It was my first day at the new job, and of course, they assigned me a night shift right away. I had always worked at public hospitals, but a few weeks ago, I got an offer from a private one. The salary was hard to resist, and in the end, I couldn’t say no. I decided to make the switch. At this new hospital, my salary had increased several times over, and the work was a bit easier, too. I’d been married for almost two years, and with a less stressful, higher-paying job, I thought it would be easier for us to start trying for a baby. I couldn’t help but laugh when I thought about how Nathaniel, my husband, spent his time watching videos of cute little kids all day. He loved kids, so I figured having one wouldn’t be so bad. Even though his financial situation wasn’t exactly great, my income made up for that. In a marriage, there was no need to worry about who earned more. We both contributed what we could. If one of us made less, the other just picked up more of the household duties. I had always been pretty laid-back about it. Once I finished my night shift, I planned to tell Nathaniel the good news. I was sure he’d be over the moon. By midnight, I was getting a bit sleepy, but I grabbed my chart and went to start my rounds. When I reached the door of one of the private rooms, I heard some strange noises coming from inside. I shook my head, feeling a bit exasperated, and decided to skip that room, thinking I’d check it later. But just as I turned to walk away, I heard voices. “You need to get your health back on track if you want to get pregnant soon!” The voice made me stop dead in my tracks. It was Nathaniel’s voice. His voice was rough, and there weren’t many people who sounded like him, so I recognized it immediately. “Come on, let me rest for a couple of days, and I’ll make sure we have that healthy baby of yours soon enough!” A sweet, almost sickly voice followed, and I knew right away it was a woman’s voice. “Besides, you’re still married. Me getting pregnant right now would be… a bit complicated, don’t you think? Who would want to have a baby with no proper standing?” she added. That was all I needed to hear. This woman was definitely a mistress. At that moment, I wasn’t thinking about finishing my rounds anymore. I just wanted to barge in and see if Nathaniel was really in there. If it was him, well, things were about to get very interesting. But instead of pushing the door open, I went straight to the nurse’s station, pulled up the surveillance footage, and checked the hallway. As expected, earlier that day, Nathaniel had walked in carrying a basket of fruit, and he hadn’t come out since. That was all I needed to know. I had been completely betrayed. I never expected that changing hospitals would lead to something like this. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I walked past the room, finished my rounds, and returned to the office. I sat down, feeling dizzy and confused. Nathaniel and I hadn’t known each other long, but we’d always gotten along well. When I was busy at the hospital, he took care of everything at home. I never had to worry about a thing. Up until now, I had thought we were perfect for each other—he was an amazing husband, and I couldn’t imagine him cheating. I never even considered the possibility of falling for anyone else. But now, everything felt like a cruel joke. We met at the hospital when he came in for his regular check-up, and I had just finished a surgery when we bumped into each other in the hallway. It was love at first sight. Who would have thought that this wonderful guy, the husband I always bragged about, could actually cheat? I felt numb. Exhaustion hit me hard, and before I realized it, I fell asleep. The next morning, my colleague came in for the handover, and I automatically asked about the patient in bed 305. “Oh, you mean Isabelle Lane? She lost her baby because of being too active during her pregnancy. We found out she’s had lost a few babies. After the D&C, her chances of getting pregnant again are practically zero,” my colleague said. My heart sank when I heard that. She had lost a few babies? Could it be that all of them were Nathaniel’s? I couldn’t shake the thought as I went to finish my last round for the day. When I entered room 305, Isabelle seemed shocked at first. But she quickly masked her expression and gave me a mocking look. “Dr. Hale, you look so exhausted. Didn’t get enough sleep last night?” I didn’t feel like answering, so I stayed silent. There was no rule that said I had to respond to every patient’s questions. Isabelle stared at me for a moment before deliberately saying, “A woman as beautiful as you, your husband must adore you, right?” I didn’t react, but I could tell by the way she spoke that she knew exactly who I was. Otherwise, how would she have known so much and why was she showing me such obvious hostility? “Why are you so quiet? I really like you. You’re so pretty. If I were your husband, I’d never cheat on you. You’d be the luckiest woman in the world.” I wasn’t affected by her words. They were clearly meant to provoke me. Had I not known the truth, I might have laughed it off. But after everything I’d learned, I just felt disgusted. “After losing a baby, you need to rest. Losing a few babies can cause infertility. Women need to take better care of themselves,” I said coldly and then turned and walked away. I didn’t know whose children Isabelle had lost, and I couldn’t expect Nathaniel to come clean at the hospital. When I finished my rounds and was about to leave, I was about to open the door when I bumped into Nathaniel himself. He was holding a glass container with some cut-up fruit in it. He looked worn out, like he hadn’t slept well. We stood there in front of room 305, and I could see the panic in his eyes the moment he saw me. “How did you end up here?” I frowned as I asked, closing the door to Room 305 behind me. No matter what, I didn’t want Isabelle to see me as a joke. When Nathaniel heard my question, a look of unease crossed his face. “I’m just visiting a friend,” he said, forcing a smile as he explained. I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly, “Visiting a friend, huh? Do you really need to bring cut fruit for that? Is she a friend or your girlfriend?” It struck me as ridiculous. Even though I thought Nathaniel loved me, he had never once taken the time to cut fruit for me. Yet, this other woman was treated entirely differently. How was I supposed to feel at ease about that? Nathaniel, clearly irritated by my words, shot me a frustrated glance. “What are you implying? Do you think I’m lying to you? I’m just visiting a friend. It’s not something I want to make public, so I didn’t