Chapter 3

That evening, I was packing up my desk when Ethan walked into my office. He stood there with his arms crossed, staring at me in silence.

"You shouldn't have said those things to her."

His voice broke the suffocating quiet of the room.

I set down the medical charts and met his gaze, completely unfazed.

"I only gave her my professional medical opinion. Currently, tumor removal is the only viable option. No one can guarantee she won't have a limp."

"Even if I perform the surgery myself, the outcome remains the same."

Ethan’s expression morphed into pure rage in an instant. He lunged forward, grabbing me by the throat, and snarled, "Summer Vance, shut up!"

"You have the steadiest hands in the city! You are the best surgeon! You *can* cure her!"

The air was violently squeezed from my lungs. As suffocation set in, his twisted, monstrous face blurred before me.

The terrifying memories of my past life rushed back like a tidal wave. I clawed at his hands, tears streaming down my face.

As if burned by the heat of my tears, Ethan suddenly let go, stumbling back in panic.

"Summer... I didn't mean to. I... I just got too anxious hearing you say that."

Seeing the sheer terror in my eyes, Ethan’s gaze flickered guiltily. He quickly looked away, unable to meet my eyes.

I gasped for air, my voice sounding like a broken accordion as I forced the words out:

"Ethan... Chloe is the most important person in the world to you, isn't she? You'd die for her, wouldn't you?"

Ethan looked back at me. He was about to put on his usual apologetic mask to soothe me after a fight, but when his eyes landed on the dark red handprints on my neck, his mouth opened and closed. Ultimately, he couldn't bring himself to tell the lie.

Instead, he muttered coldly, "I don't want to fight with you. As a doctor, saving lives is your duty. You should reflect on why you aren't putting in 100% effort to save Chloe."

After he slammed the door, the office fell into a dead silence.

In that moment, I realized Ethan really would have killed me.

Chloe was his absolute trigger. A man who was usually so rational and collected completely lost his mind the second she was involved.

I slumped onto the floor, staring at the ceiling.

Ethan had set his sights on me. No matter what, he would force me to perform Chloe’s surgery. But if I did, I would only end up dead, just like in my past life.

The only way out was to disappear. To go somewhere he could never find me.

The next morning, as soon as I arrived at the hospital, Dr. Miller excitedly announced that Chloe had finally consented to the surgery.

My hand froze on my mouse. I had to speed up my departure.

"Great. I’ll leave next week," I muttered to myself.

Just then, Ethan walked in. His sharp eyes scanned my phone screen before he asked suspiciously, "Where are you going next week?"

I locked my phone and acted natural.

"Isn't our engagement party next week? I was booking a flight for my mom."

Ethan froze for a second, then gave a faint, dismissive nod.

"Don't bother. The engagement party is canceled."

I looked up, stunned.

"Why?"

Ethan explained that Chloe’s condition for agreeing to the surgery was that he had to get engaged to her. He had agreed to use our pre-booked venue and party setup.

To "save time."

Even though I was already completely disillusioned, a wave of profound humiliation washed over me. What did I ever do to deserve this kind of degradation? Was it because I made the mistake of loving him, or because my surgical skills were too good?

My voice trembled with anger. "Ethan, you told me she was your sister! How can you get engaged to her? Have you been lying to me this whole time?"

Ethan pressed his lips into a thin line, his eyes darkening. He turned the tables and snapped at me coldly:

"Summer, I see you still haven't reflected on your attitude! Where is your compassion? As a doctor, is our relationship status the only thing you care about?"

"Chloe is terrified of this surgery. This is her only wish before going under the knife. Can't you just accommodate her for once?"

"It's not like I'm actually marrying her!"

Seeing that I remained unmoved, his tone softened slightly, likely remembering that he still needed my hands for the operation.

"Summer, I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth from the start. I just didn't expect you to be so insecure about our relationship. I watched Chloe grow up. To me, she really is just like a sister."

"You love me more than anything. You can treat her like a sister too, right?"

A bitter smile played on my lips. During our relationship, I had told Ethan "I love you" countless times. Now, those words had become the very weapon he used to manipulate me.

Unwilling to waste any more energy, I feigned indifference and nodded.

"You're right. The patient comes first."

Ethan’s tense shoulders relaxed, and a relieved smile spread across his face.

"I knew you were the reasonable one."

He pulled me into his arms, kissing my forehead gently.

"Don't worry. Once Chloe is cured, I won't let her bother us ever again."

On the day of the engagement party, Chloe wore my custom-made dress and shared a passionate kiss with Ethan under a romantic, snow-capped mountain backdrop.

Meanwhile, I was already at the airport. Watching the video clip a colleague had sent me, I typed out a final text, sent it, and immediately blocked Ethan on every platform.

"Ethan, I hope you both get exactly what you deserve."

"Goodbye forever."

Back at the venue, Ethan was frantically searching the crowd for Summer, but she was nowhere to be found. He grabbed Dr. Miller by the shoulder.

"Dr. Miller, have you seen Summer?"

Dr. Miller glanced down at his Snapchat chat with Summer, then looked up skeptically.

"Dr. Carter, it's your engagement party. Why are you looking for Dr. Vance?"

Ethan’s mouth opened, but no words came out.

He and Summer had kept their relationship a secret at work, so no one in the hospital knew he had proposed to her. Today's party was originally supposed to be the day they went public.

Dr. Miller shook his head in disbelief.

"You don't know? Dr. Vance resigned. She should be on a flight out of the city by now."

Ethan’s entire body went rigid. His breathing turned ragged as he grabbed Dr. Miller's collar.

"What did you say? Summer resigned?!"

Dr. Miller, thoroughly annoyed and confused, shoved Ethan away and shoved his phone screen into Ethan's face.

"Look for yourself! She posted her farewell message in the Snapchat group today."

Ethan's mind went completely blank. His eyes turned bloodshot, and he roared frantically:

"How dare she! How could she leave?! Who is going to operate on Chloe?!"