My husband had successfully appointed Aurel Grann as the chief physician in the obstetrics and gynecology department.

Because she was so young, no one wanted to book an appointment with her. So, without a second thought, my husband, Barly Hudson, used me. He had her issue a gynecological certificate claiming that I had undergone seven abortions.

He turned it into a marketing gimmick.

Suddenly, young girls started showing up—dragged in by their boyfriends under the guise of routine checkups, all trying to verify whether their girlfriends’ romantic pasts were “clean.”

The publicity stunt worked like a charm. And my reputation? Completely destroyed.

When another harassing call came in, I finally brought up divorce—calmly, openly.

Barly didn’t understand. To him, it was an overreaction.

“That young doctor didn’t hurt anyone,” he said. “I was just helping her out. I paid for it, you contributed your part. What’s the big deal?”

“Of course it’s fine. Help her however you want,” I replied with a shrug.

After all, whatever he wanted to do for Aurel, he would do it—whether I agreed or not.

But from this moment on, I wouldn’t be the stepping stone he used to boost her career.

“Sign it.”

——

Barly leaned back in his office chair, adjusting his tie. His face already bore the look of mild impatience.

“It’s just a dent in your reputation. Being the subject of gossip won’t kill you.”

“Besides, you’re Mrs. Hudson. Who can actually hurt you?”

The same old line.

I gave a faint, tired smile.

“Do you remember your mother’s birthday? The antique porcelain she gifted had broken. You pushed me out to take the fall and said the same thing then.”

Mrs. Hudson had forced me to kneel in front of her and her husband. Because I didn’t do that, by the time I got out, the rumors were already everywhere—branding me as disrespectful toward my mother-in-law.

The media, netizens, relatives and so-called friends—all of them tore me apart.

And back then, Barly had said the same words, in the same tone.

“Are you really this upset just because I asked you to help a few more times? Aurel is still young and unmarried. If she gets a bad reputation because of something like this, what will become of her future?”

“Oh,” I said with a shrug, staring directly into his eyes.

“I’m two months older than her and already married—so I guess I don’t need a reputation.”

That’s how it is, isn’t it?

At least, in his eyes, that’s exactly how it is.

Barly’s fingers drummed irritably on the table.

“If it really bothers you, I’ll take some time off and bring you overseas for a break. Would that be better?”

“Isn’t it childish, talking about divorce over something so trivial?”

I was about to respond when the office door suddenly clicked open—the fingerprint lock disengaging with a soft sound.

Aurel walked in with a bright smile, placing a warm lunchbox on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

The moment she saw me, her smile faltered. Her expression turned surprised, awkward.

“Oh! Mrs. Hudson, you’re here too…”

“I’m so sorry—I didn’t know you’d be coming today, so I only brought enough soup for two…”

I ignored her.

I shot Barly a meaningful look, placed the divorce agreement on the table and stood up to leave.

The fingerprint lock on his door was programmed for his fingerprint only. He had said he didn’t like being interrupted while working. Every time I came before, I had to wait outside until he was finished.

Since that gift incident, Mrs. Hudson had banned me from bringing him soup altogether.

Judging by Aurel’s ease and familiarity, she’d clearly been having lunch with him here every day for a while.

The thought made me pause at the doorway. I turned back to face her.

“When did you register your fingerprint for the door?”

Aurel hesitated, then replied softly.

“The first day I came to bring him soup.”

“Hmm.”

So that’s how it is.

In Barly’s eyes, my visits as his wife were disturbances.

But hers? Apparently not.

It didn’t matter anymore. I had already made my decision.

I was going to divorce him.

As if startled by my silence, a mist formed in Aurel’s eyes.

“I’m sorry, Marina,” she said softly. “I didn’t know that just registering my fingerprint would upset you. I’ll ask Barly to delete it when I leave later.”

Then she turned to Barly with a gentle smile.

“Barly, I’ll wait outside tomorrow until you finish work and then we can eat together, okay? If I’m a little late getting back to the hospital, the patients might complain... but I don’t mind.”

I’ve always suspected that Aurel and I simply weren’t compatible. Every time we exchanged a few words, she ended up in tears.

And somehow, everyone always assumed I was the one bullying her.

This time was no different.

“No need to delete it,” Barly said sharply, shooting me an annoyed glance before getting up to wipe Aurel’s tears.

“I’m the one who registered her fingerprint. If you have a problem, take it up with me. Don’t vent it on an innocent person.”

He didn’t see it—but the “innocent person” he was defending had just tilted her head and shot me a smug, triumphant smile.

I licked my lips, then suddenly let out a laugh.

Across the office, I looked directly at Barly.

“You said you’ve always seen her as a younger sister. That’s why you’ve been so good to her all these years, right?”

He hesitated for a second before giving a small nod.

I nodded slowly back and finally asked the question that had been lodged in my chest for the past three years.

“After we got married, shouldn’t I at least be her half-sister-in-law? Has she ever called me that—not even once?”

“Have you ever asked her to change the way she addresses me?”

“Even on our wedding day, when the elders asked her to toast me, she got so drunk she couldn’t stand. You stayed with her the entire night… and left me alone on our wedding night.”

