Ellie's scream hurt my eardrums. Even Mom, who was partially deaf, turned to look at me with a worried expression.

I forced down my anger, stepped outside, and lowered my voice. "What the fuck are you yelling at me for?"

There was a brief silence on the other end, then Ellie snapped back, "I know you're upset because I bailed on you, but I already promised I'd make time to go back with you later. What are you throwing a fit for?

"You're doing Jaiden's surgery whether you like it or not. If you don't, then we're done."

Fine by me. I didn't want to be with her anymore anyway.

Just as I was about to bring up divorce, I heard Jaiden shouting in the background. "Ellie, the party's about to start. Dad's asking for you to come to the table."

I heard her cover the phone, then respond in an unnervingly sweet tone, "I'm handling some hospital stuff. I'll be there soon. Tell Dad I'll be right there."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, Dr. Harper, you have another dad now, huh? You've been on the phone with me this long. Aren't you afraid of keeping your dad waiting? Oh, right. I forgot. I'm petty."

Jaiden seemed close by. Ellie's voice dropped as she growled, ​"Jaiden's village is small, and the people love to gossip. I'm his boss. What's wrong with showing up to make him look good? Is there any need for this sarcastic attitude?

"Listen up, Vance. I'm giving you three days to get that surgery done. If you don't, you can get the hell out of my hospital!"

With that, she hung up.

I stood there at the entrance of my house. As the wind brushed past me, I felt a hollow ache in my chest.

But my mind was made up. I was done being the scapegoat.

The next second, I received a call from the Chief Medical Officer of the hospital, George Hudson. Apparently, someone had reported that I performed surgery while drunk, and he wanted me to come back and handle it.

I felt like I was losing my mind.

My breath hitched. "Dr. Hudson, are you sure there isn't a mistake? This patient has congenital hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. He was already at death's door when he first arrived."

But George sent me the complaint letter anyway.

My mind went blank. I didn't even get to finish dinner. I rushed back to the hospital in a panic.

Faced with George's accusing look, I requested a confrontation with the accuser. But he remained silent. He simply pulled forward a witness to identify me.

But the witness—the anesthesiologist for that surgery—happened to be Jaiden's best friend.

The realization hit me like a physical blow, and my blood boiled.

"Dr. Hudson, he's Jaiden's friend. Jaiden has a grudge against me. He could easily be framing me!"

It was a desperate, hollow defense. I had no proof.

Before I could say more, a shrill voice cut through the room. "Enough!"

Ellie stormed in. Her eyes were filled with disgust as she glared at me.

"A grudge?" she snapped. "You're the one who hates him! You're the one trying to ruin him! Vance, I thought you were just petty, but still professional. I never imagined you could be so shameless!

"Do you have any idea how serious it is to fake a malpractice claim? I can't believe you'd gamble with a patient's life. You don't deserve to be a doctor, and you certainly don't deserve to be my husband!"

I froze in place, my throat tightening as if it were being squeezed.

After what felt like an eternity, I finally managed to speak. "Ellie, do you really think I'd risk a patient's life out of jealousy?"

Ellie's chest heaved with anger, her gaze dark and unreadable. "Why not? I've seen the alcohol bottles in the fridge at home."

That single sentence sealed everything.

George handed me the termination papers, and I felt the scorn of my colleagues raining down on me.

Dazed and defeated, I finished packing up. I was just about to walk out the door when the patient's mother kicked me to the ground.

"You bastard! Why did you kill my son? Why did you drink before the surgery?"

The woman kicked me again and again while slapping me across the face.

My vision began to blur. As the woman was dragged away, I crouched on the floor, quietly gathering my scattered belongings.

And then, I heard Jaiden's voice from behind me. "Vance, you got what you deserved!"

I turned to find his smug face twisted into a half-smile. Striking the pose of a victor, he looked down at my box of belongings with a look of mock surprise.

"Oh no. Are you resigning to atone for that medical accident of yours?"

Jaiden was the one pulling all the strings behind the scenes, so why was he acting in front of me now?

I sneered and shot back, "Sorry, I just realized working with someone like you is beneath me. So, I'm out."

Jaiden's smirk grew wider. He became even more smug, raising his voice as he pointed at me.

"Vance, as a doctor, you've caused a major medical accident. You can just resign and run away, but the patient's family is making a scene. It's the hospital's reputation that's taking the hit.

"I suggest you apologize to everyone in the hospital. Why should we all suffer because of the mess you caused?"

After saying that, Jaiden looked around, expecting someone to back him up.

The sheer absurdity of it was almost funny. I turned and prepared to walk away.

But Jaiden wasn't done. He rushed up and blocked my path. I tried to sidestep him, but at that moment, he suddenly plopped down on the floor.

Ellie's voice rang out instantly. "Jaiden! Are you okay?"

She quickly ran over to him, her face full of concern as she checked on him. Then, she turned to glare at me and snapped, "Vance Gibson! Are you crazy? Why would you push him? Apologize right now!"

Before I could speak, Jaiden played the nice guy. "Ellie, don't get mad. I was just afraid that Vance's medical accident would hurt the hospital's reputation. I'm sure he didn't mean to push me…"

The mention of the medical accident lit a fire in Ellie's eyes. Frowning, she said, "You were so incredibly reluctant when I asked you to take over that one surgery, and now, the patient's dead.

