Chapter 5

Three days before my scheduled departure, I received a text on WhatsApp from Director Jenkins.

He told me that the specialist I had asked him to contact was in the city for a medical forum, and he could squeeze in an appointment to look at Martha's chronic asthma.

Martha had suffered from severe asthma for years. Though it had been managed, she still had violent flare-ups that had sent her to the ER in the past.

Even while I was busy with my intensive training program abroad, I had spent my free time consulting colleagues and gathering case files to find a cure for her.

Despite everything, we had been family for three years. I wanted to do this one last thing so I could leave with a clean conscience, owing them nothing.

But when I told Martha I wanted to take her to the clinic, her face twisted in anger.

"Why the hell would I go to the hospital? Just because I scolded you, you're trying to curse me with a terminal illness?"

"Elena, how can you be so malicious? My latest check-up said I'm perfectly healthy!"

"This is a world-renowned asthma specialist who rarely takes appointments. You should really get a scan, just to be safe—"

Before I could finish, Martha snatched her mug off the table and threw it at me.

"Cut the crap! As if an unemployed loser like you could book a world-class specialist! You’re nothing but a liar. When Chloe stayed up all night to get me a specialist ticket, where were you?"

She compared me to Chloe at every turn. Her attitude made it clear.

No matter what I did, I was wrong. No matter how hard I tried, I would never measure up to Chloe.

I let out a soft, hollow laugh.

"If you don't want to go, then don't."

I was stupid for caring in the first place.

Soon, the day of the baby's one-month celebration arrived.

I showed up late. The banquet hall was packed with distant relatives and acquaintances whose names I couldn't even remember.

The scale of this party was grander than my wedding with Julian.

Right at the entrance, there was a massive, blown-up portrait of their "perfect family." Julian, Chloe, the baby, and his parents.

I was completely erased.

The moment the relatives saw me, they began whispering and pointing. I didn't need to hear them to know what they were saying.

My aunt grabbed my arm, her face tight with fake curiosity.

"Elena, dear! When did you get back? Julian never mentioned it. And when did you guys have a baby?"

"I heard you finished your advanced fellowship. Are you getting promoted to Chief of Surgery at the hospital soon? Your future looks so bright!"

I didn't explain. I just gave her a polite nod.

But I could see the pity and mockery in her eyes. After all, I wasn't in the family portrait.

And the woman standing next to Julian, greeting guests as the hostess, wasn't me either.

A nosey cousin pointed to Chloe, who was currently feeding Julian a piece of cake.

"Elena, who is that woman?"

I smiled faintly.

"Julian's new wife."

The surrounding relatives gasped, immediately crowding together to whisper the fresh gossip.

Since Julian's family didn't care about my dignity, why should I bother saving theirs?

Just then, Julian stepped up to the podium and took the microphone.

"Thank you all for coming to celebrate my son's one-month milestone."

"Before this, I never imagined myself as a father. I didn't think I could handle the responsibility."

"But the moment I heard his first cry, I realized what it truly means to protect someone."

My aunt shouted from the crowd, "Let the baby's mother come up and speak! Where is she?"

The atmosphere in the hall instantly froze.

Everyone’s eyes darted back and forth between me and Chloe.

The elephant in the room was finally being dragged into the light. The guests were waiting to see who Julian would claim.

I locked eyes with Julian, then slowly walked up to the stage.

Before he could react, I smoothly took the microphone from his hand.

"What are you doing? Don't you dare make a scene, or I'll destroy you," he hissed under his breath, grabbing my wrist.

I pulled my arm back with a cold glare.

If he hadn't done anything shameful, why was he so terrified of me speaking?

I turned to the crowd, my voice calm and clear over the speakers.

"First of all, thank you all for coming today."

"Many of you were there when Julian and I swore our wedding vows. I’ve carried your blessings with me for three years. But as you probably noticed from the portrait at the entrance, things have changed."

Julian's face went completely pale.

He lunged forward, trying to snatch the microphone back.

I stepped aside quickly and kept speaking.

"To be honest, I was shocked too. I spent a year saving lives abroad, only to return and find my husband living with another woman who was carrying his child."

"They even had the audacity to ask me to raise this child as my own to 'help me experience motherhood.' But I’m afraid I have no interest in raising another woman's baby."

"Julian, I want a divorce."