4#04

4

The sounds of merriment in the booth subsided, giving way to hushed, inappropriate noises that intensified the jealousy burning within me.

Despite our marital status, Jill's behavior was unacceptable!

As I prepared to burst in, I bumped into a waiter carrying a wine tray.

Embarrassed, I stooped to assist him with the broken glass while he berated me, "Watch where you're going! This was the boss's special blend - the only one we had!"

"You're new here. Been lurking around. Don't tell me you're spying on the boss's wife?" he questioned.

The commotion drew out the occupants. A muscular man emerged, his neck covered in love bites, with Jill following, her appearance disheveled.

Upon seeing me, she looked startled and instinctively straightened her clothes.

"Maxwell... why are you here? I thought you were asleep," she stammered.

I glared at her and retorted, "Don't underestimate me, Jill. Did you forget I'm a physician? Did you think I wouldn't detect the sedative in my milk?"

Jill reflexively shouted, "Impossible! You're just a failed doctor stuck in a small clinic for years. What could you possibly know?"

"You've been acting strange for weeks," she added, her voice rising. "Were you planning to follow me? My god, Maxwell, you're so devious!"

She was clearly at fault but tried to twist the situation.

I laughed bitterly. "Jill, you're incredible. You're like the ungrateful serpent from the tale. I rescued you, nursed you back to health, and spent all my savings on your care. Instead of appreciation, you repay me with lies and cruelty. Have you no remorse?"

Furious, she lunged at me, grabbed my hair, and slapped me hard.

As I attempted to retaliate, the waiter pushed me down forcefully.

"Trying to fight back? You must have a death wish!" he snarled.

Shards of glass pierced my knees, blood seeping through my trousers, but the emotional pain far outweighed the physical.

Jill mocked me while hanging onto the man's arm, "Maxwell, if not for your surgical mistake, I wouldn't have been paralyzed. My parents wouldn't have abandoned me, leaving me to suffer for years. All my pain is because of you. You deserve every bit of misery, and even dismembering you wouldn't be enough! You're indebted to me!"

The man grinned smugly, looking down at me with disdain.

"Honestly, man, I've been right under your nose and you never caught on. If anyone's to blame, it's your own idiocy."

Disgusted by the pair, I spat at him.

His smirk vanished as he wiped his face and then punched me viciously.

The blow left me dazed and I collapsed. Blood trickled from cuts caused by the glass.

Jill quickly restrained the man, her expression conflicted as she approached me and checked my eyes.

"Don't kill him," she said quietly. "It would be too complicated to explain to the authorities."

She took out her phone and dialed 911. "Hello, police? We have a troublemaker here who started a fight and hurt our staff."

Her words made me feel as if I'd been plunged into icy water.