After I discovered Chelsea Stone’s infidelity, I ended the relationship without giving her a chance.

I packed my luggage bit by bit. She watched me, then suddenly said, “Jensen Scott, do you know what was the most boring thing about you?”

I paused and turned around.

She blew out a puff of smoke and smiled in a flirtatious way. “You were so boring. You did not even know how to sweet‑talk in bed. It was so uninteresting.”

I walked away with my things, and I held back my tears.

Three years later, I ran into her in the hospital corridor. She wore a white coat, and the medical record book in her hand almost slipped when I bumped into her.

Our eyes met. She looked me over, and her tone turned playful. “Oh, is this not my blockhead ex‑boyfriend?”

I smiled and did not reply.

As I left the hospital, she stepped in front of me and lowered her voice. “Three years have passed. Have you learned how to sweet‑talk in bed?”

I raised my hand and showed her my wife’s ultrasound report. “I have, but not to you.”

Chelsea Stone stared at the ultrasound report in my hand. Her smile slowly froze on her face.

“Are you married?” A look of disbelief flickered in her eyes.

“Yep.” I put the report away and kept a calm expression.

She moved her throat as if she wanted to speak. A male voice behind her interrupted her.

“Chelsea, Operating Room Three is ready. Hurry.”

The sickening smell of blood from three years earlier seemed to rise in my throat again.

Three years earlier, he was the man who had been lying naked next to Chelsea.

“Got it,” Chelsea replied in a calm voice, although her gaze stayed on me.

“Chelsea?” Adam followed her gaze and froze for a moment.

Chelsea looked at me one last time before she turned and walked toward the operating room.

As soon as she left, Adam began to examine me. He noticed the ultrasound report in my hand and gave a mocking smile. “It’s you, Jensen Scott. Your wife is pregnant? Congratulations. I wonder why you were the only one lining up in the corridor to fill out the paperwork. Where did your wife go after her medical examination? I still feel guilty about what happened back then. I was young, and Chelsea and I were fellow students under the same mentor. We worked late every night on our research projects, so it was hard not to develop feelings. That is all in the past now. Seeing that you settled down and started a family puts my mind at ease.”

A chill ran through me as I looked at his hypocritical face.

The day I broke up with Chelsea was our fourth anniversary. I had taken a day off in secret and bought her favorite handmade cake because I wanted to surprise her. However, I walked in on her infidelity the moment I opened the door.

Before that day, I had never noticed anything wrong with her.

She had been gentle and considerate, and she had planned our future. However, behind all that affection was a disgusting decay.

I ignored Adam and walked past him toward the elevator.

My wife, Noelle Beckett, had an urgent meeting at work after her medical examination, and the driver had already picked her up.

My mother was still at the hospital, so I stayed to print the reports. I did not have time to waste on people like him.

Adam’s expression darkened as he gritted his teeth. “Jensen, stop pretending…”

…

Two hours later, Chelsea walked out of the operating room. She glanced down the corridor out of habit. Her eyes showed slight disappointment when she did not see me. She turned and walked to the nurses’ station, then pulled up the Obstetrician‑Gynecologist records for the day.

[Noelle Beckett, Five Weeks Pregnant, Family Member: Jensen Scott.]

Chelsea stared at the line and felt a sharp pang in her heart.

“Chelsea, what are you looking at?” Adam leaned closer. He glanced at the name on the screen, and his lips twitched. He sighed with fake concern. “Jensen has had it tough. I saw him queuing alone at the self‑service machine to get the report. He was so busy that he could not even get a sip of water. His wife finished her medical examination and disappeared without a trace. She does not respect him at all.”

Chelsea’s hand paused on the mouse. Jensen’s indifference flashed through her mind.

He had always been a stubborn blockhead who could not be affectionate or show weakness.

Chelsea sneered.

He had probably thrown himself at some frigid, unkind woman with a bad temper. He was only putting on a show in the hallway and using marriage as an excuse to provoke her.

Jensen had always been a blockhead who could not lie properly.

After I left the obstetrics and gynecology department, I went to the cardiovascular department on the twelfth floor.

My mother lay in the hospital bed with a pale face. She was scheduled for a heart valve replacement surgery the day after the next.

“Jensen, the doctor said the surgery has some risks, and I keep feeling uneasy about it,” she said in a worried voice as she held my hand.

“Mom, do not be afraid. The cardio surgery department in this hospital is top‑notch in Jimmyville. The surgeon is very skilled.”

The ward door opened while I spoke. Chelsea walked in with the smart tablet she used for ward rounds.

I was not surprised to see her. Chelsea’s research direction in college had been cardiovascular.

When I ran into her in the corridor earlier, I had guessed that she must be working in this hospital’s cardio surgery department.

My mother paused when she saw Chelsea. “Chelsea? It is really you.”

Chelsea’s tone was gentle. “Madam Scott, it is me. I read your case. I will be the surgeon for your operation the day after the next. Do not worry.”

My mother became excited at once.

When I dated Chelsea, my mother treated her like her own daughter. Every time Chelsea visited our home, my mother prepared a full table of dishes she liked. She even prepared the golden bracelet passed down from my grandmother because she hoped we would get married. Later, when I suddenly broke up with Chelsea, my mother could not believe it and asked many questions. I did not want to upset her, so I only said we were incompatible and never mentioned the infidelity.

