During the holiday break, my wife, Jayda Glover—the hospital's star surgeon and Chief of Cardiac Surgery—suddenly "had to work overtime." Our third-anniversary hot springs trip? Canceled.

That night, I was scrolling social media when a post from her intern, Dillon Tripp, popped up.

My ice-queen wife always said her "golden hands" were only for patients.

Apparently, they cook now too.

She was in a cartoon apron, calmly chopping vegetables.

The caption read:

[Thank you, Dr. Glover, for personally cooking to comfort me after I was bullied by a patient's family!]

I tapped like and left a comment.

[White coat to apron. Very domestic.]

Ten minutes later, the whole hospital knew Cardiac Surgery's untouchable beauty had broken her rule—just to cook for a younger guy.

Jayda called.

Dishes clattered in the background.

"You really had to embarrass me in public? He got hot water thrown on him by a patient's family today. I was just doing my duty as his mentor!

"A pampered professor's kid like you wouldn't know the first thing about how hard broke med students have it.

"Apologize to Dillon right now. Otherwise, no matter how much you beg later, I'm not going on that trip with you!"

Beg her?

I looked at the divorce papers that had just arrived on the coffee table and let out a quiet laugh.

I wasn't begging anymore.

From this moment on, we were strangers.

"I don't need you on that trip."

I hung up before Jayda could answer.

Seconds later, my phone blew up.

In three years of marriage, this was the first time I hadn't swallowed her harsh words—and the first time I'd hung up on her.

Apparently, that shocked her.

The nonstop buzzing got on my nerves. I blocked her and stared at the empty aquarium.

"Mr. Hart, would you still like the customized dolphin show?" the staff member asked, glancing at the bouquet on the empty seat beside me.

Like he could already guess the story.

"Just start it. I'll watch alone."

The second I finished speaking, my phone buzzed.

Dillon had made a small group chat.

[Holden, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have posted that on social media and caused a misunderstanding. I'm sorry. Please don't be mad.]

Then he sent a teary-eyed selfie.

One hand rested on his shoulder.

I didn't need to guess whose hand that was. Jayda was busy comforting her poor, "wronged" intern.

Right on cue, the chat blew up the moment the photo dropped.

[It was just a joke. Do you really have to take it so seriously? So narrow-minded!]

[Am I the only one noticing that's Jayda's hand on Dillon's shoulder? Wow, that's sweet. Someone's clearly jealous and starting drama.]

[What a clown! Always stirring up trouble!]

Jayda was the hospital's top authority. People respected her—and feared her. Everyone wanted to stay on her good side.

And everyone knew she spoiled Dillon.

So of course they rushed to defend him, hoping she'd notice.

And me?

I got to watch my own mentee trash me just to score points with her.

Funny thing—people seemed to have forgotten this hospital existed because of my investment.

I turned off the screen.

Then I watched the dolphin show alone, done with their rotten drama.

My phone rang again.

Cardiac Surgery's deputy director.

"The surgery's about to start. Where are you?!"

"What surgery?"

I froze.

Before the holiday break, I'd worked overtime for days clearing my schedule.

There shouldn't have been a single case left.

His voice snapped with anger.

"The heart patient admitted a few days ago. Dillon said he had something to handle and passed the case to you while he's on leave. Can at least one of you be reliable?!"

I laughed.

Dillon was an intern who ran errands. He wasn't even qualified to assist in surgery.

But he loved playing hotshot, so he pushed to get on the operating table.

And Jayda—apparently out of her mind—actually agreed. She let an intern who could barely name the instruments step into surgery.

Now those two were off flirting somewhere, and I was supposed to clean up their mess?

"No one told me about this. Jayda's busy cozying up to her intern. If she rushes over now, she might still make it. Don't call me again. I'm visiting my LATE wife's grave."

I hung up before he could say another word.

Did they really think I was that easy to push around?

My wife ran off with someone else, and they still expected me to clean up their mess?

Right as the dolphin show hit its biggest moment, a staff member rushed in, holding out a phone with an awkward look.

"Mr. Hart, your wife is looking for you."

I rolled my eyes. 'She really won't drop this.'

The second I took the phone, Jayda's arrogant voice blasted through.

"Holden Hart, are you asking for trouble?"

I watched the dolphins leap from the water and said casually, "Dr. Glover, with that attitude, there's nothing to talk about."

"This time, canceling on you was my fault," she said. "But did you really have to curse me out and call me dead? You have ten seconds to take me off your blacklist. Otherwise, forget about staying married to me!"

Her tone almost made me laugh—like I was the one who'd screwed up.

I'd been about to tell her I was resigning when Dillon's voice slid through the phone.

That clingy tone again. Practically begging for attention.

I couldn't help myself. "Oh? Not staying with the intern you adore and instead calling me to argue? You really have the energy for that? Guess I'm getting in the way. Go keep your intern company."

