I thought that after Gillian's surgery was successfully completed, I would have fulfilled my obligation to Nicolas for the billion he paid, and there would be no further ties between him and me.
But to my surprise, Nicolas got my work number under the name Dr. Sini and added me to his contacts. He relentlessly bombarded me with messages every day.
"Dr. Sini, I admire you so much. You are the most dazzling woman in the world. Do you have time to grab a meal? I'd like to thank you personally."
I deliberately replied, "Will you thank me for saving your lover?"
Nicolas responded instantly, "Gillian and I are just ordinary colleagues."
I raised my eyebrows and asked, "Didn't you say your wife was gravely ill and always stayed by your side?"
A minute later, Nicolas replied again, "She passed away a month ago. I'm single now. I just felt sorry for Gillian and wanted you to treat her out of kindness."
Nicolas still feigned deep affection. "You know what? You remind me so much of my late wife. You are both so smart and brave."
I felt sick to my stomach.
It seemed that in Nicolas's eyes, Dr. Sini was now more valuable than Gillian.
How ironic it was that he had no idea I was the "deceased" wife he spoke of.
Nicolas persistently bought me flowers and asked me out to dinner. I refused him every time.
He didn't know I was preparing a "surprise" for him at the Premier Medical Summit.
In the days leading up to the summit, a nurse told me that Gillian refused to cooperate with her treatment.
I donned my white coat and went to her hospital room. "If you don't cooperate with your follow-up treatment, even the most perfect surgery won't save your life."
Gillian was hostile towards me. "How do I know if you're here to save me or harm me?"
The nurse defended me, saying, "Dr. Sini would never harm you."
I stopped the nurse from arguing with Gillian and asked the nurse to leave the room so I could speak with Gillian privately.
Gillian proudly raised her head. "Dr. Sini, I recognized you. You are Nicolas's wife, Lorna. I never thought you were Sini."
"Yes, it's me."
"I don't trust your treatment plan. I want a different attending physician. You're jealous that I have Nicolas's love, and you'll kill me."
I stood calmly by her bedside and said, "Don't be foolish."
She glared at me.
"If I wanted to harm you, you wouldn't have survived the operating table."
"I..."
"Do you not understand how dangerous your condition is? Do you know why Nicolas was willing to spend a billion to save you?"
"Of course. He loves me. No matter how sick I am, he won't leave me."
I bluntly laid out the harsh reality. "It's because your father holds the key to a lucrative new project."
Gillian shouted at me in anger, "No way. He loves me."
"Really? Do you know why your condition suddenly worsened?" I tossed her surgery records at her. "Because you were pregnant."
Gillian looked at her report in shock.
"Nicolas knew your health couldn't bear a baby, yet he couldn't control his desires. Does he love you?"
"He is..."
"What is he? Now you have no more use for him. He's moved on to a new target. If I'm not mistaken, he hasn't visited you in a long time, has he?"
Gillian bit her lip, and her face turned grim. "I don't believe it."
I showed Gillian the chat logs on my phone, filled with Nicolas's confessions and praises for me.
"There are also voice messages. Want to hear them?" I casually played a few, and Nicolas's voice was unmistakably clear.
"Sini, I think I'm in love with you."
"It's strange that we haven't even met, but I'm already in love with you. You're so enchanting."
"Gillian and I are just very ordinary colleagues. I would never marry a wife with an illness."
The room fell into a deafening silence.
Gillian clutched the bed sheets tightly. Then she suddenly broke down. She covered her face and burst into tears.
I took a seat beside her hospital bed. "Gillian, I have to say that I really dislike you privately, but as your doctor, I hope you cherish your life."
I described how perilous she was on her surgery day. "Your life was snatched back from death's grip after eleven hours by the medical staff. We sincerely hope you live on, so please value your life and cooperate with the treatment. Only by staying alive can you witness Nicolas receiving the punishment he deserves."
I said those words were for her, but also for myself.
Gillian looked up at me, and her eyes looked vulnerable, like a lost kitten's.
Gillian agreed to the follow-up treatment plan, and her recovery was stable.
The day before the Premier Medical Summit, Jase suddenly called me and told me that Gillian wanted to see me.
In the hospital room, Gillian looked much better. She asked, "Tomorrow, you're going to expose Nicolas's true colors to everyone, aren't you?"
I affirmed it. "Yes."
Gillian retrieved a special appointment certificate from under her pillow and handed it to me. "If you're willing, I will recommend you as a special consultant for the Ford Pharmaceutical Group. You must know the position was originally meant for Nicolas."
I was surprised.
Gillian seemed to have grown wiser overnight. "Dr. Norris, I've already told my father to cancel the plan to hire Nicolas. He deceived me. So I don't want to hire him."
Gillian looked at me solemnly. "Dr. Norris, as the heiress of the Ford Pharmaceutical Group, I give you the offer. Would you be willing to become our special consultant?"
