Semua Bab Husband’s Childhood Sweetheart Humiliated Me, He Begged Me Back: Bab 1 - Bab 10

Scarlett had Sophie cradled in one arm, a glass of whiskey in the other, tilting the rim toward the baby's tiny mouth."Come on, sweetie! Have a taste of the good stuff!""Gotta start 'em young!"Garrett's buddies were cheering and hollering around them, egging her on.The amber liquid sloshed over the rim and dripped into my daughter's crying mouth. The burn hit instantly -- Sophie's wail turned into a terrified, ragged shriek, her little limbs thrashing inside the swaddle.Scarlett just laughed, clamping the baby tighter with her arm as her wrist tipped the glass further down."What are you doing?!"I slapped her hand away with everything I had.The glass flew from her grip and shattered on the floor.I snatched Sophie into my arms. She was choking and gagging against my chest."Shh, baby, Mommy's here..."I patted her back gently. My fingers came away damp and cold -- Scarlett had squeezed her so hard the diaper had burst.Garrett walked in right behind me, just in time to see me wr

When Ethan saw me standing in his office doorway, blood dripping from my hand, his face went white.When he got a closer look at the wound -- deep enough to show bone -- his expression turned grim.The needle pulled through torn flesh. He cleaned and stitched in silence. Only after my hand was carefully wrapped in gauze did he speak, anger simmering beneath every word."This cut is deep. Do you have any idea -- your hands are everything! You're a surgeon!""Where's Garrett? How could he let you come here alone?"Before I could answer, a commotion erupted in the hallway."Doctor! Doctor! Emergency -- hurry!"Garrett burst through the doors carrying Scarlett, barking at other patients to get out of his way. He set her down on a gurney with exaggerated care.Scarlett punched him lightly in the chest, playing it up."Relax, Garrett. Remember that bar fight we got into? Way worse than this. I'm fine -- just... if I end up with a scar, you better not ditch me."Garrett caught her fist agains

Garrett went still.Confusion first, then recognition -- his face darkened by slow, sickening degrees."You were at the hospital too?"His throat was dry. "What were you doing there?"Scarlett shot off the couch, jabbing her finger at me, her voice shrill."It was you! You and that Dr. Aldridge -- you two ganged up on me!""No wonder I went to the ER for a scratch and got chewed out in front of everyone -- and then they called the cops on us!"That was how I learned what Ethan had done that afternoon. It wasn't just a quiet word in someone's ear.He'd dressed down Garrett and Scarlett in front of every doctor, nurse, and patient in the building -- loudly, publicly, mercilessly. Wasting medical resources. Disrupting hospital operations. Then he'd called the police.In the end, Garrett had to grovel and swear it would never happen again just to avoid being detained."Ethan Aldridge..." Garrett chewed on the name, his expression black as a storm cloud."Your old classmate? The one from yo

With Mrs. Bennet handling things at home, I threw myself back into work.Ethan’s father old Dr. Aldridge adjusted my schedule and surgical roster personally, giving me flexible hours so I could take care of Sophie.I buried myself at the operating table, using my skills to give people a second chance -- patients scarred by birth defects, accidents, trauma. I rebuilt what life had broken.Thank-you letters and commendations came pouring in. In the industry, people started calling me "The Scalpel" -- the surgeon who got it right the first time, every time.It felt good to be useful again.Then one afternoon, shouting erupted from old Dr. Aldridge's office.Through the walls I caught fragments -- "affair," "compensation," "partnership" -- before Ethan stormed out, his face like stone, and slammed the door behind him.He told me what had happened. Donald and Patricia had marched into old Dr. Aldridge's office, pounding the desk, declaring that I was a tramp who'd run out on her family and

On the livestream, Donald and Patricia were propping up a weeping Scarlett, holding up the body of an infant for the camera.Donald jabbed his finger at the screen, bellowing."Plastic surgeon Vivian Hale -- during what was supposed to be a routine cosmetic procedure -- she sewed my daughter-in-law’s virgina shut on purpose.""My grandson... my grandson never even took a breath. What kind of monster does that?"Patricia, still wearing a back brace, collapsed to the floor, rocking back and forth, wailing."My grandson! My poor, poor grandson... killed before he ever drew breath!"Scarlett played her part to perfection -- trembling, tears streaming, the picture of devastated fragility."Dr. Hale... Garrett and I grew up together. You took him from me -- fine, I made my peace with that. But why did you have to go after my baby?""If you hate me, come after me. The baby was innocent..."She wept beautifully, a woman transformed from the crass bully she'd always been.The comments section w