Chapter 1

On the day I finally helped my wife land the hospital's deputy director position, she told me she was ready to make our relationship public.

But at her induction ceremony, the medical resident who'd always seemed to have it in for me beat her to the stage. He took her hand and cooed at her like a lovesick teenager.

"Thank you for finally telling everyone about us, Megan. I promise I'll take good care of you and our baby."

The room went silent for a beat, then erupted into applause, everyone gushing about what a perfect match they made.

The resident looked thrilled with himself. He even walked out on a patient halfway through a surgery once, just to throw a tantrum until my wife came running to soothe him.

I confronted her about it, and we had a screaming match.

She didn't look ashamed at all. If anything, her voice turned mocking.

"You've helped me plenty, sure. But his family background puts yours to shame, orphan. He's the only one who can give me everything I actually want."

I didn't cry. I didn't fight her on it. I just nodded along and offered her a divorce instead.

I wanted to see something for myself: how far she and her lover would get once my "dead" tycoon parents stopped clearing the road ahead of her.

Chapter 1

Under the dazzling lights of the banquet hall, I watched, powerless to stop it, as my own wife wrapped her arms around another man.

"You silly thing," Megan Louis said. "How could I keep you without a title any longer?"

I wanted to ask her, then what about me? What were ten years of devotion and my best years worth?

Before I could even open my mouth, a nurse beside me shoved a huge bouquet into my hands.

"What are you standing around for? Dr. Statham reserved these flowers ahead of time. Him asking for you by name to deliver them is an honor. Get up there already."

My wife was about to announce her relationship with another man, and I was supposed to hand them flowers and wish their perfect romance smooth sailing.

How pathetic could I possibly be?

I threw the flowers to the floor and said coldly, "I've never heard of a husband delivering flowers for his wife's lover."

The crowd stared at me, stunned. A few seconds later, the room erupted into laughter.

"What husband? That's just a delusional simp's fantasy! The woman you've been pining over is already pregnant, and you still don't even rank as the consolation prize!"

"Exactly. You chased after Dr. Louis all this time and actually thought she was your girlfriend? Get your head out of the clouds."

The commotion drew the attention of Megan, who was up on the stage. She frowned, displeased.

"What's all this noise? It's a happy occasion; don't ruin my mood. If you don't want to be here, get out."

Looking at the disgust in her eyes, I suddenly thought back to our first year together.

Back then, she'd been nobody, just an unknown intern who had to work until dawn every night before she could go home.

I'd ached for her and wanted to find her an easier job, but she'd only leaned into my arms and smiled.

"You're an ordinary person too, just like me. You can't help me with this. I just want to work a little harder now, so that later, you can finally take it easy."

Looking into her bright, shining eyes back then, I would have found a way to give her anything, even if she'd asked me for the whole world.

Over the next ten years, I called in every favor my family had to help her, an intern from an ordinary school with average skills, climb all the way to the position of deputy director.

But once she'd made a name for herself, she forgot the promise she'd made. She grew colder to me by the day.

Once Drew Statham showed up, things only got worse. She stopped wanting to come home at all, unwilling to even look at my face.

The most laughable part was that even after she got pregnant, everyone around her still had no idea we'd been secretly married all along. They all assumed I was just one of her many admirers.

The day she got her pregnancy test results, I finally worked up the courage to ask her for a real place in her life.

She stared at me for a long moment before she suddenly smiled.

"Of course I'm going to let everyone know about us. I've been waiting for this day for a long time too."

Like a fool, I thought I'd finally made it through the hard years and could stand beside her out in the open at last.

What I never imagined was that when she said those words, the person on her mind was actually Drew.

My phone kept buzzing with messages from my parents, pushing me to bring her home for dinner. My plan had been simple: once she announced our relationship today, I'd tell her who I really was and take her home to meet them.

But looking back now, none of that had ever mattered.

I don't even remember exactly how things fell apart. All I know is that I pushed open the door to Megan's office in a daze and found the two of them locked in a passionate kiss, Drew's hands still roaming freely over her body.

