Chapter 2

It was as if he'd squeezed her too hard—her face flushed bright red at once.

The woman she was now was exactly what I had been back then.

I had always known Wayne Gilbert had a first love he could never let go of.

Years ago, my father was being hounded by debt collectors, and he left me behind in some house.

I was terrified, so I crouched down in a patch of grass and didn't come out.

But they found me anyway.

Just when I thought they were going to torture me to death, Wayne Gilbert appeared.

He charged into my world like a beam of light.

He picked up a club, then tossed them a card and said:

"If you ever dare harass them again, I promise you won't walk out of Ashford City alive!"

That day, he scooped me up in one arm and carried me home.

Hearing the water running in the bathroom, I opened the door by accident.

Our eyes met, and he turned, threw me down on the bed, and we had a one-night stand.

When I woke the next morning, he pulled on his clothes and said to me flatly:

"Let's get married. In name only."

"After all, there's someone I love."

It was only after we married that I understood he had given me nothing but a title.

He was afraid I would hurt Sylvia, so he never once let me meet the woman.

And his mother had always known Sylvia existed.

So she had always felt she owed me.

To keep me from telling the truth, Wayne Gilbert helped me fulfill my dream.

Five years married, and I had seen straight through this man within the first three.

My mother-in-law had also promised me that if Wayne ever truly wronged me, she would let me go.

I thought now was the perfect moment.

Sylvia's crying pulled my thoughts back.

While I wasn't watching, she reached out and shoved me hard.

My body slammed against the wall, and my head suddenly rang.

Before I could react, her shrill voice pierced my ears:

"Tilda Simmons, I know you better than anyone. I was the one meant to marry him—so why did you get there first!"

"The way I see it, you're the mistress! The mistress who broke up someone else's family!"

The girl threw her arms out, blocking the way to the emergency room, a flash of stubbornness in her eyes.

"Today I refuse to let her go in there for surgery."

"Aren't you the best doctor in Harborview? I don't believe you can't finish this surgery out here!"

"I want everyone to see how Dr. Simmons kills a patient!"

Before I could open my mouth, my mother-in-law forced herself upright.

Clutching her heart tightly, she pointed at Sylvia and cursed her out.

"I knew it—my decision back then was the right one. You're not fit to set foot inside the Gilbert home!"

Then my mother-in-law turned her gaze on me.

A flicker of apology crossed her eyes:

"Tilly, it's my family, the Gilberts, who wronged you. If I die, you can do whatever you want with that wretched boy!"

Hearing that, Sylvia clenched her fists at once and marched toward her.

"You old thing, you must be the Gilberts' maid—how dare you speak to me like that."

As she spoke, she thrust out her wrist and held it up before my mother-in-law's eyes:

"Open your dog eyes and take a good look. Wayne gave me this himself. What makes you think you're fit to raise your voice at me?"

"Now get out of here, and quit getting in my way!"

My mother-in-law shook with rage.

She had already begun gasping for breath in great, ragged gulps.

My whole body jolted, and for a moment I was at a loss.

The instant I turned my head, I saw a familiar face.

Wayne Gilbert was walking toward me, step by step.

"Tilda Simmons," he shouted my name in fury, "how many times now have you caused me trouble!"