I even deliberately played up my attentiveness and said, "According to the waiter, these were all flown in this morning. I remembered how much you love seafood, Rita, so I specifically ordered the most expensive dishes on the menu."

I noticed Ryan and Rita stiffen after those words fell from my lips. I also caught a flash of guilt on Ryan's usually calm and composed face.

I couldn't help but sneer.

In my previous life, I had assumed that he had no idea that Rita was pregnant. Now, it seemed that he'd known about it all along.

He had lied to me.

He had been lying to me right from the start!

Worse, he allowed Rita to use the incident to ruin me.

I balled my hands into fists, my nails biting into my palms. However, the stinging pain barely managed to cut through my rage.

If I lost it here, I might just grab a knife from the table and cut them up just to see whether their hearts were as black as coal.

Rita picked at the food before shooting a look at Ryan with a pout.

Ryan immediately turned to me and berated me sternly, "Rita has never liked eating all raw seafood. Why would you even treat her to dinner at a Heaulonian restaurant?"

I didn't want to waste my time arguing with him over this. Plus, there was no need for me to do anything to put Rita's baby at risk.

So, I sheepishly apologized. "Guess I remembered wrong. I'm going to pay the bill."

I rose to my feet to settle the bill. Just then, a gust of wind blew past me. It was a little chilly, so I figured I'd turn back for my coat.

That was when I saw Ryan pull Rita into his arms and tenderly kiss her cheek.

Rita had tears in her eyes as she whined, "Ryan, you know I'm frail, and the doctors have repeatedly told me not to eat any raw food. I also told Cleo that I wasn't feeling well and I can't eat this kind of stuff, but she insisted on bringing me here anyway."

"It won't happen again," he said solemnly.

I stood there in utter disbelief.

I had genuinely thought that Rita was just his adopted sister. So, I never figured that there was anything amiss whenever she left his bedroom. If anything, I just assumed that they were very close.

Now, it seemed that they'd long gotten involved with each other without me ever knowing about it.

So… who was the father of Rita's child?

Could it be…

I staggered, clinging to the table for support.

If that was the case, then what about me? What about all the things I'd done for them over the years?

I'd given up so many opportunities for Ryan's sake. I'd even considered Rita a sister and had treated her with utmost care.

Once, I'd braved the rain and taken her to the hospital when she said she'd sprained her ankle. I'd ignored the fact that I'd been suffering from a high fever myself.

However, the CT scan later showed that she was fine. Only then did Rita casually say, "I was faking it. I just wanted to see whether you were really that sick."

I had been furious, but Ryan had comforted me and told me to let it go. He claimed that Rita had grown up lonely, and that was why she was acting out.

I had endured it all, and that was why I'd fallen into such disgrace!

I clenched my jaw and turned away, choosing not to expose them right then and there.

When I got home, I immediately texted Ryan to end things between us. He didn't reply. I didn't care. Our relationship was over with or without his say-so.

Then, I placed my phone aside and went to sleep.

The following morning, I was woken up by my phone ringing up a storm. It was the hospital.

"Cleo, did you prescribe amoxicillin to a pregnant patient yesterday? Were you not aware that she's allergic to amoxicillin? She's in the ER right now due to a possible miscarriage!"

Sleep immediately left me when I heard those words.

I had gotten the exact same phone call in my previous life.

Could it be that my efforts were in vain?

I drew a deep breath and forced myself to calm down.

"Dr. Smith," I said finally, "I can promise you that I would never prescribe amoxicillin to a pregnant woman who is allergic to it."

He sighed and replied, "Cleo, you're the most talented student I had the honor of teaching. However, it's already all over the internet. Everyone believes that you've deliberately prescribed that drug to the pregnant woman, causing her to nearly miscarry."

I swiftly clicked on my social media app. Sure enough, the trending topic of the day was, "Sister of Wood Corporation's CEO Nearly Miscarries Due to Medical Negligence."

Rita had posted a long, tearful statement. She claimed I'd knowingly prescribed her amoxicillin despite being aware of her allergy, which apparently led to her near miscarriage.

She'd even attached a picture of her registration record and outpatient slip to her post. Then, she posted a picture of me accepting said slip.

Netizens hurled all sorts of abuse at me in the comment section. They called me a quack doctor and voiced their support for Rita.

Still, I saw a few scattered comments that were dancing a different tune. They were written by my former patients.

"Dr. Summers was my wife's primary surgeon. She was very meticulous and patient. She constantly reminded us about precautions and repeatedly checked over my wife's health before proceeding with the operation. I don't believe she'd ever do something like this."

"That's right. Dr. Summers double-checked everything before prescribing medicine to my grandmother."

However, those comments were quickly overwhelmed by Rita's vehement supporters.

"She deserves to die! If someone as wealthy as Ms. Wood could be fooled by a doctor, what about us ordinary folks? I support Ms. Wood!"

