After learning that I voluntarily gave up my promotion opportunity to her beloved junior colleague, my wife, who had always been adamant about not having children, surprisingly agreed to have a baby with me. When the junior colleague found out, he became insanely jealous and threatened to resign, even picking up a scalpel to harm himself. My wife panicked and, to appease him, not only gave him my bonus but also moved out of our home to accompany him on a month-long world tour. Afterwards, my wife acted completely indifferent. “Lucas and I have been busy attending medical conferences. Unlike you, who’s been sitting around doing nothing and jumping to malicious conclusions!” “You’re the one with the dirty mind. People with rotten hearts see everything as filthy!” I clutched the pregnancy test report that her junior colleague had sent me earlier, feeling no anger, just a slight smile. Seeing that I didn’t argue, my wife looked satisfied and promised with a smile that she’d give me a big, chubby son later, fulfilling my wish to become a father. But she didn’t know that we had no future together. Not long ago, she had unknowingly signed our divorce papers with her own hand. 0
It had been a month since I last saw my wife, Olivia. As she and Lucas arrived at the hospital entrance, their colleagues immediately greeted them warmly: “Dr. Jiang, Dr. Chen, welcome back from your conference!” Watching this scene, I couldn’t help but feel a bitter laugh rising in my throat. Conference? They had actually been on a global tour! Throughout the past month, Lucas had constantly sent me photos of him and Olivia on their travels. They watched sunsets on beaches, saw the Northern Lights in the Arctic, and even took cheesy couple photos at the Eiffel Tower. Along with the pictures, Lucas would send me voice messages, gloating about how much more Olivia favored him and telling me to back off. At first, it felt like my heart was being ripped out. Now, I just felt numb and somewhat amused by the absurdity of it all. I had originally planned to return some things to Olivia’s office. Since she was back, I might as well give them to her in person. I approached them, looking directly at Olivia. “Dr. Jiang, I have something for you.” Lucas smirked and said, “Jack, are you bringing a gift for Olivia? How thoughtful.” Immediately, our colleagues turned to me with mocking looks. “A gift? Does Jack even know his place?” “As if he has a chance with Dr. Jiang. Talk about delusional!” I ignored their jeers. After all these years, I was used to it. Olivia and I had been secretly married for seven years, but she always refused to make our relationship public. She never posted photos of us together on social media or mentioned me in any of her updates. Even at the hospital, she insisted on maintaining a professional distance, making me call her “Dr. Jiang” and treating me coldly and strictly at work. Our colleagues had no idea about our relationship. When I sent Olivia flowers for our anniversary, they assumed I was just trying to curry favor with her. They mocked and isolated me, thinking they were pleasing Olivia by doing so. And Olivia? She just watched it all happen, letting me bear the brunt of their disdain. Snapping back to the present, Olivia also assumed I was bringing a gift and coldly said, “Jack, it’s work hours. If you have this much free time, you should focus on your job instead.” “Actually, this is work-related,” I replied. I handed her my white coat and ID badge, which I had already removed. Olivia froze for a moment, confused. “Jack, what’s the meaning of this?” I was equally puzzled. I had resigned, so naturally, I needed to return these items. In fact, I had wanted to quit a month ago, but I had patients under my care that I needed to see through to recovery. Just yesterday, after my last patient was discharged, I immediately went through the resignation process with HR. I had even sent Olivia an online resignation request, which she had approved. But now, why did she look so clueless? It dawned on me that she probably hadn’t even read my message before approving it. I was about to explain