My husband is my supervisor. Before the Day of the Dead comes, I submit an application for leave so I can pay my respects to my late mother. However, he refuses to approve my application. He insists on having me care for his childhood sweetheart, who got into an accident.

He even berates me and tells me it's my duty to care for the patients. I can't second-guess them out of jealousy.

But I saw him kissing his childhood sweetheart passionately in the hospital ward. He even slipped his hand underneath her clothes at the peak of his passion. "Let me check whether your wounds are better. Do you need more treatment?"

She leans closer saucily, and he spanks her. "Do you think you'd be getting this treatment if not for Kaia being pregnant?"

I look down at my baby bump as my heart shatters. No wonder he insisted on having me work despite me falling pregnant. How can he possibly love me?

If that's the case, I'll give them my blessings.

Tears uncontrollably streamed down my cheeks as I watched the two of them locked tightly in each other's arms.

Just yesterday, Carter Vance had refused to let me take leave to visit my mother's grave. The reason that he gave was that my nursing skills were the best, and his first love, Clara Whitmore, had just undergone an emergency surgery and urgently needed someone to tend to her.

I couldn't help feeling resistant. He was paying far too much attention to Clara.

After all, I was his wife. Besides, she could've been cared for by any qualified nurse. It didn't have to be me.

He lectured me with lofty ideals about medical ethics and putting the patient first when I refused to go. He even accused me of being overly jealous.

Upon seeing me upset, he held me in his arms and comforted me, saying, "Are you truly worried she'll steal me away? Darling, you're pregnant. How could I ever leave you and our baby?"

I silently rested my hand on my slightly rounded belly and trusted him. I turned a blind eye to the rumors circulating in the hospital that they might be a couple.

Carter and I had been married for three years but never announced our marriage publicly. He always said that people would judge him harshly if they knew we were married, especially since we worked in the same hospital, and he already took such good care of me at work.

I understood and respected him. However, I never imagined that he would cheat on me just seven weeks into my pregnancy.

I would've never discovered that they had slept together if I hadn't swapped shifts with a colleague that day.

…

The sound of a glass shattering on the floor came from inside the room.

I saw Carter pinning Clara against the nightstand through the crack in the door.

Clara gasped softly. Her eyes were wide with feigned innocence as she weakly pushed against him. "Stop it. I'm still on an IV…"

However, Carter didn't listen. He leaned forward and silenced her protests with a kiss. "Oh, now you're scared? Where was the courage when you drugged me? Listen to me, do you think you'd have this chance if my wife weren't pregnant?"

My hand hovered over the doorknob as I masochistically listened to everything behind the door.

I couldn't believe that he would betray me like this.

I was transferred to the hospital in Halden City a few years ago. Here, I was constantly ostracized and endlessly bullied by my colleagues because of my lack of credentials.

When I was on the brink of collapse, Carter was the one who had quietly helped shoulder my burden when I was deliberately overloaded with tedious tasks.

There was a time when a colleague had locked me in the storage room, and an electrical fire broke out due to faulty wiring.

Carter had rushed in without hesitation and carried me out. His back had been burned so badly from saving me that his flesh was torn and bloody.

He was like a guiding light in my life during those difficult days. I had grown strong in a foreign land under his protection, and I began to shine in the field I excelled in.

That was why I'd chosen to marry him without a second thought. I thought we would spend a lifetime and weather all of life's ups and downs together.

But now, the unbearable scene in front of me mercilessly shattered all my beautiful illusions.

How could he do this to the child growing inside of me?

"Ms. Renwick? Why aren't you going in?" a colleague greeted me.

I smiled and responded, "I was doing rounds, but my leg cramped up just now, so I got delayed."

"That's no good. You're on your feet all day. You should get some rest."

At that moment, the room suddenly fell silent.

A moment later, Carter yanked the door open, looking disheveled. "Kaia? You're doing rounds today? I was changing the dressing for Clara just now."

He glanced at me with guilt written all over his face. He even tried to position himself in the doorway to block my view of the mess inside.

However, I had already seen everything.

A hint of panic flashed across Carter's face when he met my reddened and tear-stained eyes. "Kaia…"

"It's nothing. I twisted my ankle, that's all." I turned and wiped away my tears. "I guess there's no need for me to be here since you've already taken care of Ms. Whitmore's dressing.

"I'm returning to the nurse station." I instinctively reached down and touched my belly as I walked away.

I felt deeply sorry for my baby, but I couldn't tolerate that Carter's heart belonged to someone else.

I sent a message to my father. "Dad, I've had enough of Halden City. I want to come home."

He replied quickly with a simple response and said he would pick me up in three days.

That would be enough time to wrap things up before I leave.

Carter hurried after me when he observed my silence. He sweetly called my name as he followed closely behind, "Kaia, are you mad at me? Clara pressed the call button. I had no choice but to go over. There's truly nothing going on between us…"

I gave him a bitter smile and shook my head.

I had decided to go home. A simple divorce agreement was all it took to handle whatever was going on between him and Clara.

Carter let out a sigh of relief after seeing my calm expression. He beamed as he scooped me up and gently sat me down on a bench.