My mother glanced between Chelsea and me, unsure of what to say.

“Mom, rest first. I will go out with Dr. Stone to confirm the surgery details.” I stood up and cut off her thoughts.

“I am sorry for what happened three years ago.” Chelsea spoke first as the door closed. “I made a mistake. These past few years…”

I interrupted her in a cold voice. “I called you out not to hear your confession.”

Chelsea frowned.

“My mother’s surgery is the day after the next. I do not care what kind of person you were three years ago. I only hope you will not bring any personal grudges onto the operating table. If anything happens to my mother, I will not spare you.”

Chelsea’s face darkened, as if my attitude stung her.

“Jensen, I am a professional doctor,” she said through gritted teeth.

“You better be.” I turned and opened the door. A white male nurse’s uniform flashed past the corner of the hallway.

The next morning, I went downstairs to buy my mother a bowl of soup.

When I reached the ward door, I heard a man’s laughter inside. “Madam Scott, have some water. I checked the temperature. It is just right.”

My heart tightened. I pushed the door open.

Adam sat beside my mother’s bed with an innocent smile.

I panicked and rushed over to snatch the water glass from his hand. “Adam, what are you doing here? Get out.”

My mother jumped at my reaction and grabbed my arm. “Jensen, why are you so angry? This nurse is very nice. He was chatting with me. What a sweet guy.”

I stared at Adam with a cold voice. “What are you trying to do?”

Adam chuckled, then turned to my mother. “Madam Scott, it is understandable that Jensen is angry with me. You do not know, do you? Jensen broke up with Chelsea because Chelsea got together with me. Jensen caught us red‑handed. We were in his rental house, naked on the bed…”

“Shut up!” I lunged at him and tried to cover his mouth, but it was too late.

My mother’s eyes turned bloodshot. She could not take it. Her mouth opened and closed, but only hoarse gasps came out.

“Mom!” I spun around and saw her collapse onto the hospital bed with her eyes rolled back.

“Doctor! Help! Doctor!”

My fierce screaming echoed through the corridor.

Less than half a minute later, Chelsea rushed in with a group of medical staff. Her expression changed when she saw my unconscious mother on the bed. She made a quick decision.

“Defibrillator. Administer epinephrine. Family members, step aside.”

I stepped back and stood against the wall.

Adam stood in the corner with a pale face as he tried to look calm.

The rescue lasted for twenty minutes. My mother finally escaped danger, although she remained in a deep coma.

Chelsea let out a quiet sigh of relief. She turned around and was about to speak to me.

Slap.

I had already walked toward Adam and struck him across the face.

The sharp sound echoed in the quiet ward.

A red mark spread across half of Adam’s face.

“Jensen, what are you doing?” Chelsea pulled Adam behind her and glared at me.

Adam covered his cheek and gritted his teeth. “Chelsea, I… I did not mean it. Madam Scott kept talking about them, and I did not want her to stay in the dark…”

“Do you believe everything he says?” I looked at Chelsea with a cold expression.

“My mom is about to have surgery, yet he came here on purpose to provoke her. He almost killed her.”

Chelsea looked at my red eyes, and her brows tightened. She glanced at Adam, who hid behind her with resentment in his eyes. “Jensen, calm down. Madam Scott is safe now, and you also slapped Adam. Call it even.”

I stared at her in disbelief. I wondered how she could say that. My mom almost died in her hospital bed, and she wanted me to call it even.

“My mom almost died. I cannot let this go.”

Chelsea’s face darkened. “Jensen, are you trying to use this chance to get revenge on Adam for stealing me from you back then?”

A laugh escaped me. “Chelsea, I never knew you were so full of yourself.”

I wiped the corner of my eye. “Why would I want revenge on a piece of trash and a trash can?”

Chelsea’s face turned pale. “Jensen, do not be so harsh.”

I pointed at my mother, who lay on the bed with tubes attached. “He almost killed my mother, and you think I was harsh?”

Adam snorted behind her. “Chelsea, I really did not… I just thought Madam Scott had the right to know…”

I did not want to listen to this act any longer.

A nurse wheeled out the hospital bed at that moment.

My mother remained unconscious. I pushed Chelsea aside and followed the trolley back to the ward.

Chelsea stood in the corridor with a flicker of pain in her eyes.

I sat on the edge of the bed and held my mother’s cold hand as waves of fear washed over me.

Chelsea pushed open the door and walked in.

“Get out,” I said in a hoarse voice without looking up.

Chelsea paused, then walked to the foot of the bed. Her voice was stiff. “I am here to inform you that Madam Scott was agitated, and her heart rate has not stabilized. Tomorrow’s surgery is canceled. She needs rest and observation.”

I stayed silent and held my mother’s hand even tighter.

Chelsea looked at my pale face and suddenly sneered. “Jensen, where is your wife? Something happened to your mom, yet your wife did not even bother to come.”

I looked up at her with mockery in my eyes. “Dr. Stone, you are meddling too much.”

“I am worried you will get scammed.” Chelsea’s tone softened for a moment. “I will still do my best for Madam Scott’s surgery. Considering the three‑year timeframe, you can come find me anytime if you are not doing well.”

I felt like I had heard a joke. “Chelsea, who do you think you are?”

“You…” Chelsea’s face twisted with anger when a woman’s voice came from behind her.

“Doctor, were you looking for me?”