All Chapters of Love Left on the Operating Table: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

The surgeon froze. The scalpel hovered awkwardly in the air.I stared at Evelyn Pritchard's retreating back until she disappeared from sight. Then, I swallowed the pain in my chest and said quietly, "Keep going."Six years together. Three years married. And somehow, none of it mattered more than a boy she had known for six months, Thomas Carter.When they wheeled me out of surgery, Dad rushed over, his face tight with worry.He asked about me first. Once he knew I was stable, the anger broke through."Evelyn always seemed so dependable. How could she walk out in the middle of your surgery because of one phone call? What could possibly matter more than staying with her husband through an operation?"I let out a humorless laugh. "Dad, Evelyn's in love with someone else. I want a divorce."The anger froze on his face.He stood there for a long moment, his eyes reddening. In the end, he only reached out and wiped the sweat from my forehead."Whatever you want to do, I'm with y

Evelyn continued, "Don't believe everything Arthur says. People get paranoid after a brush with death. For all we know, that's why you got divorced back then. Maybe you never trusted your ex, either."Dad trembled with anger.I stared at Evelyn, disappointment sinking deeper by the second.Back when I told her my mother had secretly had another child, one even older than me, Evelyn had held me around the waist and sworn she would never cheat on me.Technically, she had kept that promise. I was the only man she had ever been with.But since when did an emotional affair not count?Thomas hid behind Evelyn and sniffled softly."Professor, let's just go. Uneducated people are terrifying. I thought I was looking at my own parents for a second."At that, Evelyn's face hardened. "You'd better think this through."I ignored Thomas's little performance and waved a nurse over.Dad's head still needed treatment. There was no point wasting any more time on two people who no longer matter

I looked at Evelyn coldly and waited for her to pick up the file.Thomas panicked first and reached for it."Don't touch it!" Evelyn snapped, then picked up the file and started reading.The farther she got, the more her anger drained away. Shock took its place first, then a pale, stunned disbelief."You faked this, didn't you?" Evelyn's voice shook. "Technology is so advanced now. Photos can be altered."Then she met my half-smiling gaze and fell silent.Maybe she had finally remembered how quickly she had blamed me when Thomas claimed people were messaging him and calling him a homewrecker.Why hadn't she wondered if that might be fake, too?Under Evelyn's wavering trust, the color slowly returned to Thomas's face."Professor, Mr. Wells has never liked me. It's all fake. Please don't let him fool you."He clung to Evelyn's arm, his voice growing softer and weaker.I let out a cold laugh at the sight."I have evidence. Does he?"Evelyn, that innocent student you felt so s

Evelyn hung up, then called the second number. Then the third.The answers were all the same.Same setup. Same excuse. Same ruined families left behind.Evelyn looked at the boy she had once been so determined to protect, and nausea twisted through her stomach.For a man who had lied with every breath, she had walked out while her husband's life hung by a thread.Worse, she had pushed him even deeper into pain with her own hands."Get out."She forced the words through clenched teeth.Evelyn threw Thomas out while he cried and made a scene. After that, she got in her car and drove straight to Dad's apartment complex.She bought a pile of vitamins and supplements and stacked them outside the door until they looked like a small mountain. Then, she rang the doorbell.Dad opened the door. The moment he saw her, his face turned cold, and he moved to shut the door."What are you doing here? You're not welcome.""Wait."Evelyn blocked the door with one hand, her voice tight and p

[I felt sorry for him back then and tipped him so much money during his livestream.][How can a man be this shameless? Get a job like everyone else! Scamming people for money is disgusting.][The university was right to expel him. Someone like that has no place in grad school.]Plenty of people who thought they were doing justice took things offline, too.They found where Thomas lived and showed up every day with rotten eggs.His landlord couldn't take it anymore and kicked him out, even if it meant giving up the security deposit.After Evelyn resigned, she sold the apartment that had once been our home and transferred every cent to my account."Arthur, I lost my job. I gave you all the money, too. Everyone online is tearing me apart now. Does that make you feel better?"The Evelyn standing in front of me no longer had that bright, confident air she used to carry. The dark circles under her eyes made her look more than ten years older."You got what you deserved," I said coldl