After Cynthia Musich causes a surgical accident, my husband of eight years, Xavier Goodwin, forces me to take the fall for her.

"Being suspended won't have any effect on you, but Cynthia's just starting out! Leaving a mark on her record this early in her career will ruin her!"

The accident victim's family cause a scene and stab me thrice in my pregnant belly. I call Xavier and beg him to save me, but he says coldly, "Cynthia was stabbed, and her life is at stake, so can you please stop making trouble? Just come out on your own."

Later, when my dead body is brought to his department, Xavier loses his mind.

In the cold chain warehouse, medicines rolled across the floor as blood gushed out from between my fingers, which were pressed tightly to my abdomen.

My body, which I no longer had the strength to keep upright, was leaning against the small window set into the warehouse's door.

The fear of death enveloped me. After eight years of failing to get pregnant, I had been looking forward to the birth of this child in my belly, whom I had conceived with great difficulty. I hadn't even had the time to share this joy with my family yet.

I couldn't die here.

Through my blurry vision, I saw a man in a white coat hurrying past, and my heart surged with joy.

I hurriedly fumbled for my phone and speed-dialed my emergency contact. My call was answered immediately.

I cried, "Xavier! Save me! I've been—"

In the next instant, the man outside the door—my husband, Xavier Goodwin—anxiously ran off with a crying Cynthia Musich in his arms.

As he passed by, he cast an indifferent glance toward the window through which he could see me calling for help. The annoyance in his eyes made me feel as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over me.

"Cynthia was stabbed, and her life is at stake, so can you please stop making trouble? Just come out on your own," he snapped before hanging up the phone.

My phone fell to the floor, but I no longer had the strength to pick it up and call for help again.

Xavier didn't know that I could no longer get out.

Cynthia's wailing made him summon all the nurses outside the door for fear that something would happen to her without enough hands on standby.

Before I managed to knock the family member who caused the incident unconscious, they had stabbed me several times with their knife—thrice of which had been in my abdomen.

My vision gradually darkened due to excessive blood loss.

In my last moment on Earth, the only sound I could hear was that of Xavier's hurriedly receding footsteps.

I weakly opened my mouth, looking in the direction Xavier had run off.

Tears slowly slid down my face, but I couldn't get a single word out in the end.

What could I even say?

For Cynthia, he would not look back.

Before my consciousness faded completely, I heard my mother's crying voice in my ears, accompanied by the crackling of static.

"Hang in there just a little longer, honey! Don't go to sleep!" cried my mother, Lyra Lindsey. "It's my fault! I should've told you to get divorced long ago! Will you please forgive me? Please wake up!"

However, I really didn't have the strength to lift my heavy eyelids anymore.

…

The heart monitor flatlined, letting out an extended beep. I suddenly felt my body become lighter, and it felt as if I were flying.

As my soul left my body, I caught sight of my own defeated expression.

My abdominal cavity had been cut open, layer by layer, revealing an almost fully formed fetus that had been mutilated.

There were stab wounds of varying depths all over my body.

I was one of the best gynecologists in Golsing City, who had performed more than a thousand surgeries without making a single mistake.

Therefore, I could clearly tell that there was no hope for me and my child.

Or, at least, I couldn't save us.

A pink mobile phone had been placed next to my pillow. My mother's heartrending screams could still be heard through it, and my heart was filled with guilt listening to her wails.

I wanted to tell her to take care of herself, but my incorporeal body simply went right through the phone.

"I'm sorry for making you so sad," I thought silently.

My soul was suddenly sucked away by an unknown force, and I passed through the ceiling to arrive in the operating room upstairs.

Coming face-to-face with Xavier, a man as handsome as that of a movie star, caused me to suck in a sharp breath.

Taking advantage of the fact that nobody could see me, I carefully observed the husband with whom I hadn't been on speaking terms with for an entire month.

I highly prioritized aesthetic attraction in a partner, and just like Xavier, I was obsessed with the medical profession.

We had frequently met at various award ceremonies around the country due to our equally outstanding abilities, so we naturally started seeing each other.

It had been eight years since then, and we had treated each other with mutual respect throughout all those years.

The only thing that troubled us was that we had continuously failed to conceive a child.

As this thought ran through my mind, I couldn't resist punching and kicking at Xavier.

I wanted to cry, but as a soul, I didn't have the ability to produce tears.

Just then, a nurse—Patty Carroll—pushed open the doors of the operating room.

"There was an incident in the operating room downstairs, and the patient has lost consciousness, Dr. Goodwin. You're being called downstairs to help," she informed him.

Nobody had expected me to be carrying a child. The body of a pregnant woman would instinctively protect the child in its womb, to the point of sacrificing its own energy to sustain the child's life.

Xavier was the best chief surgeon in the Traumatology Department, so being summoned like this was a common occurrence.

However, today, he remained unmoved and continued to disinfect Cynthia's wounds.

