My father thought he could decide what happened to my baby. I made it clear he was wrong.

“Family sacrifices for family.”

I could barely sit upright, but I forced out one word.

“No.”

It wasn’t loud or dramatic.

Just firm.

“No.”

Dad’s face turned red.

“You’ve always been selfish.”

“I carried these babies for nine months,” I answered. “They’re not gifts. They’re my children.”

Without warning, he slammed both fists onto the mattress beside my abdomen, jolting the bed.

Pain tore through my fresh incision and I cried out.

The monitors started beeping.

Nurses rushed inside.

And for the first time in my father’s life, someone ordered him to leave.