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.

I drove straight over.

Before I even reached the door, Kenneth's voice was already booming inside.

"Look at the kind of man you married! Just because we didn't move in right away, he threw a fit and sold the place? Does he have any respect for us? Useless. Always making things worse. No real career and no manners!"

Melissa patted his back and jumped in. "Exactly. Not nearly as thoughtful as Dillon. You've been married this long and still haven't given me a grandson. Is something wrong with him?

"If you ask me, just divorce him. Dillon's young and full of energy. Much better for you!"

Listening to them echo each other, I almost laughed.

No kids all these years—was that really my fault?

Jayda was the one who kept saying her career came first.

She's the one who kept postponing it.

Yet when her mom went after me, Jayda didn't defend me.

She just said lightly, "Mom, it's not that simple."

And when her mom suggested divorce, she didn't reject it.

She even lowered her head, like she was actually thinking about it.

"How is it not simple?" Melissa pressed on. "Holden's been dragging you down for years. No kids, and basically living off you!

"You're already the department chief. And him? Still stuck assisting—completely useless. His salary hasn't even gone up.

"Dillon's different. Young, driven, full of potential. Give it a few years and he'll be way ahead of that useless husband of yours."

She talked like I was nothing.

Like she'd forgotten how she used to flatter me and push me to marry her daughter.

Back then, I came from a well-known family and ran my own company. Jayda and I met in college.

Her family background wasn't great, so my parents strongly opposed the relationship.

To stay with her, I cut ties with my family and built my own business from scratch.

After I made it, I poured everything into building a hospital so she could chase her dream of becoming a doctor.

Back then, her parents treated me like their personal ATM—practically worshipped me.

And now?

Now I was the useless husband. The freeloader. The one holding Jayda back.

Yeah.

I wasn't taking it quietly anymore.

I pushed the door open and walked in.

The moment they saw me, the three of them went quiet. Faces stiff.

"I've already sold the house," I said flatly. "You shouldn't be here."

That set them off immediately.

"You bastard, listen to yourself!"

"My daughter suffered enough marrying you. Now we're using one house and you're complaining? How selfish can you be?"

"I must've been blind letting you marry her! Living off her isn't enough—you still want to walk all over us?"

I was beyond speechless.

I looked at Jayda. "I've supported your career all these years. Helped you get where you are. How did that turn into me living off you?"

Before she could answer, Kenneth lunged forward and grabbed my collar.

"You piece of trash. You couldn't get promoted, so now you blame my daughter? Are you even a man?"

I shoved him off and lifted my phone.

"Oh, she's very capable," I said. "Sleeping with her intern behind her husband's back."

What they didn't know was that just minutes earlier, my friend had already posted the PDF online.

It was spreading fast.

Jayda snatched my phone.

The second she saw the video, she screamed.

Dillon showed up at the door just then, carrying a fruit basket.

"Jayda, I heard your parents were here. I brought some fruit to visit."

Crash.

The fruit scattered across the floor as Jayda slapped the basket away. Her eyes were red.

"Dillon! What is this video?!"

He froze, shaking his head like a scared kid. "I—I don't know! I didn't post it! You have to believe me!"

I didn't bother arguing.

I took my phone back and started dialing the police. They were trespassing on a house that wasn't theirs anymore.

Jayda suddenly grabbed my arm. "Holden, it's not like that. Believe me. Someone's framing me! Did you sell the house because of this? Trust me—I have nothing with him!"

I looked straight into her eyes. My voice was ice-cold. "Doesn't matter. Even if you do, it has nothing to do with me."

She froze. Her lips trembled. "What... What do you mean?"

I pulled out the signed divorce agreement and flicked it at her face.

"Read it. We're divorced."