Chapter 1

1

When my mother was in that horrific car crash, my husband's first love had a slight fever.

To rush to her side, he actually left my bleeding mother alone at the scene of the accident.

By the time she finally reached the hospital, the golden window for surgery had already slammed shut.

I sat with my mother's cold body all night, only to stumble upon my husband's social media post.

"So glad you're okay."

The photo showed him tenderly giving medicine to his precious Sierra.

In that moment, my heart turned to ash. I left a single, icy comment: "Come home and sign the divorce papers."

......

I was in the middle of a delicate surgery. When I finally stepped out of the OR, the phone call I received was a nightmare.

My mother had been in a bad accident. She was being rushed to the ER at that very moment.

She was supposed to visit me in the city today. Because my schedule was packed, I had asked my husband to pick her up.

I never imagined it would end like this.

On my way to the emergency room, I called my husband, Caleb Hadley, to find out what happened.

His voice was terrifyingly calm.

"Sierra has a high fever and no one to take care of her. I'm already at her place."

"What about my mom? You just left her there at the crash site?!"

I couldn't believe it. I screamed into the phone. This was the ninety-ninth time Sierra Monroe had a "sudden fever." Why did he still fall for it?

As a doctor, I knew exactly what she was doing. She was faking it.

Caleb's tone turned impatient.

"Your mom was just bumped a little. It's no big deal."

"You're a doctor. Don't you know how dangerous a high fever can be? What if something happens to Sierra?"

Through the phone, I heard Sierra's weak, pathetic voice.

"Am I making you guys fight again? I'm so sorry..."

Caleb hung up immediately. He didn't care about me at all. He had to go comfort his little star.

When I reached the ER, the doors swung open. My colleague walked out with a heavy face to deliver the news of my mother's death.

I stood there, frozen. Tears blurred my vision instantly.

He said it was just a little bump. How could she be gone?

I grabbed my colleague's arm, my voice trembling with questions.

He shook his head and sighed.

"Her injuries were severe. If she had been brought in just a little sooner..."

"We did our best, Maren. I'm so sorry for your loss."

I stood in the hallway, feeling a chill seep into my bones.

My colleague let go of my hand and patted my shoulder before walking away.

A moment later, my mother was wheeled out under a white sheet. I followed her into the morgue.

The nurse helped clean her up. When I saw her again, she looked like she was just sleeping.

I touched her cold cheek. My legs gave out, and I collapsed to the floor.

"I'm so sorry..."

I don't know how long I knelt there. Eventually, a nurse put a chair next to me.

I stayed by my mother's side all night. At dawn, I saw Caleb's update on Instagram.

In the photo, he was carefully feeding Sierra her medicine. Sierra was looking at him with eyes full of fake devotion.

The caption read: "So glad you're okay."

Those five words felt like a knife to my chest.

I clenched my fists, staring at the screen. I wanted to fly there and scream at him for leaving my mother to die.

But the anger quickly faded into a hollow exhaustion. We had fought like this too many times, and I never won.

After five years of marriage, I finally realized it was all a sick joke.

I sat by my mother until the sun came up.

I messaged my lawyer to draft the papers and then texted Caleb.

"Come home and sign the divorce papers."

My heart died the moment I hit send.