about my resignation when Lucas interrupted. “Jack, are you quitting?” He tugged at Olivia’s sleeve, his eyes reddening. “Olivia, Jack must be upset about the promotion incident. That’s why he’s resigning.” “Maybe I should give the promotion back to Jack. He has more experience and would be better suited for the Chief of Surgery position.” Olivia’s face immediately softened with concern. She patted Lucas’s shoulder gently. “Lucas, don’t put yourself down like that.” “You’re so talented. Jack can’t even compare to you. You absolutely deserve to be Chief of Surgery!” She then turned to me with a cold glare. “Jack, stop trying to use your seniority! If we’re going by that logic, even the old guard dog at the gate has been here longer than you!” I couldn’t help but smile bitterly. Olivia really had a talent for twisting the truth. The reality was that Lucas lacked the necessary skills and was only hired because of Olivia’s special treatment. Since joining, he had made frequent mistakes, lacking even basic diagnostic skills and nearly killing patients by prescribing the wrong medications multiple times. Each time, I had to clean up his messes. Despite all this, Olivia still insisted that Lucas was brilliant and told me to learn from him. A month ago, she even wanted me to give up my promotion opportunity to Lucas. When I refused, she gave me the cold shoulder. Not wanting to upset her further, I eventually gave in. But she still wasn’t satisfied and accused me of throwing my weight around. I let out a cold laugh. “You’re right. I can’t compare to Lucas. The hospital is all yours now.” Olivia raised her chin haughtily. “Good that you know your place. By the way, Lucas has been busy traveling lately. You’ll take over his surgeries and research reports, won’t you?” In the past, Olivia had always exploited me like this, claiming it was to “train” me. If it weren’t for her deliberately holding me back, I would have been promoted to Chief of Surgery long ago. Moreover, my skills were far from lacking. She didn’t know that many hospitals had tried to recruit me, but I had turned them all down to stay by her side. Now that I think about it, it really wasn’t worth it. So this time, I firmly refused. “I have no obligation to cover for Lucas. Besides, I’ve already—” Before I could say “resigned,” Lucas tugged at Olivia’s sleeve again, whispering, “Olivia, I’ll do it myself. Jack’s probably just jealous that we went on the trip together…” Olivia’s eyes immediately turned cold. She pulled me aside and hissed, “Jack, are you done with this childish behavior? Lucas and I were busy attending medical conferences. Unlike you, who’s been sitting around doing nothing and jumping to ridiculous conclusions!” Conclusions? It seems she had told this lie so many times that she started believing it herself. I gripped my phone tightly, the screen still showing the private message Lucas had sent me just half an hour ago. It was Olivia’s pregnancy test report! So this was their idea of “attending conferences” and “working.” This time, I didn’t confront Olivia hysterically about her lies like I used to. In the past, whenever I questioned her, she would accuse me of being paranoid, and if she couldn’t argue her way out, she’d give me the silent treatment indefinitely. It was all so tiresome. Thinking about this, I simply smiled. “You misunderstood. I refused because I’m not feeling well.” Hearing this, Olivia’s expression changed, her tone softening slightly. “Not feeling well? Are you sick?” Just as she was about to reach out to me in concern, Lucas suddenly clutched his chest, dramatically exclaiming that he felt dizzy and his chest hurt. Olivia immediately turned her attention to Lucas, running towards him. “Lucas, are you okay? Don’t scare me like that…” Of course, when it came to choosing between Lucas and me, Olivia would always pick Lucas. I had no interest in watching their melodramatic performance, so I turned to leave. As I took the elevator down to the parking garage, I noticed a brand new Mercedes parked next to my car. I recognized it immediately—it was the car Olivia had bought for Lucas!
