Binta stood frozen for a moment, her breath catching in her throat as she stared at the scene before her. Dr. Nath, her husband, was still standing awkwardly in his boxers, clearly caught off guard.

Chi Chi, the younger woman, clutched the bedclothes tightly around her, her face pale as though she had seen a ghost. The air in the ward was thick with tension, and the silence that followed Binta’s outburst was deafening. But Binta was far from finished.

“Answer me!” she screamed, her voice echoing through the empty halls of the hospital. “After everything I’ve done for you, Nath, this is how you repay me? By sneaking around and eating apples with a girl young enough to be your daughter?!” Her words dripped with venom, each one a lash of her heartbreak and fury.

Dr. Nath raised his hands, a futile attempt to calm her down, but his words stumbled out clumsily. “Binta, I can explain—”

“Explain what?” she interrupted, her voice cutting through his like a blade. “Explain how you’ve turned me into a fool? How you’ve brought shame to our family? Do you think this is a joke?!”

Chi Chi, who had been silent until now, decided to speak up, her voice trembling. “Ma’am, please… it’s not what it looks like. We were just—”

“Just what?!” Binta roared, turning her fiery gaze toward Chi Chi. “You think I’m stupid? You think I don’t know what’s been happening?

You’re here, lying in bed with my husband, and you dare to tell me it’s not what it looks like? Shame on you! Do you have no respect for yourself, no dignity? Do you know who I am? I am Binta! And tonight, you will regret ever crossing my path.”

The venom in Binta’s words was enough to make Chi Chi shrink back further under the bedclothes. Dr. Nath, realizing the situation was spiraling out of control, stepped in front of Chi Chi as if to shield her from Binta’s wrath.

“Binta, please, lower your voice,” he pleaded. “You’re making a scene. Let’s talk about this privately.”

“Oh, now you want privacy?”

Binta sneered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Now, you care about how things look? You didn’t care about privacy when you were in here with her, did you? You didn’t care about me or our marriage when you decided to betray me!”

Dr. Nath rubbed his forehead, frustration and guilt battling within him. “Listen, I made a mistake, okay? But this—this isn’t the place to have this conversation.”

Binta laughed bitterly, a sound that was more heartbreaking than anything else. “A mistake? That’s what you call this? A mistake is forgetting to buy milk.

A mistake is misplacing your car keys. This—this is not a mistake, Nath. This is a choice. A deliberate, calculated choice to disrespect me and everything we’ve built together.”

Her voice cracked as she spoke, and for a moment, the anger gave way to the deep hurt that had been festering in her heart. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She wouldn’t show weakness, not now.

Chi Chi, sensing an opportunity to escape the line of fire, tried to slip out of bed and sneak past Binta. But Binta was quicker. She grabbed Chi Chi’s arm and yanked her back, her grip firm and unyielding.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Binta hissed. “You’re not going anywhere. You and I are going to have a little chat.”

“Let her go!” Dr. Nath said, his voice rising for the first time. He grabbed Binta’s arm, trying to pull her away from Chi Chi, but Binta’s strength, fueled by rage, was unwavering.

“You don’t get to tell me what to do!” Binta snapped, jerking her arm free. “Not after what you’ve done. I’m not leaving this room until I’ve had my say, and she—” she pointed a trembling finger at Chi Chi “—will listen to every word.”

Chi Chi began to cry softly, her tears falling in silent streams down her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I—I didn’t know it would come to this.”

“Didn’t know?” Binta echoed, her voice rising. “You knew exactly what you were doing! You knew he was a married man, and you didn’t care. You thought you could take what’s mine and get away with it. But not tonight. Tonight, you face me, woman to woman.”

“Binta, enough!” Dr. Nath shouted, his voice finally cutting through her tirade. “This isn’t just about you. It’s about all of us. Can’t you see that you’re only making things worse?”

“Worse?” Binta said, turning to face him. “Worse than this? Worse than catching my husband half-naked with another woman? Tell me, Nath, how does it get worse than this?”

Dr. Nath was at a loss for words. He looked at his wife, his lover, and the mess he had created, and for the first time in his life, he truly felt the weight of his actions.

“I’m sorry,” he said finally, his voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t know what else to say. I messed up. I hurt you. And I—”

“Save your apologies,” Binta interrupted coldly. “They mean nothing to me. If you were truly sorry, you wouldn’t have done this in the first place. You wouldn’t have betrayed me.”

For a moment, the room fell silent again, the only sound being Chi Chi’s soft sobs. Binta took a deep breath, her anger slowly giving way to exhaustion. She turned to Chi Chi one last time.

“Leave,” she said quietly. “Leave this hospital, leave my husband, and leave my life. If I ever see you near him again, I won’t be so kind.”

Chi Chi nodded quickly, gathering her clothes and slipping past Binta without another word. As the door closed behind her, Binta turned back to Dr. Nath.

“As for you,” she said, her voice trembling with emotion, “I don’t even know where to begin. You’ve broken my trust, Nath. You’ve broken my heart. And I don’t know if I can ever forgive you.”

Dr. Nath reached out to her, but she stepped back, shaking her head.

“Don’t,” she said. “Just don’t. I need time to think. I need time to decide if this marriage is even worth saving.”

With that, she turned and walked out of the room, leaving Dr. Nath standing there alone, the weight of his actions pressing down on him like a heavy stone.

As Binta walked through the silent halls of the hospital, her mind raced with thoughts and emotions. She felt betrayed, humiliated, and utterly lost.

But she also felt a flicker of strength deep within her—a determination to take control of her life, no matter what.

The night had been one of revelations, of heartbreak and anger, but also of clarity. Binta knew that whatever happened next, she would face it with her head held high.

And as she stepped out into the cool night air, she made a silent vow to herself: she would not let this define her. She would not let this break her. She was Binta, and she would rise again.