Chapter 4

I shook off his grip.

"Don't you have your own things to worry about? Why are you always obsessing over my itinerary?"

Tony froze.

He obviously recognized his own words from before.

After a long silence, he spoke up, "It was my fault for not telling you about the business trip last time. From now on, I will report my itinerary to you."

"Tomorrow, I have to go to the university. The conflict between Yvonne and her roommates has escalated.

“The counselor wants to meet with her guardians and her parents can't make it because something came up, so I'm going in their place."

"Change your surgery to the day after tomorrow. I'll go with you then."

It was now clear that in Tony’s scale of preference, I would always rank last.

I spoke calmly, "There's no need. It makes no difference whether you're there or not."

Tony seemed to be thinking I just didn't understand the practical benefits of having a doctor around.

He quickly explained with rare patience, "I can help you get in touch with specialists and interpret your diagnostic reports.

“At the very least, I can stand in line to get your registration number."

My second rejection was cut short by the ringing of his phone.

Yvonne's tearful voice leaked through the speaker, "Dr. Frank, I think someone is trying to pick the lock outside my door. I'm so scared..."

Tony's expression shifted instantly. He turned and rushed toward the door.

"Wait," I called out to him.

Tony stopped in his tracks and turned back with an impatient frown.

"Mary, do you think I need to consult you and report to you first before I can go and save someone's life?

"Now is not the time to throw a tantrum. She might be in actual danger. Can you please stop targeting her?"

He blurted out as if he had just remembered something, he let out a heavy sigh.

"I will be there to accompany you for your surgery. But right now, I hope you can distinguish between what's urgent and what's not."

Tony had clearly misunderstood me.

I only called out to him to emphasize that I didn't need him at the surgery at all.

But he was in too much haste to wait for me to speak.

He just disappeared into the night.

---

My surgery time was still changed.

As Tony was an old acquaintance of my attending doctor, he had gone out of his way to put in a word.

"You really shouldn't keep picking fights with him from now on," the attending physician said with a smile.

He looked at me as if he were looking at a little girl's throwing petty tantrums.

"Dr. Frank told me everything. He said all that talk about doing the surgery alone was just because you are angry with him."

"Dr. Frank truly loves you. He's incredibly busy, yet he specifically swapped his shifts just to accompany you for a minor surgery like this."

I opened my mouth but a single word couldn't come out.

I felt an overwhelming sense of exhaustion and powerlessness.

According to my original plan, I was supposed to have the surgery today, rest and fly to the new city tomorrow.

So that I could report to the new company the day after tomorrow.

But now, all of my plans had been easily disrupted by Tony with a single sentence.

When I dialed his number to confront him, Yvonne was the one who picked up the phone.

"Tony was so exhausted. He had fallen asleep. If there's anything you need, you can just tell me."

Yvonne kept her voice down, her tone filled with feigned apology.

"Oh, by the way, weren't you supposed to have surgery today? I'm so sorry, Tony probably won't be able to accompany you anymore."

She stopped abruptly and offered a rushed, guilty explanation, "Mary, please don't misunderstand..."

I slammed the phone down.

To ensure that I misunderstand, Yvonne updated her social media feed immediately.

“It feels so good to be protected. I have the best big brother in the whole world!”

The attached photo was a hotel room.

Tony was leaning back in a chair by the window with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

There were faint, dark circles under his eyes.

He looked exactly like a man who had stayed up all night guarding the bedside.

I blocked both of them.

Then, I booked an outpatient appointment at a hospital in Sanford City.

Fortunately, it was only a minor procedure.

No hospitalization was required after the surgery.

Since I couldn't get it done at this hospital, I would simply change to another one.