This Mercedes was Olivia’s gift to Lucas for his promotion. She had always been generous with Lucas, sparing no expense, while being incredibly stingy with me. My old Honda was falling apart, with peeling paint and tires that had been patched up multiple times. It often stalled on me. When I mentioned wanting to get a new car, Olivia told me not to be so materialistic and to learn to be content with what I had. On my birthdays, she would only give me a brief verbal congratulation, sometimes a handwritten card. While I tried not to mind, I couldn’t help feeling envious when I saw other people’s social media posts about the lavish gifts their partners gave them. So, on my 35th birthday, I finally worked up the courage to ask Olivia for a proper gift. She got annoyed. “Jack, we’ve been married for so long. Do we really need to fuss over these trivial things?” If I had truly fussed over every little thing, we would have separated long ago. Over the years, I had given up promising career opportunities and high-paying jobs to stay and work by Olivia’s side. My base salary was the bare minimum, while my workload was the heaviest. Olivia always found reasons to dock my pay. If I entered the hospital with my left foot first, she’d claim it affected the feng shui and deduct money. When Lucas threatened to quit, she’d somehow twist it to be my fault and use my bonus to placate him. Looking back, I realize all that money she held back from me went to spoiling Lucas. The reason Olivia treated me so dismissively was simply that she thought I would never leave her. But this time, I was truly exhausted. It was time to end this miserable marriage. Snapping out of my thoughts, I drove to a law firm to draft divorce papers. Afterwards, I went home to pack a few things before heading to my apartment. I had originally planned to add Olivia’s name to the apartment deed. But when I bought it, I had a sudden change of heart and got it notarized as pre-marital property, as a sort of insurance policy. Now, I’m grateful I made that decision. Otherwise, I’d have nowhere to go after moving out. Arriving at the apartment, I entered the passcode to open the door. To my surprise, the lock flashed red and emitted a harsh beeping sound. The password was wrong! I tried several more times, but none worked. A sense of unease grew in my chest. I quickly called a locksmith to force the door open. When the door swung open, I was completely stunned. The sharp smell of cigarettes hit me, and the floor was littered with cigarette butts and scattered clothes. My beloved minimalist Italian decor had been replaced with a moody blue color scheme. The walls, once covered with photos of Olivia and me, were now plastered with pictures of her and Lucas. Then I remembered—Olivia knew the apartment’s passcode too. Since getting together with Olivia, I had kept nothing from her. But while I gave her my whole heart, she had been using this place as a love nest with Lucas behind my back. Looking at the apartment filled with traces of their life together, I felt sick to my stomach. There was no way I could live here anymore. Using what little savings I had left, I rented a small studio to stay in temporarily. Then I immediately listed the apartment for sale at a low price. Soon, someone contacted me wanting to rent the place. After signing the contract, I sent them the passcode. The new tenant moved in quickly. Just as I finished dealing with all this and was about to rest, my phone rang. I answered, and Olivia’s voice came through. She feigned innocence: “Jack, did you change the apartment passcode? And why is someone saying you sold the place to them?” I didn’t bother hiding it. “Yes, I sold it.” There was a pause on the other end, then Olivia’s voice came back shocked and angry. “You sold it? How could you make such a big decision without consulting me?” I coldly retorted, “The apartment was mine. I had every right to sell it.” “Besides, why are you so worked up about me selling my own apartment?” Olivia was at a loss for words. In the past, I never would have confronted her like this. I always said that what was mine was hers, and she had gotten used to taking advantage of that, claiming everything of mine as her own. Thinking we were family, I didn’t mind. I never expected my sincerity would be met with such entitlement. She never treated me like a husband, so why should I treat her like a wife? Hearing my uncharacteristically harsh tone, Olivia thought I was still upset about her breaking promises. Her voice softened a bit. “Jack, I know you’re still angry that I stood you up, but there were reasons for that.” “I promise, once things settle down, I’ll step back from work and give you a son. Wouldn’t that make you happy?” “But first, you need to get the apartment back from the tenant.” “I forgot to tell you, when Lucas first came to me, he had nothing. I felt bad for him, so I let him stay at your apartment since it was empty anyway. I didn’t expect you’d sell it.” “Now because of you, Lucas has nowhere to live. Jack, stop being difficult and get the apartment back. I’ll keep my promise to you eventually…” There she went again. Whenever Olivia couldn’t argue her way out, she’d make empty promises to try and get me to give in. But after all these years, I was tired of her false promises. Thinking of this, I coldly said, “Fine, I’ll get it back. But Lucas needs to pay rent first.” Olivia angrily berated me. “Money, money, money. Is that all you care about?” “Lucas came to the big city alone with nothing. They say an older sister is like a mother, and as his mentor, I’m practically his mother. It’s only right that I look after him.” “And you? Not only do you refuse to help, but you’re kicking him while he’s down. When did you become so cold-hearted?” I laughed bitterly to myself. Olivia certainly had taken good care of Lucas—she even “took care” of having his child. Besides, Lucas was the one freeloading. How had this become my fault? Seeing my silence, Olivia thought she had me cornered and pressed on, “Jack, if you don’t agree, I’m really going to get angry!” In the past, whenever Olivia got angry, I would immediately apologize and sweet-talk her, even if I had to go against my conscience. But now, I was so done with her that I couldn’t care less if she got upset. Thinking this, I enunciated each word clearly: “Olivia, Lucas’s difficulties are not my doing. I have no obligation to pay for his problems.” With that, I hung up the phone. After settling into my new place, I took the divorce papers and drove back to Olivia’s and my home, intending to have her sign them. As I approached the front door, I heard laughter coming from inside.
