Introduction

The harsh, sterile light of the emergency room usually brought me a sense of purpose. But tonight, it felt like a spotlight on my humiliation.

There, on a gurney, was my husband, Liam, clutching his groin, his face pale and contorted, his designer jeans cut away by paramedics.

Next to him, a young woman in a crop top, mascara streaked, held his hand, whining about him collapsing.

Then I saw it on his chart: Priapism. A prolonged, painful erection. A side effect of recreational drugs. On our tenth wedding anniversary.

"I\'m his wife," I finally managed, the words tasting like acid.

Her jaw dropped. "His wife? But he told me he was divorced! He said I was his girlfriend."

The air left my lungs. My colleagues watched as Dr. Evelyn Reed, brilliant cardiac surgeon, couldn\'t even hold her own marriage together.

Relief curdled into rage as Liam avoided my gaze. He looked weak, pathetic.

"No, Dr. Chen," I said, my voice cold and clear. "I\'ll handle it. He\'s my patient now."

I stripped off my wedding ring, dropping it onto the gurney next to his hand. "We\'re done, Liam. Consider this my anniversary gift to you."

The memory of him whispering promises of forever, of honesty, of a partnership built on respect, now felt like a cruel lie.

This wasn\'t just betrayal. He had faked a vasectomy years ago, after our miscarriage, telling me he only needed me, while planning this separate life.

The depth of his deceit made me physically sick.

A Code Blue saved me from that moment, calling me to save a life.

But I promised myself, after I saved my patient, I would return and systematically destroy Liam\'s.

I wouldn\'t look back.