Chapter 2

Hours later, my hands scrubbed raw and my body aching with a fatigue that was more emotional than physical, I walked down the quiet hospital corridor. The code blue had been a success; the patient was stable. I, on the other hand, was anything but. As I neared Liam' s recovery room, I heard his voice, no longer weak and pained, but smooth and conspiratorial.

"...just a misunderstanding, man. She' s overreacting," Liam was saying into his phone. He must have been talking to one of his friends. "Yeah, she saw Willow. Look, I' ll just tell her I was stressed, that I made a stupid mistake. But you know how Evelyn is. So focused on her career, she's practically married to the hospital. I bet she's been cheating on me with that protégé of hers, Alex. He's always following her around. This might just be the excuse she was looking for."

The words hit me like a physical blow. He wasn't just a cheater. He was a malicious, calculating snake. He was already spinning a narrative where he was the victim, where I was the one at fault. The sheer audacity of it, the casual cruelty of smearing both me and Alex to save his own skin, left me breathless with rage.

I was about to storm into the room when my own phone buzzed. The caller ID read: Professor Davies. My mentor, the head of the cardiothoracic surgery department at a prestigious research hospital in Berlin.

"Evelyn, my dear, I hope I'm not calling at a bad time," his warm, familiar voice came through the phone.

"Professor. It's never a bad time to hear from you," I said, my voice shaking slightly. I leaned against the cool wall, trying to compose myself.

"I have some wonderful news. The board has officially approved your fellowship. The advanced cardiac imaging research program. It's yours if you want it, starting in two months. A full year, fully funded. What do you say, Evelyn? Are you ready for a new chapter in Germany?"

Germany. An ocean away from this hospital, from Liam, from this public, gut-wrenching humiliation. It wasn't just an opportunity; it was a lifeline. A way out. The timing was so perfect it felt like a sign.

"Yes," I said, the word coming out with more force than I intended. "Yes, Professor. I accept. Thank you. I can't tell you how much this means to me right now." My decision was instant, absolute. There was nothing left for me here.

"Excellent! We are all so thrilled. You and Liam will love Berlin! He'll find so much inspiration there for his photography," Professor Davies said, his voice booming with enthusiasm.

A bitter, humorless laugh escaped my lips. "I'm sure he would," I said, the irony thick in my voice.

"Is everything alright, Evelyn? You sound a bit... off."

"Everything is fine, Professor. Just a long night. Actually, Liam had a little medical issue tonight. He' s a patient here."

"Oh my! Is he alright? Nothing serious, I hope. That man is a national treasure."

"He'll live," I said flatly. "Though I'm sure his pride is a bit bruised."

After hanging up, I stood there for a moment, the phone clutched in my hand like a weapon. My path was clear now. Divorce Liam. Take the fellowship. Disappear from his life.

I took a deep breath and walked towards his room, but I stopped short. Willow, the mistress, was walking out. She saw me and her face hardened.

"He wants to see you," she said, her tone defiant.

"I'm sure he does," I replied, my voice dripping with contempt. "A word of advice. He's a liar. Be careful he doesn't ruin your life the way he tried to ruin mine."

Willow scoffed. "Please. You're just bitter because he chose me. He loves me. He's leaving you for me." She held up her hand, and for the first time, I noticed the ring on her finger. It wasn't a diamond, but a unique, custom-made piece of silver and turquoise. My stomach dropped. It was a ring I' d seen before. In a small shop in Santa Fe, on a trip we took for our fifth anniversary.

I had admired it, but Liam had said it was too bohemian for me. He had bought me a simple gold bracelet instead. Now, here it was, on his mistress' s finger. He hadn't just lied about the affair; he had woven his betrayal into the fabric of our shared history, stealing moments that were meant to be mine and giving them to someone else.

The weight of that realization was crushing. It was a deeper, more intimate betrayal than the sex. It was a betrayal of memory, of shared experience.

Before I could react, my pager went off again. A post-op patient was showing signs of cardiac tamponade. Another emergency. Another life on the line.

"Go," Willow sneered. "Run back to your work. It's all you have left."

I ignored her, turning on my heel and rushing towards the ICU. As I passed Alex in the hallway, he fell into step beside me.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice low.

"I will be," I said, my focus already on the patient.

When we reached the nurses' station, he pressed a warm cup of coffee into my hand. "You look like you need this," he said gently. "Your hands are like ice."

The simple, unexpected kindness almost broke me. I took a sip, the warmth spreading through my cold fingers. It was a small gesture, but in that moment, it felt like an anchor in a raging storm.

After stabilizing the new patient, I finally made my way back to Liam's room. He was sitting up in bed, looking contrite. He probably thought enough time had passed for me to have calmed down. He was wrong.

I pulled out my phone and called my lawyer, making sure to put it on speaker.

"Hi, David, it's Evelyn Reed," I said, my voice loud and clear. "I need you to draw up divorce papers. Immediately. I want everything. The house, our joint assets. And I want it done fast. I' m moving to Germany in two months."

Liam's face went from pale to ashen. He stared at me, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. He had heard every single word. The game was over.