As soon as I entered, I saw Olivia and Lucas’s matching shoes in the entryway. His black leather shoes next to her white stilettos—they looked perfectly coordinated. Actually, long ago, I had suggested to Olivia that we could be like other couples, wearing matching outfits and using couple items. But she had dismissed the idea, saying we were too old for such childish things and it would be embarrassing. Yet now, she was clearly enjoying it. It seems Olivia hadn’t disliked couple items—she just disliked the idea of doing it with me. In the living room, our wedding photo had been deliberately defaced. Someone had scribbled over my eyes in the picture and drawn a large X across my face. Before I could process this, I heard playful laughter coming from the kitchen. “Lucas, just stand there and be good. I promise this porridge will be perfect for your taste.” “Really? Then I can’t wait to try it~” In the kitchen, Olivia had her hair tied up, exposing her slender neck as Lucas leaned in close to help her tie on an apron. Halfway through cooking, she didn’t forget to scoop up a spoonful for Lucas to taste. The two flirted and joked around, completely at ease with each other. I felt like an intruder in my own home. Just then, Lucas noticed me. “Jack! What are you doing here?” “But it’s good timing. Olivia just made some delicious rice porridge. Would you like a bowl?” As he spoke, Lucas was about to go to the kitchen to get me some porridge, acting every bit the host. Olivia quickly stopped him, giving me a cold look. “Lucas, that porridge was made specially for you. There’s none for certain others.” “By the way, Jack, isn’t it still work hours? Why are you home?” “This counts as skipping work. That’s a $200 deduction. Make sure you report it to HR later!” After all this time, Olivia still didn’t know I had resigned? But I couldn’t be bothered to explain. The resignation had been approved; she’d find out sooner or later. I had more important matters to deal with. “I came to see you. I need you to sign something.” I took out the divorce papers and handed them to Olivia. Seeing this, Lucas immediately chimed in with fake concern: “Olivia, Jack must be here to apologize about the phone call earlier. Look, he even brought you a gift! I wonder if it’s a car or a house this time?” Hearing this, Olivia’s expression softened. She also assumed these were some sort of gift to make amends, and signed without even looking. It made sense. In the past, I often placated her this way. Whenever Olivia was unhappy, I would secretly buy her jewelry or a car to cheer her up. But this time, she was in for a disappointment. “You’ve misunderstood. These are div—” Before I could finish, Olivia haughtily cut me off. “Jack, just because I accepted your gift doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven you.” “If you want my forgiveness, you need to apologize to Lucas first.” “Also, since you sold the apartment, Lucas has nowhere to stay. He’ll have to move in with us for a while. You’ll need to give up the master bedroom for him…” “No problem,” I replied. Seeing me so agreeable, Olivia looked pleased. “Jack, if only you had been this understanding from the start.” I coldly interrupted her: “It’s not just the room. I’m giving you up too.” With that, I turned to leave. Lucas’s eyes immediately welled up with tears as he stammered, “Jack must be mad at me. Olivia, I should go. I don’t want to cause problems between you two.” “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine even if I have to sleep under a bridge…” Every time Lucas played the victim, Olivia would melt with sympathy. She immediately glared at me and snapped, “Jack, what’s the big deal about giving up a room? If you don’t want to, then don’t. Why are you being so passive-aggressive?” “Besides, Lucas is already in such a difficult situation. Do you really want him sleeping on the streets? If you keep acting like this, I swear I’ll divorce you!” Lucas quickly tried to mediate, while subtly fanning the flames. “Jack, you should apologize to Olivia. What if she really divorces you? What about your job?” “The job market is tough these days, and you’re not exactly young anymore. Without Olivia, what kind of work could you even find?” Olivia snorted, also using my job as a threat. “That’s right, Jack. You’d better apologize to me and Lucas right now. Otherwise, I’ll divorce you and leave you with nothing!” Olivia was certain I wouldn’t dare leave her. She was trying to use this to force me to give in. But I just laughed and tossed the divorce papers at her. “No need for all that. We’re already divorced.”
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