could respond, Sarah’s doctor entered the room. Like Ethan, she wore a surgical mask. “Congratulations, President Cornell. You can hold the twins briefly if you’d like. It’s good for them to have that early contact.”

Despite the temptation to cradle my newborns, I shook my head. “Please, let my wife have that privilege,” I insisted.

I should have given Sarah the opportunity since I had the privilege of seeing them first.

“We’ll need names for the birth certificates, President Cornell,” she prompted gently. “Have you and your wife decided?”

Sarah and I had already talked about it. “Our daughter will be Iris, and our son, Preston.”

The doctor made a note, then excused herself, leaving Ethan and me with the twins. After a brief moment in the nursery, I headed to Sarah’s recovery room, taking her hand.

I sat beside her for what felt like hours, cherishing her serene face, tracing the curve of her cheek with my hand.

“You’ve given me the most incredible gift. I can’t wait for you to wake up and share this happiness,” I murmured.

Through the large, clear window of the recovery room, I spotted Assistant Alex. His posture was tense, and he seemed to be trying to catch my attention without being too obvious.

‘What’s he doing?’

Stepping out to meet Alex, I sensed the urgency in his demeanor.

“Boss, I… I have bad news,” Alex began.

Noticing his discomfort, I led him further away from the ward to avoid disturbing anyone. I spotted Amir nearby, engaged in what appeared to be an intense phone conversation.

Turning to Alex, I asked, “What is it?”

Without a word, Alex handed me his iPad, displaying a video.

I played it. A woman sat before the camera-it was Sarah!

“I am Sarah Mitchell,” the woman declared, “The original Sarah Benner! You heard it right! Someone is pretending to be me, deceiving everyone. I have to claim what’s mine! That woman you all knew as Sarah Benner is fake! She’s Lila Fox, my father’s mistress’s daughter. Just like her surname, she’s a dog!”

As the video ended, my mind raced, analyzing every detail.

None of it made sense. Sarah wouldn’t expose the truth this way. She was methodical, gathering evidence quietly and planning a calculated legal strike against Lila. Moreover, this woman’s voice and accent were noticeably different from my wife’s.

“Boss, I think this woman might be the same one from the sex tape with Josh. She may also be behind its release online,” Alex remarked.

And I believe his assumption was correct.

But right now, I don’t give a fuck! A mere woman who looks exactly like my wife won’t ruin my mood.

I glanced over at Amir, who had just ended his call and was approaching us grimly. Before he could speak, I cut him off.

“This is your problem to fix!”

Amir’s eyes widened in surprise, clearly unaccustomed to being given orders. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

A mischievous grin tugged at my lips.

“Fix it,” I repeated, “or you won’t get to meet my adorable newborns!”

“Mr. Benner, I saw the babies earlier. They truly are precious!” Alex added.

Amir was left speechless.