"I've already begun the operation here, so please call on other available doctors within the department."

Patty frowned and attempted to persuade him otherwise. "I still suggest that you go down and have a look, Dr. Goodwin. After all, the patient is—"

Before she could even finish her sentence, Xavier interrupted her impatiently. "All lives are equal, so I don't care who she is. I want to start operating on my patient now, so please get out."

He looked sharply at Patty, his gaze going right through my body, but his hands continued to work on stitching up Cynthia's wounds.

I knew from the familiarity in his movements that this operation was an easy one for him, but he just didn't feel at ease leaving Cynthia's side.

"I don't care if it's some dignitary waiting downstairs—they gain no privileges from me. Get out," he said coldly.

Although he often received criticism from the hospital director—Hubert Earwood—for it, Xavier never showed his patients any favoritism.

I was actually rather happy that he could retain his principles in this complicated world, but I couldn't help feeling slightly bitter at the thought that our child would never see Xavier's face before dying.

Xavier's surgical team was the best in the city, and the wounds on Cynthia's waist had perfectly missed all her vitals, so the operation ended quickly.

Cynthia was then transferred to a private ward right next to Xavier's office.

I pursed my lips. The ward was in a prime location, unavailable to the average citizen no matter how much money they offered.

I retracted my previous praise for him. He wasn't impartial and selfless; other people simply weren't as important as Cynthia in his eyes—including me.

Patty opened the door of the ward, this time with her phone in hand. "Dr. Winston has been keeping the patient alive with the defibrillator for half an hour already, Dr. Goodwin. This is our last chance to save the patient."

With Xavier present, perhaps there was still a chance.

Xavier gently tucked Cynthia in before taking out a handkerchief to wipe away her sweat.

Just as he was about to head down for a look, Cynthia tugged at the hem of his shirt. She happened to wake up right at that moment.

"My head really hurts, Xav!" she whined.

Xavier stopped in his tracks once more, and he instantly placed his hand over Cynthia's forehead to check her temperature with a worried expression on his face.

Patty attempted to urge him again, only to be immediately interrupted by Cynthia's high-pitched scream.

Cynthia was rolling around on the bed as if she were in great pain.

"Save me, Xav! My head really hurts!"

The entire floor exploded into activity again. Xavier personally operated every medical instrument, examining Cynthia's body with each one.

He remained busy even as Lyra collected my body and left.

I lazed on top of the curtain rail, yawning out of boredom.

It was already past midnight, but Cynthia still hadn't calmed down.

According to all the reports, there was obviously nothing wrong with her.

The accompanying nurses were already becoming impatient, as anyone with a discerning eye could tell that she was faking the pain.

Surgery involving patients with her level of injury were usually handed off to the interns to practice with, so how could she be suffering from complications when Xavier himself handled the operation?

One of the nurses finally spoke up about it, unable to hold herself back any longer.

I immediately snapped to attention, fully awake now.

Sure enough, Xavier threw the clipboard in his hand onto the floor immediately afterward, causing a loud clang to ring out.

Everyone present was shocked. Even Cynthia forgot to continue crying, and the tears still sliding down her face looked rather comical.

Xavier's eyes were filled with exhaustion and irritation.

He thought my prejudice toward Cynthia already become common knowledge, to the point that even the nurses believed the rumors.

He said stonily, "It looks like the pleasant and relaxing training you experienced with Elena has caused all of you to forget your place. I'll ask her to apologize to Cynthia personally tomorrow on your behalf."

He then addressed the nurse who had spoken out, Bella Jensen. "As for you, I want to see a 10,000-word apology letter from you by tomorrow morning!"

Besides feeling embarrassed and angry, Bella also had a slightly contemptuous look on her face.

Xavier had never had such a look directed at him before, and he was momentarily stunned.

"You don't spare your own wife a single glance, and yet you're showering an outsider with affection. You're always talking about equality, but in my opinion, there's an issue with your character!"

Just then, Cynthia spoke up feebly. "Ellie is the internship supervisor this year, so it's normal for her to be angry with me. I'm the one who's caused trouble for everyone."

She was basically implying that I was targeting her behind her back.

Xavier immediately drove all the nurses out and personally watched over Cynthia. He remained in the ward for the entire night.

I clenched my fists tightly. Whenever Cynthia was involved, Xavier would believe her unconditionally.

It was always like this!

During a gynecological surgery that I had personally handled, the patient experienced postpartum hemorrhage and was in critical condition.

I immediately arranged for emergency surgery, but Cynthia came up to me then and insisted on entering the operating room to observe the procedure.

"I'll definitely become a leading gynecologist if I follow you around, right, Ellie?" she asked.

I originally refused her request, but she planted herself on the floor and clung to me tightly, crying and begging nonstop.

While this was happening, Xavier hurried over and lectured me for arguing over trivial matters instead of worrying for the patient's wellbeing.

