Chapter 1

On Valentine's Day, I made a point of buying a gift and heading home early, only to walk in on my mother-in-law suddenly collapsing from a serious illness.

As her attending physician, I immediately opened the emergency fast-track and raced her to the hospital, fighting for every second.

But the moment we reached the emergency elevator, a woman planted herself brazenly in front of us and stubbornly hogged the elevator.

She had a few trivial scratches and wore a look of pure grievance.

"This hospital belongs to my dear Wayne. Who do you think you are, daring to drag this old dead weight through the emergency fast-track!"

My mother-in-law was barely clinging to life, so to save her I forced down my anger and gave way, again and again.

I never imagined that once she got upstairs, she'd take over the last emergency room outright.

And my mother-in-law, her life hanging by a thread, was left abandoned outside.

Every ounce of restraint finally snapped in that moment.

I turned away and dialed my husband's number.

"Your mother or your mistress. Pick one to live."

01

There was noise on the other end, but I could still hear his impatience.

"Tilda Simmons, do you know what I'm doing right now?"

"I told you I have a very important client today, and I'm in the middle of negotiations. You really have to make me waste my time dealing with these trivial matters of yours?"

His words stabbed into my heart like needles.

I didn't feel like explaining anything more, so I held the phone up to my mother-in-law's mouth.

She groaned twice, then said with great effort:

"Wayne... Mom isn't going to make it."

As she spoke, tears slid from the corners of her eyes without her meaning them to. No one understood the pain in her heart better than I did.

I'd given her a quick examination back at the house.

My mother-in-law, who already had a heart condition, was on the edge of heart failure.

If she didn't have surgery within the hour, she could very well die.

Just as I thought his conscience had kicked in and he was about to put the phone to his own ear, he gave another cold laugh.

"Tilda Simmons, it's May twentieth, Valentine's Day, and this is the clumsy little trick you use to get my attention?"

"I've told you before, ours is a relationship on the surface only. Why bother with all this unnecessary nonsense?"

"And my mother's getting on in years too. She hasn't got time for your fussing!"

With that, he hung up at once.

Staring at the screen after the call ended, I felt a little at a loss.

My mother-in-law tipped her head back and drew in a deep breath.

Tears dripped one by one onto the floor.

And all the while, that girl was still hopping around at the door of the emergency room.

"I don't care, this is Wayne's hospital to begin with, so why don't I get priority!"

"Get that old hag out of here, far away, I don't want to see her anymore."

"And the rest of you, call every doctor in this hospital over here to treat me right now. If anything happens to me today, Wayne won't let you off!"

Watching her throw her fit, I suddenly felt like laughing.

The truth was, I'd recognized her the instant she appeared.

She was the girl on Wayne Gilbert's lock screen, and also his secretary at the hospital.

Sylvia Sanders.

Face grim, I walked up to her, turned slightly to the side, and said:

"If you want treatment, any department can bandage you up, but the emergency room is for critically ill patients."

"Keep making a scene and I'll have someone escort you out!"

She looked up and stared at me coldly.

Then she clapped her hands, stood up, lifted her chin arrogantly, and said:

"Fine, in that case—" she jabbed a finger at me, "then I want you to bandage me up!"

At those words, I clenched my fist hard.

I was the best cardiologist in the hospital.

If I left.

My mother-in-law would surely die.

I turned my head and looked at her, helpless.

But this time, I refused to back down just because she was Wayne Gilbert's little mistress.

I stepped up to her and seized her wrist.

"I am Wayne Gilbert's lawful wife."

"And who do you think you are, daring to throw a tantrum in this hospital?!"