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my voice level.

"Megan, what exactly is going on here?"

Even after watching her with another man with my own eyes, if she'd just given me one honest explanation, I could have let the whole thing go and pretended none of it had ever happened.

She watched my body shake and let out a cold laugh.

"Why are you looking at me like some bitter, jilted wife? Don't you understand that you're not even in my league anymore? Only Drew can give me everything I want."

Drew chimed in right on cue.

"Weston, if I were you, I'd get out of this hospital on my own before someone makes you. Staying here just makes you a joke. You haven't been good enough for Megan in a long time. The only reason she never divorced you was for old times' sake. Don't be so ungrateful."

Chapter 2

Megan just stood there quietly, listening to her lover insult me, nodding along every so often in agreement.

She looked at me like I was some unforgivable criminal.

That look of disgust on her face was the blade that cut deepest.

I pointed at Drew, my hand shaking.

"Megan, is that what you think too?"

She waved her hand, impatient.

"Enough. What right does a powerless nobody like you have to question me? I'm the deputy director now. Push your luck with me again and I'll have you fired."

"But would you even be deputy director without me?"

The question came out of me numbly. Megan couldn't hold back a laugh when she heard it.

"Have you lost your mind? I made deputy director because Drew's family pulled strings behind the scenes. What does that have to do with you?"

Drew looked at me with something like pity.

"I doubt you'll ever know what it feels like to have a family lifting you up. Then again, you don't even know who your birth parents are, so of course you wouldn't understand the kind of happiness people like us get to have."

Looking at the two of them and their ugly faces, my stomach churned.

This relationship should have ended a long time ago. I was just the fool who hadn't wanted to face the truth.

I stayed silent for a few seconds. When I finally looked up, something in my eyes had changed.

I made the most important decision of my life.

"Megan, let's get a divorce."

Her smile froze for a second, then her eyes narrowed, annoyed.

"Don't be ridiculous. I know I have Drew's baby now, but if you're willing to raise him and let him take your name, I could bring myself to keep you around. Besides, you're broke. How do you think you're going to survive without me?"

I couldn't believe how shameless she was. She'd just announced her relationship with Drew in front of everyone, and she still wouldn't let me go.

"If I divorce you, you and Drew can finally get your marriage license. Isn't that exactly what you want?"

I stared at her coldly.

Maybe it was just my imagination, but her eyes flickered with panic for one brief moment when I brought up the divorce. By the time I looked closer, though, she'd already composed herself again.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm pregnant, and I need someone looking after me every day. Drew isn't some useless bum like you. If you divorce me now, who's going to take care of my baby?"

I looked at her, unable to believe what I was hearing.

"You cheated on me in public, and you still want me to raise your baby?"

Her expression turned awkward.

"Nobody at the hospital knows the truth about you and me. They all think Drew's my husband. As long as you keep your mouth shut, no one will ever find out."

I couldn't help letting out a cold laugh.

I used to think she wouldn't divorce me because she couldn't let go of what we'd had. The truth was that she was simply too selfish to give up a convenient, devoted nanny.

I hated myself for having been so blind for so long, for never seeing through her real face.

Drew lit a cigarette without a shred of concern for Megan's pregnant body.

"Megan's right. You've been the one looking after her meals and her daily needs all these years. We wouldn't trust anyone else with the job. I'll pay you a monthly allowance for your trouble. It's a good deal for you either way."

When I didn't answer, Megan pushed, impatient.

"Just say yes already. I'm doing you a favor by letting you earn money off this. Don't be so ungrateful."

Money? I supposed I should thank them, then.

The sheer absurdity of it pulled a cold laugh out of me.

"Megan, is that really all I am to you? Someone who'd throw away his dignity for money?"

She nodded.

"What else would you be? You only stuck with me back when I had nothing because you saw potential in me and wanted a free ride once it paid off, didn't you?"

Chapter 3

I laughed so hard my eyes nearly watered.

