Chapter 1

My husband, our hospital's director, found out that I had voluntarily given up my promotion opportunity to his most beloved former junior from medical school. After that, he, who had always insisted on being childless, unexpectedly agreed to have a child with me. When his former junior, Jessica Atwood, heard about it, she went mad with jealousy, grabbed a scalpel, and threatened to cripple both her hands and resign. My husband, Wilson Graves, got so flustered that he gave her my bonus, moved out, and went on a month-long trip around the world with her just to appease her. When he came back, he wore a look of complete indifference as he said, "Jessie and I were busy traveling for work and attending medical seminars this whole time. "You, on the other hand, sit around with nothing better to do, yet you have the nerve to jump to the worst conclusions. "You're just twisted inside. When your mind is in the gutter, it's only natural that everything you see is filthy." I clenched my phone that was still showing the pregnancy test report Jessica had sent me earlier. Showing no hint of anger, I merely smiled faintly. Seeing that I wasn't making a fuss, Wilson had a satisfied look on his face and promised that we could have a child together in the near future, fulfilling my wish of being a mother. Little did he know that there was no longer a future between us. That was because he had personally signed our divorce agreement not that long ago. … A month went by before I saw Wilson again. He and Jessica had just arrived at the hospital entrance when our coworkers rushed over to greet them warmly and butter them up. "Dr. Graves, Dr. Atwood, you two must be exhausted from your business trip!" Upon hearing that, I couldn't help but find it laughable. Business trip? They'd clearly taken an around-the-world vacation! That whole month, Jessica kept sending me pictures of her and Wilson on their trip. They watched sunsets by the beach, saw the northern lights in Norcona, and even posed cheek-to-cheek, making heart signs under the Fergan Tower. Along with the photos, Jessica had sent me voice messages, too, bragging about how much more loved she was than I, telling me to know my place and leave Wilson already. At first, it hurt so much I could hardly breathe. Now, though, I was totally unbothered, just numb and ironically amused. I'd originally wanted to go to Wilson's office to return my things. Since he was back, I might as well just take this opportunity to give them to him in person. Walking up to Wilson, I looked straight at him. "Dr. Graves, I have something for you." Jessica spoke with a half-smile. "Claire, why are you being all mysterious like this? Don't tell me you brought Wilson a gift." At once, our coworkers turned to me, looking hungry for some drama. "A gift? Seriously, Claire? Do you not know your place?" "As if she's worthy of Dr. Graves!" I couldn't care less about their mockery. After all, I was already used to it. They'd been this way for years. Wilson and I had kept our marriage under wraps for seven years, and he still refused to go public with it. He never posted photos of us or shared anything related to me on his social media. He even kept his distance from me at the hospital, made me address him as "Dr. Graves", and was especially cold and demanding when it came to work. Our coworkers weren't aware of our relationship, so when I sent him flowers on our anniversary, they thought I was trying to suck up to him. Because of that, they mocked, isolated, and bullied me, all to get on Wilson's good side. And Wilson? He did nothing but watch as I bore the brunt of everyone's disdain. When I came back to my senses, I could tell Wilson also assumed I was giving him a gift as he coldly said, "Claire, we're on the clock. If you've got time for such things, you might as well focus on your job." "But what I want to talk to you about is related to work." With that, I handed him the white coat and name badge I had already taken off. Wilson froze for a moment, then frowned in confusion. "What is the meaning of this?" I was confused, too. I'd already resigned, so it was only natural that I returned these items. Actually, I'd wanted to resign a month ago, but since my patients hadn't fully recovered yet, I wanted to do right by them and make sure they were properly taken care of. It wasn't until yesterday, after my last patient was discharged, that I went straight to HR to handle my resignation. I had also submitted my resignation letter online to Wilson, and he approved it. So, why was he acting like he had no idea about it? It seemed as if he didn't even read my resignation letter before approving it. I was about to tell him about my resignation when Jessica said, "Claire, are