“Honey, I spoke without thinking. I just remembered how we had struggled through when we first started our medical internship. That’s why I wanted to look out for him a little.

“Matthew really wants to be a doctor. If you help him this once, I’ll take back what I said about the divorce...”

Before she could finish, Matthew stepped into the frame.

“Dr. Lowe, I don’t want you to force yourself to stay in this failed marriage because of me.”

I let out a sarcastic scoff.

“Right. Marrying me must have been such a grievance for you.

“So much so that the whole department feels sorry for you and your precious intern.

“Let’s just divorce. That way, you can have a sacrifice-free marriage with him.”

My words struck a nerve.

“Charles, can’t you understand simple language? I’ve told you countless times. There’s nothing between Matthew and me!

“Looks like the department was spot-on about you having a habit of picking fights with people!”

Matthew gently rubbed Tawnie’s back, soothing her softly.

“Dr. Lowe, though I deeply desire to be a doctor, I won’t drag you down. I’ll take full responsibility for all mistakes.”

Tawnie’s eyes were filled with heartache.

“Since I took you under my wing, I’ll see it through to the end. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Then she turned to me, her tone shifted to cold and authoritative.

“Charles, you will go tell the hospital director that you were the lead surgeon for this operation. And that Matthew was only there to observe and learn.

“If you don’t, I’ll sign the divorce papers tomorrow!”

She hung up without another word.

I felt nothing. If anything, there was an urge to laugh.

She had already signed the divorce papers the first time we fought over Matthew.

All that remained was my signature for the divorce to take effect.

By the time I was almost done with preparing for the medical malpractice investigation inquiry, I was greeted with the break of dawn.

A colleague who had previously helped me handle medical disputes called me.

“Dr. Grant, it wasn’t easy for Matthew to get an internship at our hospital. You’ve helped us out plenty before. What’s wrong with helping him this once?

“Besides, helping him is helping Dr. Lowe. Can you honestly bear to see her dragged into this?”

I didn’t bother responding. I hung up and blocked the number.

Whether it was Tawnie or these ungrateful colleagues, I was done with them.

I took the divorce agreement from my drawer and signed my name.

Then I packed Tawnie’s belongings and sent them straight to Matthew’s address.

When I saw the photo of her standing beside my mother-in-law, Bethany Lowe, I couldn’t hold back tears welling in my eyes.

I came from a broken family, and I had never experienced parental love.

After marriage, Bethany treated me like her own son, filling that void.

After learning about Tawnie and Matthew, she berated Tawnie more than once and felt wronged on my behalf.

She should have lived a good, long life and not died because of a minor surgery.

…

The next day, as soon as I arrived at the department, I found Matthew already sitting in my consultation room, wearing a triumphant smile.

“Dr. Grant, you’ve been suspended for an investigation. Dr. Lowe assigned me to take over your duties.”

Coldly, I stared at him.

“You’re the ones who violated hospital regulations. What does that have to do with me?”

Matthew smiled and pulled up the surgical record.

“Yesterday’s operation listed you as the lead surgeon. I was only there to observe.”

I stared at the screen intently, finding it completely absurd.

Tawnie had even altered the surgical records to pin the blame on me.

I had barely reached out with a grim expression when Matthew suddenly cried out, clutching his face and staggering backward.

“Dr. Grant, why did you hit me?”

Tawnie, who had just reached the doorway, immediately hurled the cup in her hand at me.

“Charles! How dare you hit someone!

“Apologize to Matthew!”

The colleagues who had rushed over at the commotion stared at me in shock.

Scalding water splashed across my left cheek as blood trickled down from my forehead.

The searing pain on my face paled in comparison to the fiercer agony within.

As if blind to my plight, Tawnie focused solely on tending to Matthew, who bore not a single scratch.

“You botched the surgery because of your incompetence, and you refuse to own up? The records clearly showed you were the lead surgeon! Don’t even think about dragging Matthew into this!”

How ridiculous.

This was the woman I had once given my whole heart to.

“Dr. Lowe,” I said coldly, “If I’m so incompetent, then how exactly did you end up sitting in that director’s chair?”