"Ms. Wood is a kind woman. She doesn't deserve to run into a doctor like that."

Rita swiftly posted another video of her crying.

"I finally got pregnant, and I've always considered my baby as my little miracle," she sobbed. "I don't know what I've done to Dr. Summers for her to do this to my baby. I might have lost my baby if Ryan hadn't rushed me to the hospital in time.

She added, "I didn't make this post to ruin Dr. Summers. I posted this as a reminder for everyone to be careful in the future."

Her post was like fuel to the fire that was the netizens' anger. Soon, all sorts of comments demanding that I be severely punished flooded the hospital's official account.

Someone even managed to dig up my information and posted a picture of my resignation.

Shortly after, the hashtag #CleoSummersFleeing shot up to the top of the trending list.

Several hot-blooded citizens had even taken the initiative to camp out at the hospital and at my residence.

I had nowhere to hide, so I could only release a public statement.

"I hope Ms. Wood could provide genuine evidence and stop posting provocative updates to escalate the situation."

Rita went live 30 minutes later. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed into the camera, "Since evidence is what all of you want, then I'll show you the evidence."

Rita whipped out pictures she'd taken at the hospital that day and several medical reports.

She even had a video showing that she'd entered the hospital and personally handed me the outpatient slip.

I thought to myself, "Look at that same video taken at the same angle."

Everything was playing out just like it had in my previous life.

I replayed Rita's video over and over again and quickly found that even the tiniest details were the same as the ones in my previous life.

It was summer, but I felt as if I'd been dunked into a vat of ice.

I scrolled through the comments and found that some of my former patients were speaking in my defense. Unfortunately, they were vastly outgunned and weren't able to do anything against Rita's accusations.

Things took a turn for the worse two hours later as a picture of Ryan and me kissing intimately was made public.

Everyone knew that Ryan was the heir to the Wood Corporation. Thus, the woman who could marry into the Wood family would enjoy immense wealth and power.

If this had been revealed before the scandal, people would've sent me heartfelt well wishes.

Unfortunately, this revelation had caused the incident to spiral out of control. It escalated what was supposed to be a medical accident to a scandal involving the rich and powerful.

As expected, it immediately became a trending topic.

Rita soon posted an update on her social media.

"I'm so sorry, everyone. I just found out that Dr. Summers is my brother's girlfriend. My hands were shaking when I saw the picture. If I'd known earlier, I wouldn't have acted so rashly and put my brother or Dr. Summers in such an awkward position.

"Maybe I was just being overly sensitive. My family has been urging my brother to have an heir. After all, my father made it clear that his grandson would inherit his money. Ryan also told me that Cleo has been working hard toward that goal.

"Perhaps she made a mistake when she found out I was pregnant while she wasn't. Although I'm a little upset, we're still family. I'll try to take a step back from this. Thank you for speaking up for me, everyone. Please don't blame Dr. Summers. She's got it hard too."

It might look like she was coming to my aid, but what she really did was incite the netizens further.

And so, a medical dispute was thus transformed into a wealthy family drama.

Her post immediately made it to the top of the trending list. The comment sections were rife with abuse toward me.

"What a disgusting doctor. How could she be envious of a pregnant woman just because she can't have children of her own?"

"Don't you understand what these affluent families are like? She'll likely be kicked to the curb if she can't produce an heir. That's why she's so jealous."

"I heard Ms. Wood went through IVF to get pregnant. The poor thing nearly lost her baby just because of a woman's jealousy."

"Why is someone this cruel still allowed to practice medicine?"

"You're right! Cleo Summers should be kicked out of the medical field!"

…

With me staying silent and Rita constantly stirring up the hornet's nest, the netizens' anger only soared to greater heights.

Several major media outlets eventually swarmed toward my house.

Rita, who was in tears, had come with them. She looked as innocent as ever. When she saw me, she even took a fearful step back like I was some sort of man-eating monster.

The crowd instantly lost it. Some even spat at me and lobbed trash at me.

The media did nothing. They chose to watch it all unfold, livestreaming it all.

I was soon forced into a corner. Nevertheless, I still caught the triumphant smile on Rita's lips through the throng of people coming at me.

As time passed, the mob grew out of control. Some of them eventually started throwing punches at me.

I failed to dodge and could only curl into a ball, feeling them rain down heavy and painful blows on my body.

Yet, Rita wasn't satisfied. She started crying crocodile tears as she pleaded, "Guys, please stop! Ryan will get upset if he sees this."

A cold laugh escaped my lips as I slowly pushed myself to my feet.

Finally, all the pieces were now in place.

"What if I have evidence to prove my innocence?" I asked.

Several reporters wasted no time thrusting their microphones at me.

I raised my voice and declared confidently, "Please come with me. The truth will come to light soon enough."