I pressed down the emotions churning behind my eyes and walked to the bedside for the routine checkup.
"How are you feeling today?"
Percy held Carina's hand, his voice soft and warm.
"She's feeling much better now. Yesterday was so touch-and-go, we really owe it all to you, Dr. Simmons. I haven't even had the chance to thank you properly."
"The moment I woke up, I called the factory to rush a shame banner for you. I hope you won't think it's too much."
I smiled, but my gaze had already drifted to their clasped hands.
On Carina's previously bare ring finger sat a ring with the same unusual design as the one on Percy's hand.
Noticing where I was looking, Percy twisted the ring on his finger and explained, his tone brimming with pride.
"My wife designed these herself. Only pair in the world."
"A little ugly, sure, but I love them."
I dropped my gaze fast, burying the storm rising behind my eyes.
The day after our wedding, Carina had taken off the ring I'd had a master jeweler custom-make for her.
I watched her seal it in its box and shove it into the deepest corner of the drawer, where it never saw daylight again.
"Why won't you wear it?"
She'd frowned and shaken her head.
"It's too expensive. If I lost it, what a waste that would be."
I said nothing more. I just quietly slipped off my own ring and tossed it onto the nightstand.
At home, Carina's ring finger had always been bare.
Now it wore a band that never came off.
So in front of me, she hadn't even bothered to pretend.
The baby slept peacefully in the bassinet nearby. Even at this age, traces of Carina were already visible in the child's features.
As the infant shifted, a jade pendant slid out from beneath the collar of the onesie.
The stone was luminous, its quality unmistakable at a glance.
The raw gemstone that had been cut open as a lucky prize at our wedding had been carved into an ordinary jade pendant and hung around the neck of Carina's illegitimate child.
My chest felt hollow. No anger, no grief. Whatever had once lived there, I'd already carved it out myself.
Percy's wheedling voice rose behind me.
"Babe, I'll go grab you some breakfast. You stay here and rest."
Carina looked at him, worry in her eyes.
"You don't know your way around here. Let someone else go."
Percy waved her off and glanced at me.
"Relax. Dr. Simmons is right here. He can show me the way."
Only after I nodded did Carina settle back with a reassured look.
The door opened and closed. Percy and I walked side by side down the corridor.
I let out a quiet breath, a sliver of mockery tucked into the corner of my mouth.
"You and Ms. Harding seem really close."
Percy smiled, eyes full of contentment.
"Carina and I both came from small towns. When it's just the two of you out in the world, you learn to lean on each other."
"Luckily she's driven. Built her own company from the ground up through sheer hard work."
"If it weren't for that one investor giving her such a hard time, she'd probably be one of the top names in the industry by now."
I raised an eyebrow. A slow burn of anger lit somewhere behind my ribs.
Carina's company, from incorporation to every round of funding, had been shepherded step by step by my father.
Her biggest investor was also my father.
She'd refused a position at Simmons Group, claiming she wanted to build something with her own hands and give me a comfortable life.
But her business instincts were mediocre at best. The company had been hemorrhaging money for two years, and my father had been quietly covering the losses behind the scenes, all for my sake.
Yet in her version of events, my father was the difficult investor making her life miserable.
A wolf you could feed forever and never tame.
Something slammed into my shoulder. The man beside me was holding a red banner.
Percy stopped in his tracks, arms crossed, watching me with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.
"Here you go, Dr. Simmons. Catch."
The banner was shoved toward me. The man holding it gave it a shake, and the fabric unfurled.
The moment I read the words, my expression went dark.
HOMEWRECKER. KNOWS HIS PLACE AS A SIDE PIECE.
Eight bold characters, each one an invisible slap across my face. My skin burned.
My whole body trembled. When I spoke, my voice was ice.
"Mr. Henson. What exactly is this supposed to mean?"
Any pretense of friendliness vanished. Percy's gaze raked over me from head to toe, his entire demeanor transformed.
"Carina's not here. You can drop the act."
"I saw it yesterday, outside the delivery room. Your eyes were glued to her. You couldn't look away if your life depended on it."
"We're both men. Don't think for a second I can't see those filthy little thoughts running through your head."
He pressed his hand over his mouth and made a show of gagging, his eyes full of disgust and self-righteous judgment.
"Some angel in white you are. Spending your days scheming to seduce a patient's wife. Disgusting."
I slammed the banner to the ground. Every instinct screamed at me to fire back, to tear his accusations apart.
But the image of those two marriage certificates, their authenticity still unknown, lodged the words in my throat. Nothing came out.
My silence only fed his arrogance.
"Hit a nerve, didn't I?"
"You picked OB-GYN on purpose. The whole plan was to prey on vulnerable women."
He jerked his chin at the man who'd brought the banner.
"Hold him down."
I backed up several steps, eyes locked on him, and barked out a warning.
"Don't touch me!"
The next second, something heavy cracked against the back of my skull.
A warm stream ran down from my temple.
By the time the world came back into focus, the corridor was packed with onlookers.
Percy's eyes were bloodshot. He jabbed a finger at me and shouted for the crowd.
"Come look! Come see for yourselves! This OB-GYN doctor targets new mothers while they're still weak and tries to seduce them!"
"From the moment he laid eyes on my wife yesterday, he hasn't stopped staring!"
He ordered the men pinning me down to rip off my mask, then grabbed a fistful of my hair and wrenched my face up for every pair of eyes in the hallway.
The instant he got a clear look at my features, a flash of jealousy cut through his expression.
"Just as I thought. A pretty-boy face made for seduction."
He stepped up to me and swung his open hand across my cheek.
A searing sting exploded across my face.
Percy had deliberately twisted the ring on his finger so the jagged setting faced his palm. The edge carved a gash across my skin.
A nurse who'd come running at the commotion went pale. She stamped her foot and sprinted toward the department head's office.
I fought to wrench free of the hands clamping me in place, but blood was pouring from the wound, and my strength was draining fast.
Carina, worried that Percy had been gone too long, wheeled herself out to find him.
The sight of the crowd sent her into a panic.
"Excuse me, move! Let me through!"
She forced her way through the wall of bodies and went straight to Percy, checking him over from head to toe.
"Percy, are you okay? What's going on out here? Why is everyone crowding around?"
Percy grabbed her hand, his face bright with pride.
"Perfect timing, babe. I just exposed Dr. Simmons' true colors in front of everyone!"
"He's been hovering around you on purpose, trying to get his hooks into you!"
Carina reached up and gave his nose an affectionate little tap.
"You and your jealousy. You know there's no one in my heart but you."
"But let me get a look at this Dr. Simmons and see what kind of man thinks he can make a move on my wife."
Percy's finger pointed straight past her, aimed squarely at the person behind her.
Following the direction he pointed, Carina turned and locked eyes with me.
Clatter.
Everything in her hands crashed to the floor.
Carina's pupils contracted sharply, the color draining from her face.
"Donald, what are you doing here?"