My remark hit her sore spot, and her eyes blazed in fury.

Tawnie clenched her teeth and snapped, “Charles! While I still have some feelings left for you, you’d better stop pushing your luck!”

I let out a cold laugh.

“Feelings? Don’t you think it’s ridiculous to talk about feelings now? I’ve already—”

“Enough!”

The hospital director, Dr. Troy Haas, strode into the office, his expression dark with fury.

“What do you think you’re doing, causing such a scene in the consultation room? Putting on a show for the patients? Seems like none of you want to keep your jobs!”

Terrified of actually being fired, everyone quickly scattered.

Troy stared silently at Tawnie and me for a moment before directing his anger at me.

“Charles, as the lead surgeon, you caused the patient’s death due to negligence during the operation. You are suspended pending investigation!

“Once the investigation concludes, the hospital will dismiss you. Whether you face legal consequences will be determined after the inquiry.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

He knew perfectly well who had been the lead surgeon that night.

Before I could speak, Tawnie and every colleague in the department vouched their support for the hospital’s decision.

Some even said that an unscrupulous doctor like me deserved to be sent straight to prison.

Matthew, wearing the smug air of a victor, spoke to drive me away.

“This isn’t your office anymore. What are you still doing here?”

Not only did Tawnie not stop him, but she also ripped off my name tag, stomping it on the ground.

I took one last deep look at my wife and colleagues, whom I had once treated with genuine sincerity.

Then I turned around and left with a numb heart.

…

I didn’t leave the hospital right away. Instead, I went to the morgue to see Bethany.

I told her I was sorry, but I wouldn’t take the fall for Tawnie and Matthew.

When I got home, the living room was in utter disarray, reeking of a nauseating stench.

All my belongings had been tossed aside like trash next to the garbage bin.

The certificates I’d earned over the years lay trampled on the floor, covered in footprints.

Obscene sounds came from the bedroom.

I kicked the door open in fury.

“Get out! Both of you!”

The two entangled on the bed jumped in fright.

Matthew pulled Tawnie close and pointed at me angrily.

“Don’t you know how to knock?”

Tawnie clutched the blanket. Her face was a mask of unfulfilled desire, and her gaze filled with resentment toward me.

“I’ve already decided to divorce you. Why are you still back here?”

My rage turned to laughter.

This was my house to begin with. Why should I give it up to this adulterous pair?

Matthew was clearly eager to move in. His clothes were already hanging in the wardrobe.

I yanked them down and flung them out the door.

“Don’t forget, I bought this place. If anyone’s leaving, it’s you!”

Tawnie was livid, her voice shrill.

“What do you mean by ‘your’ house? This is our marital home. Half of it is mine! If you’re still a man, hand it over to me!

“And don’t you dare complain to my mother! This is what I deserve after marrying you all these years!”

Anger surged within me. How dare Tawnie bring up her mother now?

My eyes reddened as I forced the words out through clenched teeth, “You still have zero idea who died during that surgery, haven’t you?”

She scoffed, “They’re dead. Why should I care?

“Still not leaving? Want to watch Matthew and me show affection?”

Matthew deliberately bit Tawnie’s ear, mocking me.

“Dr. Grant just can’t bear to divorce you. That’s why he’s making excuses to stay.”

Tawnie laughed softly and tapped him.

“Too late for regrets. Does he really think I can’t live without him?

“I’ve thought it through. I’ll divorce him first, then tell my mom. Even if she objects, it won’t matter.”

Tawnie’s smugness was nothing short of ironic.

“She won’t anymore. And she’ll never have the chance to.”

Tawnie grew more smug.

“So you’re saying Mom finally saw your true colors and won’t side with you? That’s just perfect.

“I told you, didn’t I? No mother in this world would choose a stranger over her own daughter.”

I pulled out all the records from the drawer and slammed them in her face; from Bethany’s admission and surgery records to the final report of the failed resuscitation attempts.

“Tawnie Lowe, your mother isn’t opposing this because the one who died in the OR was your mother.”