After ten years of marriage, Ethan Hayes fell in love with the airheaded intern Chloe Miller.

When Mr. Hayes Sr. suffered from appendicitis, Ethan actually allowed Chloe to perform the surgery.

“Doctor, I can’t tell the difference between an appendix and a heart. What do I do? I think he’s dead…”

Ethan pulled her into his arms, comforting her tenderly.

“It’s fine. It’s normal for people to die during surgery!”

Chloe instantly brightened.

“Then what about this heart? Don’t waste it—can we transplant it into my dog, Buddy?”

As absurd as the request was, Ethan not only didn’t stop her—he even personally performed the transplant.

He carefully had Buddy moved to the ICU but didn’t say a word about his father who had died on the operating table.

When pressed, he grew impatient.

“The surgery failed. Better he died early and reincarnate already!”

“If you really can’t let it go, just treat that dog as your father. Take good care of it—that’ll count as filial piety!”

I couldn’t help but sneer.

If anyone was going to recognize a dog as a father, it should be him.

“What did you just say—dead? How does someone die from a minor appendectomy?”

Seeing my refusal to believe him, Ethan frowned.

“Doctors are just human, not gods. Who can guarantee a cure every time?”

“Blame him for doing too many bad things in life—God must’ve had enough and called him home!”

“He didn’t do good deeds while alive, so stop hogging medical resources now that he’s dead. Sign the papers and claim the body.”

Ethan’s mother had died giving birth to him, and Mr. Hayes had raised him single-handedly through blood, sweat, and tears.

Just two years ago, a mudslide caused a beam to collapse, and Mr. Hayes had miraculously held on despite grave injuries.

Ethan had been unharmed, while his father had nearly lost his life.

On our wedding day, Ethan had knelt before his father in tears, saying his greatest wish was for him to live a long life.

And now, he cursed him for deserving death?

“Oh, and don’t forget to sign the heart donation consent form. It’s an honor for him to save Buddy’s life.”

For a moment, I wondered if Ethan’s soul had been swapped with someone else’s.

Looking at his disdainful expression, I still couldn’t help but ask,

“Did you even look at the patient carefully?”

Chloe poked her head out from behind Ethan, patting her chest with mock fear.

“What’s the point of looking at a corpse? Luckily, I was smart enough to cover his face early with a white sheet. Otherwise, if it scared my dear mentor, that would’ve been a terrible crime.”

Ethan approvingly ruffled Chloe’s hair.

“Your dad’s death was fate. Stop making a fuss.”

“Making a fuss? Ethan, aren’t you afraid your ancestors will crawl out of their graves to demand answers for this unfilial behavior?”

“What does your dad’s death have to do with my family? In the end, it’s your Lane family’s bad karma!”

I suddenly understood—he thought the man on the table was my father.

Fury surged through me. For this marriage, it was truly not worth it. I tore up the consent form right in front of him.

Chloe’s eyes instantly turned red.

“Nora, if only I had the power to bring the dead back to life, you wouldn’t be fighting with Ethan like this.”

Ethan, distressed, pulled Chloe into his arms.

“God wanted to take her dad. What does that have to do with you?”

“Be good, don’t cry. I can’t stand seeing your eyes swollen.”

He turned to me coldly.

“Nora Lane, I know your dad’s sudden death is hard to accept.”

“But if you really can’t move on, then treat Buddy like your father—after all, he carries your dad’s heart inside him.”

“You should thank Chloe for leaving you such a keepsake.”

Watching the two of them exchange looks right in front of me, my stomach turned.

If Ethan knew the man who had been killed on the table was his own father, would he still be so calm, so eager to thank Chloe for ripping out his dad’s heart for Buddy?

“Ethan Hayes, I am not signing this.”

But Ethan’s face was full of certainty.

“Nora, don’t forget we are husband and wife!”

“Even if you don’t sign it, I can sign it for you—and it’ll still be legally binding. Don’t even think about causing trouble for Chloe!”

He took out a backup copy of the waiver and donation consent form and signed his name with a flourish.

Watching the two of them flirt as they left, I dialed my lawyer.

“Draft me a divorce agreement—right now!”

That night, I had the divorce papers in hand and went straight to find Ethan.

But outside the private booth, I overheard the teasing inside.

“Chloe, I envy you. You got to perform surgery before even graduating!”

Chloe cast a shy glance at Ethan.

“It’s not my fault he wouldn’t admit he was getting old—he insisted on overexerting himself. The next day he was weak as a kitten, so I had to step up and take the scalpel to save the day.”

Silently, I hit record on my phone.

“Who are you calling old? Keep it up and I’ll make sure you can’t get out of bed tomorrow morning!”

Laughter erupted around the room. Chloe took a sip of wine and pressed her lips to Ethan’s.

“I wasn’t calling you old. I was just terrified by all the blood today. Silly me, I couldn’t tell an appendix from a heart and got you involved!”

“Nora will definitely make a scene with you when you get home! I feel so bad for you…”

Ethan gently smoothed the furrow between Chloe’s brows.

“Nora’s father’s worthless life saving Buddy is her good fortune!”