Jayda snapped instantly. "A pampered professor's kid like you wouldn't know the first thing about how hard broke med students have it! He's struggling. Can't I help him?"

There it was again.

Then Dillon's voice drifted through, spoiled and clingy. "Jayda, this tastes awful. Why can't I make it like yours?"

Jayda laughed softly, her tone turning gentle. "I'm dealing with something right now. Wait for me, okay? I'll be there soon."

When she spoke to me again, the warmth was gone. Cold. Impatient.

"You skipped assisting in surgery this time. I've already switched your shifts with someone else. As punishment, you're on night duty for the next week. This is a notice, not a discussion."

She hung up before I could respond.

The line went dead.

I stared at the phone, listening to the steady beep.

Funny.

I'd thought this hot springs trip might warm up our dying marriage.

Turns out I was the only one pretending it still had a pulse.

After the dolphin show, I went straight home.

No surprise—the place was empty.

The work group chat kept buzzing, dumping every random task on me.

I didn't reply to a single message.

Instead, I sent in my resignation.

At first HR refused, saying they needed Jayda's approval.

Then, seconds later, another message popped up.

She'd approved it.

Process expedited. I could leave immediately.

Colder than I thought.

Fine.

Saved me the trouble.

While Jayda was busy touring the country with Dillon, I put the house I'd bought for her parents up for sale.

Back then, she always said she missed them. Said she only saw them once a year—then she'd start crying.

I felt bad for her.

So I dumped all my savings into buying the house next door outright and invited them to move in.

They said it was too small and turned it down.

Now there was no reason to keep it.

The day the sale closed, I stopped by the hospital to finish my handover.

When I walked out of the department carrying a cardboard box, a few coworkers whispered and chuckled under their breath, clearly assuming I'd been pushed out.

I stopped when a photo on the wall caught my eye.

It was taken the day Jayda became department chief.

She once said she wanted to be a doctor known by thousands.

So I used everything I had to build this hospital for her.

I brought in top-tier equipment, tracked down the best mentors, backed her every step of the way until she stood where she is now.

Guess some people forget who got them there.

She had.

Now she had someone new at her side.

I looked away and started to leave—then someone stepped into my path.

Dillon.

Arms crossed, that smug 'I already won' look on his face. He even pretended to be surprised.

"Holden, did Jayda fire you?"

Did he skip brushing his teeth this morning? Everything out of his mouth stank.

I rolled my eyes. "I resigned. Try using your brain before you talk. Spreading rumors has consequences."

Dillon's face went pale, but he forced himself to stay calm. "But Jayda scheduled you for a week of night shifts. You just walked out. Where's your sense of responsibility?"

I laughed.

I'd already resigned. Why would I care about any shifts?

Not worth my time. I turned to leave.

He chased after me and grabbed my arm. Just as I was about to shake him off, he suddenly stumbled backward and crashed to the floor.

"Ah!"

"Dillon, are you okay?"

Jayda walked by right then. Seeing Dillon on the floor, she rushed over and helped him up.

After making sure he wasn't hurt, she shot me a glare. "Holden Hart, what exactly do you want? Haven't you caused enough trouble? Now you're hitting people?"

"My fault," Dillon said quickly. "I just asked why he hadn't been at work for days and left the patient unattended. He got upset and pushed me."

Of course.

Jayda backed him up immediately. "Holden, you've been gone for days. Do you realize that's absenteeism? That's irresponsible to the patient!"

I held back my anger. "I resigned. What does that have to do with me?"

She let out a mocking laugh. "How many times are you going to threaten me with resignation? Try a new trick."

Right. That reminded me.

I'd used that same excuse to get her to sign the divorce papers.

But I wasn't wasting breath arguing. I picked up my box and started to leave.

Jayda suddenly snapped. She yanked the box from my hands and dumped everything onto the floor, staring at me like I'd just robbed the place.

"These are hospital belongings. What makes you think you can take them? There could be patient records in there. If anything leaks, it'll be a major incident!"

Colleagues gathered to watch, whispering behind my back.

My face burned. My fingers dug into my palms.

If not for how I was raised, I might've slapped her.

I forced myself to calm down and said through clenched teeth, "Fine. I won't take any of it."

Then I turned and walked away, ignoring the insults she threw at my back.

The moment I stepped outside the hospital, Dillon sent me a PDF.

It was a full record—flirty chats, hotel bookings, even videos.

Jayda's breathy moans came through loud and clear.

Nausea rose in my throat.

I forwarded everything to a friend in the media.

Ready to blow it all open.

You like sneaking around? Playing both sides?

Then enjoy the fallout.

My phone rang suddenly.

The buyer of the house.

His voice was already annoyed. "Didn't you sell it to me? Why are people still living there? They refuse to move!"

Before I could process that, two familiar middle-aged voices came through the phone.

Jayda's parents.

Kenneth and Melissa.