Then, he glanced around to make sure no one was around before carefully taking off my shoes and massaging my feet. "Darling, is our little one causing trouble in there and causing your leg to cramp? Let's go home so that you can focus on your pregnancy after Clara's discharged this week.

"What do you say?"

His words sounded sweet and thoughtful, yet Clara's name was woven into every sentence.

I might have been fooled by him again if I hadn't witnessed the truth with my own eyes.

Maybe he had looked after me so well when I first arrived in Halden City that I came to rely on him. But upon thinking back now, his heart had long since drifted elsewhere.

He had shown up exhausted yet triumphant on my birthday, proudly telling me that he had waited in line forever to get me a mango cake.

He still seemed to have no idea I was allergic to mangoes after all our years together.

He also clearly had no idea that Clara had posted on her social media, saying that she couldn't eat the cake her man had bought, so she told him to take it home and feed it to the dog.

I thought it was just a coincidence back then. But I realized that the cracks were everywhere when I looked back now.

He told me it was just a multi-car pileup, even when Clara was hospitalized after a car accident. Yet, his leg was somehow mysteriously injured that same day. His clothes were torn and ragged as well.

There was no news of any multi-car accidents, but there was a story about a couple crashing into the car ahead of them because they were getting flirty in theirs.

I let out a bitter laugh and glanced down at the man who was now massaging my feet so attentively.

It turned out that it was possible to love two women at once.

Just then, Carter's phone rang.

He looked confused and picked it up without realizing he had accidentally hit the speaker.

A sweet and delicate voice came through, "Hubby, what should I do? I'm bleeding…"

Carter scrambled to end the call and instinctively gauged my reaction.

Upon seeing that I was unfazed, he cautiously explained, "She's a psychiatric patient. She keeps mistaking me for her husband. Let me go and check on her."

I gave him a silent nod of approval. Then, Carter stood up, intending to kiss my cheek when he saw how considerate I was being.

But I turned away.

He frowned slightly.

I felt disgusted and casually explained, "There are surveillance cameras here. Didn't you say you didn't want people to know about us?"

In response, Carter simply smiled and gave me an understanding nod before leaving.

However, he hadn't been gone for long before I received a flurry of messages on my phone.

They were from Clara.

One suggestive photo after another was sent straight to my phone.

I flipped through them with a numb heart until I reached the last one—it was a pregnancy report.

It turned out that Clara had already been pregnant for four weeks.

But it didn't matter.

She could keep her baby. I was leaving anyway.

I handed my resignation letter to the matron while Carter was with Clara.

The matron was the only one who knew about my relationship with Carter. She was slightly puzzled and asked, "Does Dr. Vance know?"

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter."

She looked a little conflicted but still approved my resignation. "You're quite far along. It's best if you go home and rest."

I simply thanked her and left without another word.

I had scheduled an abortion at another hospital and would be leaving the city the day after tomorrow.

Until then, I only wanted to focus on finishing my work and handling the handover. Nothing else mattered.

Just as I thought I had everything in order, Carter started frantically calling out for me from the emergency room

I rushed over only to see Clara bleeding from the nose.

Another woman beside her was also bleeding.

"Kaia, hurry up and help stop the bleeding. And while you're at it, draw blood from both of them for testing."

I was confused. Why was Clara suddenly bleeding?

Suddenly, Clara stood up and shoved me hard just as I grabbed the syringe and reached for her hand.

Caught off guard, I fell to the ground.

Carter rushed toward me and intended to take my hand. However, he was distracted by Clara's scream.

Thankfully, I managed to protect my belly in time, and it was only my hand that had gotten slightly scraped.

"It's fine. You draw the blood from the other one. I'll handle Clara," Carter said.

I silently nodded without taking it personally and quietly drew the other woman's blood.

…

Later that afternoon, Carter burst into the room with a pale face. He then dropped to his knees before me, saying, "Darling, it's my fault. It's all my fault."

I heard his following words before I could even process what he was doing. "The patient you drew blood from this morning tested positive for HIV."

My ears buzzed for a moment.

Just then, Clara came in sobbing and sniffling. "I'm sorry, Kaia. I didn't know you and Carter were married. I was just too scared when I suddenly started bleeding. I was too nervous, and I accidentally pushed you."

Her loud sobs drew the attention of the onlookers nearby.

Carter was embarrassed as he hurried to his feet in panic. "It's not your fault. It was just a medical accident. Go back to your ward."

"It was my fault. It was all my fault. I'm sorry, Kaia. I remember you scraped your hand and were in contact with the patient's blood. You should take PEP right away…"

Carter ushered Clara out of the nurse station and looked back at me in concern.

My eyes were reddened.

I had clearly seen Clara's smug little smile before she'd walked out the door. She knew that the patient was HIV positive. She had planned all of this.

"Kaia, don't be scared. It's only been a few hours. The chances of successful prevention are still high if we take PEP on time."

"There's nothing else we can do now, is there?" I simply said.

Tears welled up in Carter's eyes as he knelt to the ground, swearing that he would give up years of his life if it meant keeping me and the baby safe.

I sneered. He seemed to have lost his mind.

Could I even get to keep the baby after taking the medication?

Carter clung to me like a shadow from that moment on. He never left my side as we waited for the test results.