Chapter 1

On my first night on call at the new hospital, I encountered my wife, Natalie Warren, who claimed to be on a business trip abroad.

She lay on a gurney outside the delivery room, heavily pregnant, blood pooling beneath her.

My hand was gripped tightly by a man kneeling at her side, his desperate pleas echoing in my ears.

"Doctor, please, you have to save her!"

The nurse beside me handed him the surgical consent form.

"We need a family member to sign before surgery. What's your relationship to the patient?"

The man took the pen, his hands trembling as he signed.

"She's my wife."

My chest tightened at his words, my mind flashing back to a year ago when Natalie had smiled as she handed me our marriage certificate.

"Adrian, from today on, we're officially husband and wife."

Sensing my shock, the man looked up with red-rimmed eyes, confusion written across his face.

I quickly lowered my head, adjusting the mask on my face, and pushed open the operating room doors.

"We'll do everything we can for the patient."

But as for the relationship between Natalie and me, I think it had just been declared completely over.