you planning to resign?" She then tugged on Wilson's sleeve, her eyes slightly red. "Wilson, Claire must still be upset about the promotion thing. That's why she's quitting in a fit of anger. "If that's the case, maybe I should give the promotion back to Claire. Compared to me, she's more experienced and better suited for the role." Wilson instantly showed a look of heartache. He gave Jessica's shoulder a gentle pat, saying reassuringly, "Jessie, don't ever put yourself down like that. You're exceptional. Claire isn't even in your league. You deserve to be department head." Then, he shot me a cold glance and sneered. "Claire, Jessie has a pure heart. Stop using your dirty tricks on her! Besides, she's an overseas graduate. You're nowhere near her level." I couldn't help smiling bitterly. Wilson sure was good at lying with a straight face. Jessica wasn't competent at all. Wilson had simply made her the exception and hired her. Ever since she joined, she'd been making mistake after mistake. She couldn't even handle basic consultations and had messed up prescriptions multiple times, which nearly cost lives. And every time, I was the one who had to fix her messes. Even so, Wilson still insisted she was outstanding and told me to learn from her. A month ago, he even demanded that I give my promotion opportunity to her. When I refused, he started giving me the cold shoulder. As I believed that he already had enough on his plate, I chose to give in because I didn't want him to stress over this. Yet, after all that, he still treated me coldly, acting as if I were up to no good. I let out a cold laugh. "You're right. I can't compare to Jessica at all. From now on, the hospital will be Jessica's and your responsibility." Wilson raised his chin, settling back into his usual distant attitude. "Good that you know your place. Oh, right. Jessie's been busy lately. Handle her surgeries and research reports for her." Wilson had always exploited me like this in the past, calling it "training". However, if he hadn't been deliberately holding me back, I would've become the head of a department long ago. After all, I was pretty good at my job. He simply had no idea that multiple hospitals had tried to poach me, and that I had turned them all down just to stay by his side. In retrospect, it was honestly not worth it at all. So, this time, I spoke up decisively. "I'm not obligated to cover for Jessica. Besides, I've already—" Before I could say the word "resigned", Jessica tugged at Wilson's sleeve again and said softly, "Wilson, it's fine. I'll just do it myself. Claire must be feeling jealous over the fact that we went on that business trip together…" Wilson's gaze instantly turned icy. Pulling me aside, he snapped in a low voice, "Haven't you had enough, Claire? Jessie and I were busy traveling for work and attending medical seminars. We don't have the luxury you do to sit around and think the worst of people!" I was thinking the worst of people? Clearly, he'd told so many lies that he'd even started believing in them now. I clenched my phone subtly. The screen was still showing the message Jessica had sent me half an hour ago. It was her pregnancy test report. So, this was Wilson's so-called business trip and work. This time, I didn't hysterically demand to know why he had lied. He'd just accuse me of being paranoid, anyway, just like he always did whenever I questioned him. Also, when he ran out of excuses, he would simply resort to the silent treatment to no end. How pointless this all was. With that in mind, I smiled faintly. "You misunderstood. I refused because I'm not feeling well." Wilson's stern expression eased slightly, his tone following suit. "You're not feeling well? Are you sick?" Just as he was about to touch me in concern, Jessica immediately clutched her chest and loudly complained about dizziness and chest pain. Wilson instantly withdrew his gaze and rushed to her side. "Jessie, are you okay? Don't scare me like that." Sure enough, whenever it came down to choosing between Jessica and me, Wilson would always choose her. As I couldn't be bothered to stay and watch their over-the-top soap opera, I turned and left. As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, I noticed the receptionist carrying a huge bouquet of roses and an elegant gift box, heading in my direction. She was gossiping with another coworker as she walked. "Dr. Graves bought all this for Dr. Atwood. It looks like wedding bells are ringing soon!" When I saw the logos on the roses and the gift box, I froze. The roses were imported champagne roses from Merzackland. Each rose cost a few thousand dollars. And inside the gift box was Corviur's latest diamond bracelet, worth over a million dollars.