Chapter 4

I went straight to HR to request a leave of absence.

The scandal had already spread like wildfire. The HR director looked at me with deep pity and signed my paperwork without a single question.

As I walked out of the hospital lobby, Chloe blocked my path.

She held her chin high, looking like a victorious general. She smirked at me:

"Are you finally giving up? If Ethan hadn't told me you'd willingly hand over your humanitarian credit to me, I would've never let you cling to him for this long! But now, Ethan and I are legally married. If you dare to come near him again..."

"You're just a pathetic, home-wrecking mistress!"

Her insults didn't make me angry.

I only felt a deep sense of pity.

"You are truly shameless," I said quietly. "You have completely disgraced your father's legacy."

"And no matter what, you should never treat the person who saved your life this way."

I don't know which sentence triggered her, but Chloe suddenly lost her mind.

She pointed her finger at me and screamed:

"Saved my life? You call that saving my life?! It was that crazy bitch who lost her mind and held me hostage! She couldn't keep her baby because she’s weak and pathetic! How is that my fault?"

"She even threatened suicide and sued my family! We had to pay her every penny we had!"

"Why didn't she just drop dead and save us the trouble? She's a parasite!"

My expression turned icy.

The wrong prescription was entirely Chloe’s malpractice. Instead of reflecting on her life-shattering mistake, she was standing here hurling disgusting insults at the victim.

Just as I was about to call security, a middle-aged man suddenly charged from behind me, brandishing a kitchen knife.

When Chloe saw him, her face went deathly pale. She shrieked and tried to run.

But the knife caught her arm.

The man chased her, swinging wildly, roaring in agony:

"My wife killed herself because of you, and you’re still spit on her grave! I had a perfect family! My baby is gone, and my wife is dead! You ruined my life, you monster! Why do you get to stand here and live?"

"Chloe, I’m taking your life today!"

Terrified, Chloe scrambled toward the hospital interior.

Patients and staff in the lobby began screaming and fleeing in all directions. The scene fell into utter chaos.

I was a doctor, and I had training in basic combat self-defense from my time in the military.

If that man went on a blind rampage, innocent patients would get hurt. I couldn't let that happen.

I turned and ran back into the building, against the fleeing crowd.

The man grabbed a heavy metal stand and hurled it at Chloe.

She screamed as she crashed to the floor, struggling to get back up.

The man lunged forward, grabbing her by the hair, dragging her up, and pressing the blade tightly against her neck.

"Run! Keep running, you bitch! I’ll slit your throat right now!" he roared, completely out of his mind.

"Stop!"

I ran up, panting, and yelled:

"Don't do this!"

"Do you remember me? I’m Vivian Mercer! I was the one who signed the leniency letter for your wife after she stabbed me!"

The man glared at me, his grip on the knife tightening.

"Step back! I don't want to kill an innocent person."

"You’re a good doctor, but if you want to save her, forget it!"

Security guards began to encircle him.

The determination in his eyes showed he was fully prepared to die today.

"I’m trying to save *you*!" I pleaded.

"You and your wife adopted a little girl, right? Lily. She’s eight years old. I saw her when I visited your home to deliver the leniency letter. She is so bright. She already lost her mother. She can't lose her father too!"

"If you die today, she’ll be all alone! Who will protect her?"

The man’s lips trembled. He began to whisper his daughter's name over and over.

"Lily... Lily..."

His hand holding the knife started shaking violently. He cried out in agony:

"But there’s no turning back for me!"

"Dr. Mercer, please... please send Lily back to the orphanage for me. I’m a terrible father..."

Tears filled the man's eyes, blinding him with grief.

When a person cries, their vision blurs for a moment, and their reflexes drop to their lowest.

This was my chance. I could disarm him.

Just a second more, now...!

But a sudden, violent force shoved me forward from behind.

My hand reached for the knife, but the momentum forced my entire body weight right onto the blade.

*Squelch—*

The blade plunged deep into my abdomen once again.

It tore right through the unhealed scar of my previous wound—deeper, and far more agonizing than before.

The blade went clean through me. Blood sprayed everywhere.

I looked back, and as expected...

It was Ethan.

*Vivian Mercer, you got fooled again.*

I collapsed into the rapidly expanding pool of blood and blacked out.

*Beep— Beep—*

The steady hum of the heart monitor buzzed in my ears. Waking up was a struggle.

Nate was sitting at a nearby coffee table, signing some documents with a grim expression.

When he saw me open my eyes, he didn't try to hide his emotions.

He helped me sit up, looking at me with a mixture of anger and heartbreak.

"You’ve been back for a month. You survived a war zone only to almost die in a hospital lobby!"

"Vivian, if you had used even a fraction of the ruthlessness you show on the battlefield on Ethan, you wouldn't be lying in the ICU with a dozen specialists arguing over how to stitch your organs back together!"

I couldn't help but smile.

Hearing my weak chuckle, Nate looked up and glared at me.

"You're laughing? You think this is funny? Do you know that knife missed your inferior vena cava by two millimeters?"

"Two millimeters! If it had nicked it, you would have..."

Nate choked up, unable to finish his sentence. He bowed his head.

A tear, heavy with fear, fell onto the back of my hand. It was burning hot.

I reached out and gently stroked Nate's hair. His hair was thick and coarse, but his heart was so incredibly soft.

He was the complete opposite of Ethan.

Ethan had soft hair, but a cold, stone heart.

And so, in the sixth year of loving Ethan Vance, I finally decided to let him go.

"Nate, take me away."

"Submit the paperwork. Let's get married."