Chapter 1

I was scheduled for a partial stomach resection, and my wife, Lyra, had promised to stay by my side the entire time. Yet, when I was wheeled out, she was nowhere to be seen.

The surgeon looked behind me in surprise. "Didn't Dr. Vance come to be with you?"

I dialed Lyra's number, only to hear her ex-boyfriend's voice coming through the speaker. "Lyra, baby, could you grab my boxers for me?"

Lyra's voice rushed over the line in a flustered hurry. "Curtis injured his leg, Rowan. I'm his doctor, and I can't just neglect a patient.

"Your procedure was minor and routine. There was no real danger anyway, so just have any nurse sign off on the paperwork."

Lyra was a physician, but she was also my wife. Yet, she freely gave the devotion that belonged to me to her ex-boyfriend.

Whenever Curtis was around, her eyes followed him and him alone.

She never showed up, not even on the day I was finally discharged.

I decided I was finally done with her, and I signed the divorce agreement.

...

1

I lay in the hospital bed, looking at my worried cousin and offering him a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, Leo. Go on and take care of your classes."

Wearing his prep school uniform, Leo glanced anxiously toward the door and tried to lighten the mood. "Where's Lyra? Is she still stuck in an operation or something?"

Right then, my phone rang with an incoming video call. It played the custom ringtone I had set just for her: 'Wife calling, pick up the royal summons.'

Leo gave me a teasing wink. "Aww, look at the lovebirds. I won't play third wheel. I've got night study hall anyway."

I forced a bitter, self-mocking smile.

On the screen, Lyra appeared in flawless makeup and cascading dark curls. Her figure-hugging designer dress accentuated every curve of her body.

I stared at her through the screen, momentarily dazed.

In our two years of marriage, she had lived exclusively in oversized tees and scrub pants. Whenever I offered to buy her nice clothes, she would dismiss it. "I'm exhausted from shifts at the clinic. Why would I waste energy dressing up?"

It turned out she simply never wanted to make an effort for me.

Noticing my stunned expression, Lyra ran a manicured hand through her curls with effortless allure.

She lifted her chin smugly. "Cat got your tongue, dummy? Surgery went fine, right? I told you it was a minor procedure and nothing to stress over."

She spoke with supreme medical arrogance, not bothering to offer a single word of genuine concern.

"Curtis isn't like you," she went on. "He's a workaholic with a million health issues. Now that his leg is injured, he can barely move. If I don't watch over him, he'll try to work through the pain, and the wound will never heal."

Watching her fret so tenderly over Curtis, a sharp, bitter ache tore through my chest. "So you ditched your own husband during surgery just to play nurse for another man?"

Lyra froze, then instantly went on the defensive. "Why are you being so jealous? We're just good friends! He's a patient, and as his doctor and friend, it's my duty to look after him!"

I let out a cold sneer. "Does being a good friend require dressing up in full glam to visit his house and fetch his underwear?"

Caught red-handed, Lyra snapped to her feet. "Rowan, could you grow up and be a little more mature? I told you, he can't walk properly! Besides, if there were anything going on between us, would you have ever had a chance to marry me?"

Seeing her flustered desperation, I scoffed. "Is he completely paralyzed, or did he lose all four limbs that he needs his doctor providing personal, intimate care?"

Curtis's voice suddenly chimed in from the background. "Rowan, man, don't get the wrong idea. Lyra and I are totally innocent―"

Suddenly, Lyra let out a sharp gasp, and the phone tumbled onto the floor.

Through the screen's tilted angle, I saw Lyra catch a stumbling Curtis in her arms.

They collapsed into a tight embrace, and Curtis planted a heavy, lingering kiss on her cheek.

The wet smacking sound rang loudly in my ears, making my head spin with fury.

Curtis glanced down at the fallen phone and flashed me a triumphant, mocking grin. He even reached out to adjust the camera angle so I had a front-row view of them clinging together.

Lyra's face was flushed crimson.

She held Curtis anxiously, staring into his eyes with undisguised tenderness, completely oblivious to my presence.

Her tone was dripping with warmth. "Are you okay? I told you to be careful! What if your incision tears open again?"

I gritted my teeth until my jaw ached, using every ounce of restraint not to rip out my IV lines and drive over to beat them both into the pavement.