“What is it you’re suggesting, doctor?” she asked, her forehead creased in puzzlement, eyes clouded with worry. “Can anything be done to mend this?”
The doctor, a steady picture of professionalism despite the grimness of the situation, locked his eyes onto the ultrasound image. “I regret to say,” he uttered, each word heavier than the last, “an immediate surgical intervention is our only recourse.”
“Surgery?!” Pradeep’s exclamation bounced off the sterile walls, his voice strangled with incredulity. “For what reason?!”
Time had seemingly dwindled to its nadir. The doctor, placing his hand gently but firmly on Lily’s arm, reinforced the gravity of the ticking clock. “Lily, we need your approval without delay. Will you consent?”