“I had no idea that the treatment for a half-sister ranks higher than that of a newlywed wife. If I’d known, maybe I would’ve gone out and found myself a half-brother, just to experience that kind of special care…”

“Marina Jones!”

Before I could finish, Barly snapped, his face darkening.

He turned back to comfort Aurel, who was now sobbing uncontrollably and shouting that she wanted to jump from the building to prove her innocence.

“If you can’t speak properly, then get out. Don’t come here just to be sarcastic.”

“A person with a filthy heart sees filth in everything.”

“Is that your answer to me?” I asked, frowning.

Sure, my words were laced with bitterness—but weren’t they the truth?

I slammed the office door behind me and stormed out.

The news reached Mrs. Hudson not long after. She called me specifically to deliver a lecture.

“Barly manages a massive company—he’s busy from morning to night, barely has time to eat. As his wife, instead of easing his burdens, you’re creating more for him. Can’t you even let him relax a little during his free time?”

“What’s wrong with me finding someone to keep him company and help him unwind?”

“You can't even fulfill the basic duties of a wife. What right do you have to object?”

My hands clenched at my sides and my heart turned even colder.

Back then, to help Aurel play the perfect victim, Barly had trampled all over my dignity. He dragged seven or eight men—strangers to me—before the elders and accused me of secretly having an abortion.

“Just sacrifice yourself this once,” he had said. “I’ll explain everything to the family later.”

I waited more than a month for that explanation.

What I got instead was a new wave of online smear campaigns.

I hung up the phone halfheartedly and collapsed onto the sofa, utterly drained.

My thoughts wandered to the past.

Barly and I had built everything from scratch. When I first met him, he was just a small business owner, running a modest company.

I joined his team, accompanied him to meetings, helped him win over clients. We often entertained late into the night, dealing with demanding CEOs and high-maintenance executives.

When the company hit a bottleneck and frustration weighed him down, he would invite me to walk with him by the river, just to talk it out.

Over time, our relationship deepened naturally and I began investing my own money into the company. Eventually, I acquired a 2% stake.

As the business grew, so did Barly’s wealth—and then he proposed. I accepted.

Three months before the wedding, he brought Aurel over from her hometown, saying it was to support her medical studies. To welcome her, he unilaterally decided to transfer my shares to her—without even discussing it with me.

That decision sparked our first major argument.

Looking back now, maybe that was the beginning of the cracks forming between us.

When I woke up, my face was damp with sweat and tears.

At some point, Barly had returned home. The sight of the suitcase I’d packed and left by the door infuriated him.

“What are you planning now?” he demanded. “Wasn’t the scene you caused at the company yesterday already enough? Now you’re stirring up more trouble?”

I splashed cold water on my face, then placed the spare front door key on the edge of the sink.

“I’m planning to move out for a while,” I said calmly. “Have you signed the divorce papers yet?”

“You seriously want a divorce?” His face darkened and his voice turned icy.

“All because of a fake medical report? I know it was fake. I don’t even care. I don’t look down on you.”

I didn’t answer.

It was absurd.

After eight years of being together, he didn’t even understand why I suddenly wanted a divorce.

After a moment, he spoke again.

“Did my mother call and say something to you? Just hold on a little longer. Aurel’s being evaluated for the ‘Most Beautiful Physician’ award right now. Once she wins, I’ll explain everything to the family for you.”

“No need.”

Once the divorce was finalized, I’d clear my name on my own.

If I really listened to him and waited like he asked, I’d probably end up hearing something like, “Let’s just forget it. People already believe it anyway.”

I knew Barly far too well.

My eyes drifted to the gift in his hand—a bottle of perfume from a niche foreign brand.

Barly let out a cold snort and tossed the gift at my feet.

“Aurel picked this out for you. She’s so much more thoughtful than you.”

I didn’t bend down to pick it up. Instead, I sneered.

That gesture? That gift?

He had the nerve to criticize me for lacking manners.

How ironic.

If I remembered correctly, this same perfume box appeared in one of Aurel’s instastory updates at the end of last month.

“Barly,” I said coolly, “you like to talk about manners. Have you ever seen someone give a sample as a gift? Have you ever seen someone throw a gift at another person’s feet?”

I casually used the umbrella by the door to lift the ribbon off the box, opened it and pulled out the tiny vial inside—0.2 milliliters.

“It’s already been used.”

Barly’s eyes flickered with guilt.

“The full-size version has a lighter scent,” he said quickly. “Aurel deals with patients all day, so a stronger fragrance wouldn’t be appropriate.”

I smiled.

I didn’t bother exposing his lie. I didn’t even open my phone to show him her old story post.

Before I left, I reminded him one last time.

“Just sign the papers already. Dragging it out any further is pointless.”

Almost as soon as I moved in with my best friend, Aurel posted a new story updates.

She even mentioned me by name—just to make sure I saw it.

[Why can’t good men ever find good women? If it were me, I wouldn’t let you struggle so hard between career and family.]

The photo she posted showed Barly, slightly tipsy, gazing blankly out of the floor-to-ceiling window at the city skyline.

For the next two weeks, her feed didn’t stop.

She gathered all the perfume samples from her apartment and gave them away to her coworkers and patients.

[Some people treat kindness like weeds. Others treat it like treasure.]