If I really cared this much about money, why hadn't I just gone home and let my parents arrange a marriage for me back then? Instead, I'd fought with them and walked away, choosing to struggle through hard times by her side.

Megan denied every bit of what I'd given up over the years, twisting it into me mooching off her instead.

She'd forgotten that back when we had nothing, I'd never once thought about leaving her. I'd never so much as lifted a finger before I met her, and I still took on three jobs just to lighten her load. I lost almost twenty pounds in a single month and ended up with a serious stomach condition.

Seeing me laugh like that rattled her.

"What's so funny? Have you lost your mind?"

I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes and looked at her seriously.

"Megan, I don't care what you think of me anymore. But I am never staying by your side again. Just picturing the two of your faces together makes me sick."

Her face flushed red with anger.

"Don't act so high and mighty! If it weren't for me all these years, you'd have starved to death!"

I didn't want to argue with her any further. I turned and walked away.

Too restless to sit with it, I went up to the rooftop and lit a cigarette. I'd barely taken a drag when someone clapped me on the shoulder from behind.

I turned around. It was a coworker of mine. He bummed a cigarette off me without a second thought, took a drag, and blew out a smoke ring.

"You're upset because of Dr. Louis, huh? Honestly, I've wanted to say something for a while now. Just never found the right moment."

I gave a helpless laugh.

"Say what?"

His answer nearly made me drop the cigarette in my hand.

"Just give up on her already. I've known for a while that she's been mixed up with Drew Statham. You didn't know? The whole reason he came to work at this hospital was for her."

I stared at him, unable to believe it.

"What are you talking about? Didn't the two of them only get together after he started working here?"

My coworker scoffed.

"You've all been played. The truth is those two knew each other long before that. I have a friend who went to the same school as Drew. The two of them were already sneaking around together back in high school. His parents looked down on her back then and tore them apart, but somehow, after all these years, the spark came back to life."

He didn't seem to notice my face growing worse and worse. He just kept talking, oblivious.

My whole body was shaking. I could barely stop myself from passing out.

So it hadn't been some sudden moment of weakness. It had been planned from the start.

Even back when I was suffering right alongside Megan, she'd already been in contact with Drew.

I used to think our love had been ruined because money opened her eyes to a flashier world. But the truth was that there had been three people in this relationship from the very beginning.

How pathetic.

My coworker noticed something was off and asked, out of what he thought was kindness, "You alright? Don't take it too hard. Drew's family background isn't something the rest of us can compete with. It makes sense Dr. Louis would choose him."

I made up some excuse about not feeling well and left.

I ran into a bathroom stall and buried my face in my hands, sobbing.

Why? Why did the truth have to hurt this much?

Right as I was drowning in my own grief, Drew's voice suddenly drifted over from the next stall.

"Don't worry, babe. The restaurant we're going to tonight is the same one we loved back in high school. I know you can't keep anything down since you got pregnant, so I made sure to book it special."

That one line shattered the last shred of hope I'd been holding onto. The rumor was true after all.

Thinking back on everything I'd sacrificed over the years, I felt like nothing more than a clown.

Right then, Megan's saccharine, coaxing voice came through on the other end of the call.

"You're always the one who treats me best! If you hadn't been sneaking me out for extra meals every few days back then, I never would've made it through those poor years."

It hit me like a bolt of lightning.

I had been the only one actually suffering. While I'd been scrimping and working myself to the bone for her sake, she'd been out enjoying lavish meals with Drew the whole time.

No wonder she hadn't lost weight during those months when we could barely afford a single piece of meat. If anything, she'd put on weight.

I felt like I'd been shot through with a thousand arrows, the pain unbearable.

'Megan, you really are ruthless.'

Chapter 4

The one thing my parents told me most, growing up, was this:

"You were born to live a comfortable life. Your mother and I earn money so you can spend it."

And it was true. Up until college, I had no idea what hardship even meant. I was used to a life where everything was handed to me.

