New Year’s Eve, the ER buzzed. A patient came in with a severely injured penis, bleeding heavily. He was my best friend. And the one who brought him? My fiancée, Chloe. Her hands were drenched in blood, trembling as she clutched my white coat, begging me to save him. I glanced at the wound. Shards of the sex toy I’d bought Chloe just two days prior were still embedded there. She stammered, frantically trying to explain, “He was just drunk, it was an accident…” I calmly put on my gloves, cutting her off. “Go pay the fee. Sign as the responsible party.” There was a time I’d get furious if she just had dinner with a male colleague. Now, watching her bring my best friend to the hospital after they cheated, my heart felt unsettlingly calm. Chloe stared at my placid face, her eyes suddenly welling up. “Why aren’t you angry?” Angry? What’s there to be angry about? Something dirty? You just cut it off. 1 I expressionlessly pulled down the blinds. Turning around, Blake was groaning on the operating table. The anesthesiologist had just given him a shot, but it hadn’t fully kicked in. Blake was drenched in cold sweat, yet seeing me, he smirked smugly. “Liam, go easy. If you can’t fix me, Chloe will be heartbroken.” I probed the wound with a hemostat. “Endure it if it hurts.” The tweezers extracted a blood-soaked sex toy fragment. Blake flinched, letting out a pained shriek. “Quite the thrill you had, huh?” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Blake gasped, his eyes defiant. “Chloe said she wanted some excitement. I didn’t want to, but she insisted. She said you’re a nerd and I’m more fun.” I looked at his penis, a wave of disgust washing over me. Half an hour later, the surgery was over. I peeled off my blood-stained gloves, packing the fragments as medical waste. Along with my last shred of feeling for these two, I tossed them into the biohazard bin. Stepping out of the operating room, Chloe rushed towards me immediately. “Liam, let me explain.” She stammered incoherently, her eyes bloodshot. “You’re the only one in my heart, really.” I forcefully pulled my hand away. “I’m a doctor,” I cut her off. “I only care if the patient’s sexual function can recover, and if there will be any lasting complications. How you two ended up like this, I couldn’t care less.” Chloe looked at me in disbelief. “You don’t love me anymore?” She actually had the nerve to ask that. I chuckled. “As a doctor, the surgery was a success, though it might not be fully functional going forward. As your ex-fiancé, I wish you both happiness.” Chloe’s face instantly went ashen. I stepped back, checking my watch. “I have three more emergencies waiting. Don’t block me from saving lives.” 2 The next morning at 7 AM, my clinic door was pushed open. Chloe stood there, holding a takeout bag. “Liam, this is your favorite burger. I waited in line for an hour to get it.” In the past, I would have been touched and hugged her. Now, I just felt sick to my stomach. “What happened last night, it was my fault. I won’t ever see him again. Please forgive me this one time, okay?” she continued to apologize. I said nothing, taking the burger and handing it to a security guard. Chloe’s smile froze, then twisted into shame and anger. “Liam, I’ve humbled myself to come apologize to you, what more do you want? Blake and I were just drunk. Last night was an accident!” Just then, the nurse station bell blared. A young nurse frantically ran over. “Dr. Liam, the patient in room 16 is making a fuss. He says his wound hurts, claims the nurse who changed his dressing was too rough, and insists you go personally.” Chloe immediately grew anxious at the mention of Blake’s pain. She grabbed my arm, her tone softening again. “Liam, you’re a doctor, go take a look. He is your best friend after all, and it would be terrible if it leaves a scar on his penis.” I almost laughed out loud. It was such a mess, and he cared about how it looked? I picked up the dressing tray. Chloe breathed a sigh of relief, following me into the patient room. Blake was lying in bed, whining and groaning. Seeing me enter, he immediately stopped. “Dr. Liam is finally here.” His eyes flickered towards Chloe, his voice becoming overly delicate and fake. “Chloe, I’m in so much pain, please tell Liam to check on me.” I put on my gloves and pulled back the blanket. The wound was red and swollen, and the exudate hadn’t dried. When I stitched him up last night, I definitely held back. I didn’t use absorbable sutures; I used the cheapest silk thread. It would hurt more when removed and was prone to pulling. “That toy was Chloe’s New Year’s gift to me,” Blake whispered. “Was it?” I replied coldly. Then, with a forceful twist of my wrist, I pressed a cotton swab firmly onto his wound. Debridement. Removing necrotic tissue. “AHHH!!!” Blake let out an agonized scream like a stuck pig. Chloe, who had been standing by the window, rushed over at the sound. “Liam! What are you doing!” She pushed me. Caught off guard, I stumbled back a few steps. My lower back hit the sharp corner of a metal cabinet with a heavy thud. Chloe shielded Blake, pointing at me with a furious face. “How can you be so vicious? Is this your medical ethics?” Blake cowered in her arms, playing the victim. “Chloe, he’s doing it on purpose, he wants me to suffer to death…” Chloe’s heart ached for him. I gave up entirely. Because the old Chloe, the one who loved me, was dead. The Chloe now was just a manipulative bitch. I leaned on the cabinet, straightening my body. “Cleaning a wound naturally hurts. If you can’t handle it, then don’t bother with treatment.” I tossed the dressing tray onto the table. “Frankly, I find it disgusting.” 