mention it to you.” He looked at me, visibly agitated, shaking his head in disbelief. “If you really think I’d cheat on you, then I don’t even know what to say!” With that, he didn’t stick around any longer. He turned and stormed off, looking like he was hurt and offended. I felt confused. It was almost as if he was embarrassed about being caught and was now angry because of it. That evening, Nathaniel didn’t come home, probably wanting to avoid me for a while. I couldn’t be bothered to engage with him. At that point, all I could feel was a deep sense of frustration. I had enough evidence now to prove he was cheating, and while I was ready to divorce him, I wasn’t sure I could let go of the years we’d spent together. After thinking it over, I decided not to make a move just yet. I would give him one more chance. If he could come to his senses, maybe I could pretend none of this ever happened. The next day at work, Nathaniel even brought me lunch. I didn’t make it easy for him—gave him no acknowledgment at all—but he still kept at it for days, bringing me lunch and chatting briefly before leaving to “go back to work”. But the security footage told a different story. He wasn’t going back to work. He was meeting up with Isabelle again. Initially, I wanted to forgive him, to give him that chance. But now, after everything, I was just beyond done with him. Every time I went to check on patients, I had to see Isabelle’s smug face. She would taunt me with little remarks. “Dr. Hale, do you want some of this? It’s the fruit my man personally cut for me!” “Dr. Hale, how about some fresh juice? My man went out and bought it just for me!” I knew she was doing this on purpose, trying to get under my skin. But I wasn’t about to waste my time on her. If they kept this up, though, I would have no choice but to file for divorce. Just as I was mulling over these thoughts, I saw Nathaniel walk in carrying the lunch he’d made for me. When he saw me, his expression immediately soured. He quickly recovered, offering an explanation. “I brought you lunch. I heard you were doing rounds, so I thought I’d drop by.” His words were so forced, I couldn’t even stand to hear them. “Really? You think I could eat while I’m doing rounds? Or were you planning to give this lunch to that ‘friend’ of yours who’s just lost her baby?” Nathaniel shot me a look of irritation. “Enough with this personal stuff! Don’t drag other people into it. You’ve gone too far.” I was done with him. It was clear his heart wasn’t with me anymore—everything he did now was just to please Isabelle. “Do whatever you want. I don’t care anymore.” I gathered my paperwork and turned to leave, but Nathaniel stepped in front of me, his face full of frustration. “Apologize.” I was stunned. I had no idea what he was talking about. “Apologize? For what?” I couldn’t believe he was demanding an apology. Was he asking me to apologize to that woman? Nathaniel looked at me with disgust, clearly angry. “What you said was uncalled for. You need to apologize to Isabelle. We’re just friends, okay? I came here to check on her as a friend, and you humiliated her. Don’t you think that’s ridiculous?” For a moment, I almost thought maybe I had misunderstood things. If I hadn’t caught them in the act that night, I might have believed him. “Oh, please, don’t make her apologize. I’m fine! It’s just a misunderstanding, really,” Isabelle chimed in with her sugary tone, pretending to brush it off. I was so disgusted by her words, but I didn’t want to get caught up in any more drama. I turned to leave without saying another word. Nathaniel didn’t stop me. It seemed like he knew there was no point in arguing further—it was better to spend time with his little girlfriend than waste it on me. Back in my office, I accessed the hospital’s system and pulled up Isabelle’s records. I was shocked to find out that Nathaniel and Isabelle were both from the same small town. Under her occupation, it said, “Unemployed.” It seemed she was just another unemployed person from a small town. As I thought about it, my stomach churned. This private hospital was known for catering to wealthy clients, and I highly doubted someone without a job could afford to stay there. The truth hit me hard—Nathaniel was the one footing the bill for her stay. The idea of him spending our shared money on this woman made my blood boil. His affair had crossed a line, and I wasn’t going to put up with it. Divorce was already on my mind. Nathaniel’s financial situation was nothing compared to mine. The house and the car—both mine. But since all of this was acquired after we got married, it was considered marital property. I wasn’t going to let him walk away with what was rightfully mine. So, I contacted a private investigator. Even though I knew he was cheating, I didn’t have concrete proof. Once I had the evidence, I would have enough to prove he was cheating and make sure he left with nothing. When I finished everything, I realized it was time for my rounds. I hurriedly grabbed the patient files and went from room to room. By the time I reached Isabelle’s room, I was a minute late. As soon as I pushed the door open, I saw Isabelle’s smug expression. She glanced at me coldly and then shook the timer in her hand. “Dr. Hale, you’re late,” Isabelle said, her voice dripping with smugness as she put her phone down and leaned back against the wall. “I was timing you. Didn’t expect to witness your tardiness.” I ignored her and quickly finished my checkup before turning to leave. Talking to that woman was a waste of time. I couldn’t stand seeing her act so self-important. As soon as I finished my rounds and was about to sit down to write my notes, I got a call from the hospital director, asking me to come to his office. When I arrived, I found the director looking less than pleased. “Dr. Hale, I know you’re passionate about your work, but you really need to be more mindful of your timing. We had a complaint from a patient about you being late for your rounds. We’ve always been very strict about these things to ensure the best experience for our patients,” he said, glancing at me. “Why don’t you take a few days off? Once this patient is discharged, you can return to work.” I didn’t argue. I just nodded and left. The director probably sensed my mood and wisely chose not to push the matter further. As I was leaving his office, I heard shouting coming from Isabelle’s room. “Dr. Hale is so unprofessional! Doesn’t even care about the patients. Can anyone just be a doctor these days? She can’t even keep her scheduled rounds, and she’s late by a whole minute. Doesn’t she have any respect for us patients?”
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