I'd assumed my path would follow exactly the one my parents had mapped out for me: graduate from university, come home, marry into a suitable match, then inherit the family business and live out a wealthy, comfortable life.

But everything changed the day I met Megan.

She was the first person I'd ever seen who could wear a white dress that beautifully. She smiled at me faintly under a cherry blossom tree, and I lost every ounce of reason I had.

For the first time in my life, the obedient, well-behaved son picked a fight with his own parents. No matter what, I was dead-set on bringing Megan home.

My mother shook with anger and gave me a stern warning.

"I looked into this girl's past. She's been dating since middle school, and every single time, it's been some man who could benefit her. She uses them up, then kicks them to the curb. A woman like that has no business marrying into this family."

Blinded by infatuation, I couldn't bring myself to listen to a word my parents said. I even thought they were slandering her. How could someone so wonderful ever do something so despicable?

In the end, I got my way and stayed with her, at the cost of a permanent break from my parents. I refused to accept a single cent of my family's help.

I'd thought my resolve would last until the day I died.

I was wrong.

One freezing winter night, I came home from work and pushed open the door to find Megan shivering on the bed, half-frozen. Something in me broke completely.

I wasn't afraid of hardship. I wasn't afraid of suffering. What I couldn't do was stand by and watch the woman I loved live like this.

I knelt outside my parents' door for a full day and night until they finally agreed to help Megan, on one condition: she could never set foot in our family's home.

I knew, deep down, they were just too soft-hearted to keep refusing. I naively believed that once Megan got pregnant, they'd finally come around completely.

Instead, reality had just delivered me a brutal slap in the face.

If that was how things stood, then she didn't deserve my family's help either.

I stayed silent for a long while before finally pulling out my phone and calling my parents.

"Mom, Dad. Megan's been cheating on me. Cut off all support to her."

By the time I got back to the office, Megan and her team were already waiting there. She glanced at me lazily the moment I walked in.

"I don't have time for a minor procedure tonight. You're covering for me."

The "minor procedure" she mentioned so casually was actually a major surgery that would take hours of high-intensity focus. One misstep, and it could ruin a career.

This was her usual trick. She'd spent her school years chasing romance instead of studying, so her actual clinical skills were close to nonexistent. Every time a major surgery came up, she pushed it onto me.

If it went well, she took the credit. If it went badly, she could pin the blame entirely on me.

I used to be foolish enough to believe her, thinking she was really giving me a chance to build my skills. Not anymore.

"No. Whoever's surgery it is, they can go do it themselves."

I didn't even bother looking at her.

The office fell into dead silence. Everyone exchanged glances, clearly unable to believe I'd actually said that out loud. They'd all seen how obedient I used to be around her.

"Am I not giving you enough face? You think you're in a position to say no to me?"

Feeling humiliated, Megan slammed her hand down on the desk.

I let out a cold laugh.

"And to think you're deputy director. How many surgeries have you actually performed yourself over the years? And how many of them actually succeeded?"

Her face flushed red at that. She stammered, unable to get a word out.

Years ago, she'd botched a procedure the first time she'd ever operated. This year, she'd made the exact same mistake again. If my parents hadn't been smoothing things over behind the scenes all these years, she'd have been thrown in prison a long time ago.

Naturally, she couldn't stand having her weak spot exposed in front of everyone.

"I think you've lost your mind! If you don't want to do the surgery, then you don't need to be at this hospital at all. Get out!"

I smiled.

"The one who actually needs to get out is you."

She opened her mouth to say something else, but right then, her phone rang. The moment she saw the name on the screen, she plastered on a fawning smile.

"Director, what a surprise to hear from you today."

On the other end, an old man's furious voice roared loud enough to carry across the entire department.

"Megan Louis! Do you have any idea who got you the deputy director position? If the Greenwoods hadn't been backing you the whole time, you wouldn't have earned that title in a hundred years with your amateur skills! Not only did you not show any gratitude, but you bit the hand that fed you!

"I've already decided to revoke every position you hold, effective immediately. Go home and think long and hard about what you've done!"