3 Before noon, rumors spread through the hospital. “Did you hear that Dr. Liam in the ER is retaliating against a patient!” “I heard he’s fighting with the patient over a woman. It’s terrible.” The head nurse looked at me with a hesitant gaze. In the afternoon, the director called me into his office. “Liam, this incident is having a bad effect,” the director said gravely. “Ms. Chloe has filed a complaint. While the surgery itself wasn’t problematic, a doctor’s poor attitude is unacceptable. You’ll be suspended for a few days. Ms. Chloe said that as long as you apologize, this matter will be dropped.” I tightened my grip on the coffee cup. I had helped so many patients, and now, because of accusations from this cheating couple, I was being suspended. Stepping out of the director’s office, Chloe was waiting outside. She leaned against the wall, lighting a cigarette. Seeing me emerge, she stubbed it out and approached. “Liam, just apologize to Blake. I’ll withdraw the complaint. I know you feel wronged, but Blake is a patient right now, so humor him.” I looked at her hypocritical face. Suddenly, I found it utterly ridiculous. How could I have ever loved such a pathetic excuse for a human? “I’ll apologize to him, just don’t let me be suspended.” Chloe nodded, satisfied. “That’s right. Come on, Blake’s waiting for you in his room.” Back in my office, I pulled out a file from the deepest part of my drawer. It was from three years ago. I’d never been able to bring myself to throw it away, and now, unexpectedly, it was finally useful. I arrived at the patient room door. Inside, not only was Blake there, but also several of Chloe’s shady friends, and even a few colleagues. “That nerd, Liam, Chloe must have been soft-hearted to put up with him for so long.” Chloe pushed the door open and cleared her throat. The room quieted. All eyes turned to me. I walked to the center of the room. Then, I bowed deeply to Blake. “My apologies. My medical skills were lacking. I couldn’t perfectly stitch up that rotting hole down there.” Everyone stared at me, wide-eyed. Blake’s face instantly turned beet red. “Liam! Shut up!” he roared, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at me. I sidestepped, dodging it. Chloe’s face was ashen. “Liam, are you crazy? What are you talking about!” “I’m not talking nonsense,” I blinked innocently. “Didn’t you ask me to apologize? I’m just stating the facts. Everyone’s here, so you can all be witnesses.” I pulled out a yellowed pathology report from my pocket. I gently placed it on the bedside table, underneath a fruit basket. “Chloe, let’s settle the score from three years ago today.” Chloe’s pupils constricted sharply as she saw the paper. 4 That pathology report stopped Chloe dead in her tracks. Memories from three years ago flooded my mind. We had only recently moved in together. That day, I suddenly suffered from acute testicular torsion, writhing on the floor in pain, curled up on the sofa as I called Chloe. I told her I wasn’t feeling well, experiencing severe lower abdominal pain, and asked her to come back and take me to the hospital. Chloe impatiently replied on the phone, “Blake’s cat is sick, I need to help him. Can’t you just take a cab yourself? Don’t be so dramatic, you’re a grown man.” Then she hung up. I forced myself to get up and try to call a cab, but I passed out at the apartment complex entrance. By the time the security guard got me to the hospital and I woke up, it was already the next day. The doctor told me I was brought in too late; the lack of blood flow had been too prolonged, my left testicle had necrosed and had to be removed. When Chloe rushed to the hospital, she knelt by my bed, sobbing hysterically. She swore she’d only be good to me for the rest of her life, and that she’d never speak to Blake again. I believed her. Now, I slammed that blood-and-tear-stained report in front of her. “Chloe, do you see it clearly?” I pointed to the date on the report. “That day, you were at Blake’s house ‘saving a kitten,’ while I was here having a necrotic organ removed. Last night, you were on Blake’s bed playing some wild game, while I was in the operating room cutting away his rotten flesh.” “Liam… stop talking…” Chloe’s voice was hoarse as she reached for the report. I slapped her hand away. “Don’t touch it.” “It’s dirty.” In front of everyone, I unpinned my ID badge from my chest. Thwack! It landed by Chloe’s feet. “This doctor, I’m not being anymore. This woman, I don’t want anymore. Blake, Chloe, good luck to you both.” With that, I turned to leave. Chloe seemed to finally react. She lunged forward like a maniac, trying to block me. “Liam! You can’t leave!” she shrieked behind me, her voice filled with panic. A hand suddenly cut in, blocking Chloe. It was Dr. Scarlett Smith from our department. Usually a quiet person, Scarlett’s face was frighteningly cold. “Ms. Chloe, please respect yourself.” She pushed Chloe, sending her stumbling back a few steps. Chloe hit the doorframe, utterly disheveled. Blake cried out Chloe’s name from the bed, telling her not to chase me. The scene was chaotic. I didn’t look back. Walking out of the hospital building, I took out my phone and blocked Chloe on every contact platform. Even her parents, her friends. Then, I dialed a number. “Hello, Captain.” “It’s Liam.” “Is it still possible to sign up for the medical aid mission in the remote mountains?” A surprised voice came from the other end. “Yes! We desperately need a surgeon! You leave tomorrow!”
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