“If you still feel guilty, then tonight wear that sailor outfit—I want to try a new position…”

He used to say saving lives was his calling, but now he treated human life like a joke.

I couldn’t hold back anymore—I burst into the room.

“Ethan, aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning?”

A flash of guilt crossed Ethan’s eyes before he grew angry.

“Nora, are you following me?”

“Did I say anything wrong? Your dad is already dead—a useless lump of flesh—so what if it saved Buddy?”

I pulled out Mr. Hayes’s death certificate.

“Ethan Hayes, open your damn eyes and look carefully. The man who died was your father—not mine!”

Ethan’s pupils contracted, his body trembling slightly.

Chloe snatched my phone and threw it into a glass of water.

“Come on, the Photoshop marks are so obvious. Who are you trying to fool, a three-year-old?”

Ethan recovered, gripping my throat hard.

“Nora, do you even have a conscience?”

“My dad treated you better than he treated me, his own son, and you dare curse him?”

“No wonder your dad died so early—it was your own vile mouth that killed him!”

Mr. Hayes had collapsed with acute appendicitis but worried about interfering with Ethan’s work.

He didn’t want Ethan accused of nepotism, so he begged me to schedule him properly at St. Mary’s Medical Center.

By sheer bad luck, Ethan ended up performing the surgery.

An appendectomy wasn’t even a major procedure. Mr. Hayes had even asked me to go with him to the Farmers’ Market the next day to buy a turtle.

Who could have imagined he would lose his life instead?

Even with the facts before him, Ethan refused to see.

Chloe’s eyes glinted with malice as she spoke.

“Nora, I know it’s hard to accept your dad’s death.”

“How about this—when Buddy is discharged in two days, we’ll hold a ‘Recognition Banquet’ so you can formally treat him as family!”

Ethan clapped first, grinning.

“Great idea!”

“I’ve never seen someone recognize a dog as their father—I have to witness this!”

“Me too! I’ll bring a gift for the dog’s new daughter!”

“Dr. Hayes, amazing! Transplanting a human heart into a dog—that’s a breakthrough that could break species barriers. You should publish in Nature!”

As ridiculous as it was, Ethan actually took it seriously.

“I’ll write a report tomorrow and submit it to the hospital!”

Looking at his smug grin, I almost laughed.

“You’d better bury your father first before rushing off to be a dog’s son!”

Seeing that I wasn’t as angry as he’d expected, Ethan froze.

“What… what do you mean?”

Before I could answer, Chloe grabbed his arm.

“What else could she mean? She’s just jealous you treat me so well—acting like some petty schoolgirl!”

Ethan’s face darkened.

“Nora, aren’t you too old to still be this childish and jealous?”

“Go home and get ready. On your dad’s burial day, we’ll hold that recognition banquet!”

“That way, your dad can watch you recognize your new ‘dog dad’ and rest in peace!”

“This is a divorce agreement…”

My words were drowned out by their laughter. Ethan didn’t even glance at the papers—he tore them up and flung the pieces in my face.

Ethan, when you learn the truth, I hope you rot in hell.

He wouldn’t even claim his father’s body. I hadn’t wanted to interfere either.

But the hospital kept calling, insisting someone come to the morgue to collect it.

Two days later, Mr. Hayes’s corpse was unrecognizable—already decomposing.

“Ms. Lane, Dr. Hayes instructed us that even though he’s a relative, he can’t take up public resources.”

I looked around—the morgue clearly had empty freezers.

“Dr. Hayes told us to shut them off for energy saving.”

I shook with rage. He was so sure the body was my father’s that he deliberately desecrated it.

My father, Dr. Lane, had been a renowned cardiac specialist and had given Ethan countless resources and mentorship.

Without my dad’s connections, Ethan never would have become head of surgery at such a young age.

And yet, instead of gratitude, he behaved like a heartless ingrate.

Despite the stench burning my nose, I couldn’t bear to leave Mr. Hayes like that.

I contacted the funeral home to give him a proper farewell.

He had always been a man who valued cleanliness, so I paid top dollar for a mortuary makeup artist to restore his face so he could leave this world with dignity.

Even though my father was in poor health, he forced himself to attend the funeral—he and Mr. Hayes had been close friends for years.

“Where’s Ethan? How could he not be here for such an important moment—his own father’s farewell?”

I didn’t want my father to worry, so I made up an excuse.

Seeing sweat bead on his forehead, I called a car to send him home first.

As we brushed past each other, Ethan rubbed his eyes.

“Strange… was I seeing things? Like a ghost in broad daylight?”

Chloe tugged his sleeve.

“Come on, Ethan! After Buddy recognizes his new daughter, we still have to rush back to work on the paper!”

“I already leaked your latest results to the press—you’re going to be the first in the world to break species barriers!”

“And I’ll get second author and land on the Dean’s List!”

Chloe entered in a bright red dress, Buddy in her arms, clinging to Ethan’s side, just as I was bowing to the guests.

An obnoxiously cheerful song blasted through the funeral hall.

Chloe strutted up first, slammed Mr. Hayes’s portrait to the floor, and sneered at the body in the casket.