"Tell me, what are we supposed to do now? How did I not see this side of you before? You treat human lives like they're nothing!"

I found her words ridiculous and shot back, "Well, when you helped Jaiden frame me, wasn't my life worth as little as a pawn to you?"

Then, I shot a sidelong glance at Jaiden, who was looking diffident. "A scumbag like him will ruin you one day!"

Ellie immediately shielded Jaiden and snapped back at me, "Vance! Stop making accusations. You were the one who performed surgery drunk. Who's to blame for that? You're just getting what you deserve!"

My throat tightened with anger. All I could do was let out a bitter laugh.

It was always like this. Whenever Jaiden was involved, Ellie was always on his side, no matter the cost, even if it meant sacrificing my career.

I had no proof for now, so I could only take the fall.

Too tired to argue further, I picked up my box and prepared to leave.

But Ellie wasn't done. She grabbed my sleeve, pulling me back.

"You think just resigning solves everything? I'm going to make sure every hospital in this city knows about this! You'll be blacklisted from the entire industry!"

I turned slightly and gave both Ellie and Jaiden a contemptuous look. I said coolly, "Go ahead, but before you do that, you'd better pay your respects to that patient. You wouldn't want his restless soul coming for your necks while you're sleeping, would you?"

With that, I strode toward the hospital exit, ignoring their wide-eyed stares of guilt.

Ellie was always like this. She viewed my every move through a lens of malice.

The moment something went wrong with the patient, she pinned it on me. She just wanted me to be the scapegoat so she could protect Jaiden.

But none of it mattered anymore.

Once outside, I contacted a real estate agent to list the house that Ellie and I had paid for in full when we got married.

The young agent told me the market was hot right now, and the house could sell for a good price.

But I simply told him that the place was a bit of a mess. Once he found a buyer, he could just call a junk removal service and toss everything out.

I didn't want any of Ellie's stuff.

After that, I went straight to the courthouse. Just before closing time, I finally got the divorce certificate.

Ellie probably didn't even remember that she'd slapped a divorce agreement on my face in a fit of rage months ago.

Realizing I'd forgotten to tell her to move out earlier that day, I drove back home, intent on a final showdown.

On the way there, I imagined the look on her face when she saw the divorce certificate.

But I didn't expect her to surprise me first.

I couldn't get the smart lock to open.

I tried the lock three times. Suddenly, the door opened from the inside.

Standing there was Jaiden, wearing my pajamas. It was the matching set Ellie and I used to wear.

The moment he saw me, a smug smile spread across his face. He raised an eyebrow and taunted, "Oh, Vance. Ellie said you wouldn't be coming back, so I decided to swing by. We just finished up, but the place is a little messy. Do you want to wait outside? I'll tidy up.

"You really pissed her off today, huh? She took all her anger out on me. Little Jaiden almost couldn't take—"

Before he could finish, I punched him right in the face.

He immediately covered his nose and collapsed to the floor, groaning in pain.

Ellie screamed and rushed over. Her pajamas were haphazardly thrown on, and her hair was still dripping wet.

"Vance! Are you crazy?" she shouted. "Why would you hit him?"

I didn't answer. I just gave her a cold glance, then casually adjusted her pajamas for her.

Her eyes flickered with panic, and she forgot all about comforting Jaiden. She grabbed my arm with a serious expression.

"Don't misunderstand. There's a seminar near our place tomorrow. I had Jaiden come stay for the night so we could go together."

She added, "Some kids were playing with water guns on my way back and got me all wet. That's why I took a shower and changed my clothes."

I stared at her coldly, reached into my pocket, and pulled out the divorce certificate without a trace of emotion. "Doesn't matter to me. I'm selling this place. You two can stay at a hotel nearby. Also—"

Ellie's eyes widened, and she raised her voice, cutting me off. "Why are you selling the house all of a sudden? This is our only place! If you sell it, where are we supposed to live?"

As I looked at Ellie, I felt a wave of pity for her.

There was really no need to tie us together when things had come to this. But before I could respond, a flicker of realization crossed her face, and she smiled. "Did you secretly buy that place in the city center we were looking at?"

A faint blush crept onto her face as she continued in a mock-haughty tone, "I'm telling you, it's just a house. Don't think it's enough for me to forgive you—"

I gently pushed Ellie away as she moved closer and replied flatly, "Don't get ahead of yourself. What I mean is, this place isn't your home anymore, and we're done."

Ellie froze for a moment, then blurted, "What do you mean it's not my home anymore? Vance, are you fucking serious? Are you selling the house to support your mistress? You have to give me a good explanation today!"

She paused for a moment. She glanced back at Jaiden, who was still holding his nose, then turned to me with a snarl. "I'll sue you for breaking and entering! And assault too!"

Looking at the completely disoriented Ellie, I was speechless. "Go ahead, call the cops. Let's see who they arrest, me or him?"

Not giving her a chance to say anything, I pointed at Jaiden. "This house is my personal property, and you two are trespassing."

Then, I pulled out the divorce certificate and held it up in front of her. "Also, Ellie, we're already divorced."