Chapter 10

A faint smile played on my lips. I had expected as much.

After I returned to the main tent, my colleague Matthew came over, eager for gossip.

"Was that your husband? Came all this way to find you. That's some real persistence. My ex dumped me the second he heard I was going to Africa and found someone younger."

"So, how come he didn't stay with you?"

I quietly gathered my lab notes from the table and said simply, "Not husband. Ex-husband."

Matthew paused for a beat, then wisely dropped the subject.

Soon, the relentless pace of work pushed the incident to the back of my mind.

Two years later, I was invited back to New York to give a speech at the United Nations Headquarters for my contributions to global public health.

My expertise in biomedical science had deepened, becoming both broader and more nuanced. And this time, I wasn't returning alone. My boyfriend, Jasper, was with me.

We had met at the camp. During a rescue mission, a massive explosion had sent shrapnel flying. I'd been wor