In the end, Cynthia followed me into the operating room.

The operation lasted eight hours, and I was already thoroughly exhausted by that point.

Right after walking out of the delivery room—barely having closed my eyes for two seconds—a nurse rushed in and yelled, "Dr. Livingston! We're missing one piece of gauze! It may have been sutured into the patient's body!"

If that were true, it would be considered major medical malpractice.

But at that time, Cynthia had clearly reported that everything was accounted for!

Without pausing to rest, I resterilized and entered the operating room again.

The gauze was successfully removed, but the patient remained unconscious, and the hospital demanded accountability.

Cynthia and I confronted each other in Hubert's office. All I had to do was call on the scrub nurse who was present at the time, and the truth would come to light.

However, Xavier came forward at that moment and, under my incredulous gaze, admitted my guilt for me while vouching for Cynthia.

In the end, I was suspended from my job.

I questioned him directly in the office, but he simply frowned as if he didn't understand why I was being so emotional.

"You've already achieved fame and success, so suspension is nothing to you, but Cynthia only just joined the industry. How is she going to remain in the hospital if there's a stain on her records?"

What about me? I had been close to being promoted to the position of head of the Gynecology Department, and a suspension would render all my efforts throughout the past few years useless.

Was my future not important?

All he told me in return was, "Are you done making a fuss?"

From that day onward, we started giving each other the cold shoulder, and the situation lasted for an entire month. During that time, I ignored the various text messages Cynthia sent me.

I knew without even having to look at them that her messages contained photos of Xavier having meals with her three times a day, photos of the two of them doing the rounds together, and photos of them with other patients.

Xavier and I were so busy with work that we rarely got together in the first place. Therefore, even if we weren't giving each other the silent treatment, he and I probably wouldn't have seen each other for a month.

Our marriage had already been coming apart at the seams. Cynthia didn't even need to give it more than a gentle nudge, and our relationship just fell apart.

When the doctor who came to take over Xavier's shift—Bryan Errington—saw him coming out of Cynthia's ward, his face was full of surprise.

Immediately afterward, he recalled my surgery last night. Even if it was a normal death, he still felt guilty at the sight of Xavier, who was my family member.

He said quietly, "We're all very sorry about what happened with Dr. Livingston…"

Xavier frowned slightly as he undid the buttons on his shirt collar.

"Is Elena still clinging onto such a trivial matter?" he asked, looking Bryan up and down with a baffled expression. "She's getting more and more petty as time goes on. Sorry for the trouble last night. I'll tell her off when I go home tomorrow."

After saying that, he turned to leave.

Bryan suddenly raised his voice. "Dr. Goodwin! Aren't you going to see Dr. Livingston now?"

I poked at Xavier's handsome face.

Even if he came to see me now, it was too late!

Xavier simply left without the slightest pause. "I have to change the dressing on Cynthia's wounds later, so tell Elena to go home by herself first."

The nurses behind Xavier gesticulated at him, silently judging his behavior, but Bryan didn't stop them.

"To think Dr. Goodwin was actually so cold and heartless. What a terrible man."

"I heard that Dr. Goodwin flew into a great rage when Bella made one negative comment about Cynthia. He'd probably believe Cynthia even if she told him that rotten food smelled good."

I burst into laughter. That's right. He'd not just believe it but taste it too.

Even someone like you has become the subject of ridicule, Xavier.

Suddenly, there was a loud shout from ahead. The voice sounded quite familiar to me.

I suddenly paused before starting to drift forward quickly.

My soul was bound to the accessory on Xavier's chest—a lucky charm I had gone to great lengths to obtain from a church on the mountain.

Judging from the speed at which my soul was being tugged along, Xavier was likely being dragged along the floor by someone. There was no other explanation for it.

A gloomy-looking young man with messy hair that pretty much covered his entire face was dragging Xavier across the floor. The young man looked like he wanted to kill someone, and his target was Xavier.

The young man looked incredibly angry, but there was an unconcealable sadness on his face.

Feeling distressed, I tried to wipe his tears away, only for my hand to pass through him time and again.

"Don't cry anymore, Elio. You're going to become an adult soon, and you have to take good care of Mom," I thought silently.

"So, you abandoned Ellie for Cynthia?" yelled my younger brother, Elio Livingston. "Do you know that you're basically cheating? Ellie really was blind to have fallen for you! I want you to come back, kneel in front of her, and apologize to her right now!"

Everyone around Elio was scrambling to try and stop him.

Just then, Cynthia suddenly rushed over from out of nowhere and grabbed his arm. "It's a misunderstanding, Elio! Xav was just worried that I got hurt protecting Ellie from the attacker's knife. If Ellie's angry, I'll go and apologize to her right now."

Elio slapped her hand away. "I don't need any of your fake kindness!"

I felt alarm bells going off in my head. Elio was going to fall right into Cynthia's trap.