Chapter 3

Everyone in the hospital room stiffened in reaction to Ivy's words.

The nurse who'd made the call had her phone in a white-knuckled grip.

The doctor shot me an awkward glance, his brows furrowed.

Then, one of the nurses let out a dry cough and bit the bullet. She said into the phone, "Ms. York, a family member needs to sign off on the surgery, so we can't proceed unless you're present."

The sound of rustling clothes rang out from the other end of the call. It was only after a long while that Ivy replied in a muffled voice, "Then… Then hold off on it for now."

A man's intentionally stifled laughter could be heard in the background.

Just as the nurse was about to say something else, Ivy hung up the call. Everyone in the room exchanged glances, at a loss for what to do.

I lay where I was with unusual calm despite the agonizing pain in my eye.

The doctor stamped his feet in anger. "What's going on? Wasn't Ms. York supposed to love her husband greatly?"

Blood flowed down my face like a crimson stream. I gritted my teeth, nearly biting off my own tongue from the pain.

"Can I sign for my own surgery?" I asked.

The doctor was momentarily taken aback, but eventually, he gritted his teeth and nodded.

I grabbed the pen a nurse handed me and crookedly signed my name—Samson Child—on the consent form.

Blood dripped onto the paper, the glaring red color seemingly mocking me for my farce of a marriage.

Thanks to my allergy to anesthetics, I was almost entirely conscious when I was wheeled into the operating room.

As soon as the scalpel dug into my eye socket, I started writhing in agony.

A nurse held me down by the shoulders and called out quietly, "Hang in there."

I would pass out only to be roused by the pain. This repeated for an hour that felt like it lasted a century.

I didn't understand how Chester could win Ivy's heart in a mere month when she and I had ten years of love between us.

How could Ivy bear to let me suffer so much?

…

I only regained consciousness on the third day after my surgery.

When I opened my eyes, I could see nothing but darkness out of my right eye. If I really focused, I could just barely make out a vague outline of the hospital room.

"Sammy, are you awake? That's wonderful. You scared me to death. I'm sorry. I should've been by your side during your surgery."

Ivy sat by my bedside, looking at me with concern. She reached out to touch my forehead.

I stared at her, my gaze landing on the diamond ring on her left ring finger. It was beautiful, but it wasn't our wedding ring.

She once swore that she would always wear our wedding ring so long as she lived and would rather die than take it off. But now, she'd taken the ring off barely a few years after her initial vow.

Vows sure could change at the drop of a hat.

I felt like my throat was stuffed with cotton.

"Do you still love me?" I asked Ivy.

She replied without hesitation, "I love you."

"Do you love me and only me?"

She swallowed and hesitated for a second. Then, she said, "Of course I love only you. Why are you suddenly asking me this?"

That one second of hesitation completely destroyed my last sliver of hope.

I smiled bitterly. "If you only love me, then what about Chester? Why have you hooked up with him?"

Her expression darkened at once. "Who's been spreading rumors in front of you? Don't fall for others' attempts to sow discord between us."

"Did you know that I installed surveillance cameras in our bedroom?" I asked casually.

Ivy shot to her feet and loomed over me, her eyes filled with anger and panic.

"When did you install the cameras? Why didn't you tell me about them? Are you suspecting me of something?" she demanded.

I said nothing, but my fingers dug deeply into my palms.

I had lied to her. There were no surveillance cameras installed at home. I'd merely been trying to feel her out, and her reaction had given her away.

She and Chester really had gotten intimate in our bedroom—the bed we'd picked out together and in which we'd fallen asleep in each other's embrace.

Now, it had been tainted by the scent of her and another man.

I felt a wave of nausea come over me.

Ivy paused, took a deep breath, and seemed to come to a decision.

She declared, "Fine. Since you're already aware, I won't keep things from you any longer. I did hook up with Chester, but only to prevent him from being eliminated by the system. You know as well as I do that he loves me very much and transmigrated into this world for my sake, so I can't just ignore his plight.

"I promise you that I'll sever ties with him once he reaches 100% affection value with me, alright?"