That was how Malcolm and I met. He fell for me at first sight, pursued me relentlessly, and his mother pushed for us at every turn.
I didn't say yes just because he was handsome, polished, and magnetic. I said yes because from the very beginning, Rosalie treated me like her own daughter.
I was an orphan. Having a family was something I'd dreamed about my entire life.
After I saved her the second time and lost my fertility in the process, Rosalie cried until she nearly passed out. She held my hands and told me I was her daughter-in-law, her daughter, and her savior.
As long as she had breath in her body, she swore, no one would ever hurt me.
She even worried that people might gossip, so she quietly spread the story that the reason we had no children was Malcolm's problem, not mine.
But now, the only thing left in her eyes when she looked at me was disgust.
“What are you glaring at me for? I never asked you to save me! If I hadn't been afraid my condition would relapse and needed to keep the only surgeon who could operate on me close, do you think an orphan like you could've set foot in the Farley family? Seven years have passed. I'm fully recovered. And you, sitting on the wife's throne, can't even produce an heir. The Farley family has no room for you anymore!”
So all the love Rosalie had given me was nothing but a mirage.
So I had never truly had a family at all.
With my medical assistant propping me up, I stood on legs that barely held：“A two-faced mother-in-law, a husband riddled with disease, and his infected mistress. You're right. I don't belong in a family like this!”
“What disease?” Rosalie's eyes went wide, her voice shrill.
But a calculating gleam flickered through Malcolm's gaze. He turned to me：“I'll take the blood test. But let's raise the stakes. If I come back clean, then you're the liar, and you leave this marriage with nothing. Do you dare take that bet?”
As a doctor, I knew perfectly well that Malcolm and Vivian had been sleeping together constantly. The odds of him being infected were almost certain.
But almost wasn't absolute.
My hesitation gave Malcolm all the confidence he needed. He declared, brazen as a street hustler：“Silence means consent. The bet takes effect immediately!”
He handed the vial of blood he'd had drawn to his assistant and ordered him to personally oversee every step of the testing.
Everyone waited, curious about the result. But Vivian couldn't sit still.
“Ow, it hurts!”
She clutched her stomach, her voice breaking into a whimper：“Earlier, when that old hag was examining me, she pressed on my belly a couple of times. I felt uncomfortable right then, and now it's getting worse and worse!”
“That's a lie!” my medical assistant shot back. “You started provoking us the moment you walked in. Dr. Thomas never even touched you!”
Vivian rolled her eyes：“You're her lackey, of course you'd cover for her. Liars get what's coming to them, you know. Better watch yourself out there. Wouldn't want to get hit by a car.”
Watching her twist the truth so shamelessly, so viciously, my assistant was shaking with rage.
I patted her hand to steady her and spoke calmly：“Since we can't agree on what happened, let's check the security cameras.”
I pointed to the camera in the corner, still running.
Three years ago, after a patient harassed me, Malcolm had stepped in immediately. He'd handled everything, and then he'd insisted on having cameras installed.
He'd told me that this way, I'd never again be stuck in a situation where my word was all I had.
Malcolm clearly remembered too. Something uncertain passed through his eyes.
“Fine, let's check……”
“Sure, go ahead and check!”
Vivian cut him off with a piercing wail.
“I've been falsely accused of having some disgusting disease, my stomach is killing me and I'm being blamed for that too, and you don't even believe me?”
“Malcolm, I've suffered so much, and all I wanted was an apology. Is that really so hard? Forget it. I was blind to fall for the wrong man. I deserve this. I don't want to live anymore!”
Vivian clutched her stomach and lunged toward the wall.
Rosalie scrambled to catch her, then whipped around and snapped：“Malcolm, what are you still hesitating for? Some worthless woman or your own flesh and blood. How is this even a choice?”
