Chapter 2

Nealon froze for a second.

When he recovered, he immediately pulled Scarlett behind him.

"She's my doctor!"

He gnashed his teeth:

"Get your twisted thoughts out of your head. Scarlett and I have nothing but a professional relationship!"

In our previous life, I had believed that excuse.

Naively thinking he just liked to look out for Scarlett.

But he'd regretted her for twenty whole years, wishing he could trade my life for hers.

Seeing my silence, Nealon, losing patience, grabbed Scarlett's wrist and left the room, not sparing me another glance.

From that day on, he never visited me again.

The day I was discharged, it was snowing heavily. With no one to pick me up, I borrowed a pair of crutches and prepared to walk home.

As I reached the compound gate, a soldier blocked my path:

"Clara, are you being discharged today?"

I nodded:

"Yes."

"Mr. Dawson sent me." He grinned:

"Mr. Dawson is helping Dr. Scarlett move today. He asked me to tell you to stop by the grocery store on your way home and pick up some nice food for a party for Dr. Scarlett."

I froze.

He knew I was being discharged today.

But he still chose to help Scarlett move.

I forced a bitter smile, leaning on my crutches, and slowly turned back.

The snowstorm was too heavy; it took me a full day to walk those ten miles home.

Seeing me return, Nealon's face was grim:

"Are you deliberately targeting Scarlett?"

"I told you to buy groceries, but you purposely wandered around outside, making her wait all day. What were you thinking? Do you really believe I don't know?!"

"Don't blame her."

Scarlett gently touched his arm, her eyes filled with feigned hurt:

"It's my fault for not being ready. My mistake."

"It has nothing to do with you. She's just got a twisted mind."

My husband turned to comfort her, his eyes full of tenderness:

"You won't be disappointed today. I'll take you out for a nice meal."

Scarlett, a smirk playing on her lips, shot me a triumphant look.

Freezing cold, I had no energy to deal with her deliberate provocation. I dragged myself home, hugged my duvet tight, and drifted off to sleep.

I don't know how long I slept before hurried footsteps woke me.

It was Nealon's voice.

I instinctively got up to open the door for him.

He often forgot his keys, and after years of marriage, getting up at night to let him in had become ingrained in my muscle memory.

I painstakingly shuffled to the door, opening it just a crack, but the scene before my eyes made my blood run cold.

Nealon, clearly having had too much to drink, pulled Scarlett tightly into his embrace:

"Let me hold you a little longer. I don't want you to go."

She nestled obediently in his arms:

"Look at you. We'll see each other every day from now on. Wherever you go, I go. Always sticking by your side."

"Good. Don't go back on your word."

Nealon left a deep kiss on her forehead, freely pouring out the suppressed longing of twenty years.

I quietly closed the door.

A wave of nausea swelled in my throat.

I rushed to the bathroom, dry-heaving from morning sickness.

"Just a little longer, baby."

I caressed my belly, comforting myself:

"When Mommy feels better, I'll take you away."