Chapter 3

Melody's face was filled with sadness as she buried herself in Granger's arms, sobbing, "Granger, I'm fine. If everyone dislikes me as a doctor so much, I might as well go and resign to the chief, boo-hoo-hoo."

Granger angrily ordered me, "Evelina, apologize to her right now. You've made Melody cry."

These two lovey-dovey couples are treating the workplace like a playground, and now they're behaving this way in front of my parents.

At this point, his favoritism towards Melody doesn't affect me anymore. My heart no longer aches.

Why should I apologize?

I went straight to the doctor's office to complain about Melody's carelessness at work, her lack of thorough examinations, and her crying in front of us patients.

As luck would have it, the hospital leadership came down for an inspection and discovered my report. They immediately sent Melody home to reflect and write a self-criticism, barring her from coming to work for a while.

Even Granger, the top dog in surgery, was called in for a talk with the hospital director.

In the evening, my husband told me he had arrived with the twins. I asked him not to bring the children over and to rest well before seeing their grandparents.

My husband replied: "okay, whatever you say, darling. But I'm passing by your hospital to buy some snacks for Blossom. Want to come out for a quick hug?" It's been days since I last saw my darling. I miss her.]

This guy lies without even bothering to come up with a cover story. The hospital is nowhere near where they live - it's not on the way at all.

But I've been missing him too. While waiting for my husband downstairs, I saw him get out of his car. Overjoyed, I rushed over and threw myself into his arms.

The fresh scent of his body wash calmed my heart. I whispered in his ear, "Honey, I've missed you too."

"I've missed you as well, darling. You must be exhausted. Sweetheart and Blossom are asleep. I need to head back or they'll probably cry if they don't see me. The nanny can't manage alone."

That brief moment of tenderness dispelled much of the day's frustrations.

I said goodbye to my husband, watching his car from the roadside until the taillights disappeared. Only then did I pick up the pancake he'd bought me, ready to eat.

Suddenly, someone appeared behind me, startling me so much I dropped the bite of pancake from my mouth.

A hand tapped my shoulder: "Who was that man just now? Why were you smiling at him?"

Granger interrogated me with a gloomy face, his tone unyielding. As he spoke, his fingers on my shoulder kept tightening.

Feeling the pain, I grabbed the wooden skewer in my hand and jabbed it hard into his arm, cursing, "Let go! You're hurting me."Granger winced in pain but didn't let go. Instead, he became more aggressive, backing me up to the flower bed until I sat down on the ceramic railing with a thud.

I tried to stand up and leave, but Granger pressed me down and demanded, "You still haven't answered my question. Who was that guy just now? What's your relationship with him?"

I found his behavior bizarre. He claimed to love Melody, yet he was oddly interested in my personal life.

Not wanting to get entangled further, I answered truthfully, "He's my husband. The one on our marriage certificate. We're legally married. I've answered you now, so can you let go?"

But my response only made Granger more agitated. He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look directly into his eyes.

"Evelina, you don't have to resort to these tactics to force me to marry you. Don't think I don't know that you deliberately brought your sick father to the hospital where I work, and intentionally let me catch you being intimate with another man when I got off work. To be honest, I'm feeling quite upset.

If you want me to marry you, just agree to one condition, and we'll go get our marriage license right away.

Go apologize to Melody and withdraw your complaint against her. Do you know that because of your complaint, she might lose her job now?"Turning and turning, it always comes back to this Melody.

Two years ago, I was indeed anxious to get married because I was already in my thirties. If I didn't get married and have children soon, it might become difficult for me to conceive.

I really wanted children and loved them, but Granger kept dragging his feet, always using the excuse that his career wasn't on track yet, asking me to wait.

But I had already waited for him for 7 years, from his residency to his job.

A sneer crossed my lips as I looked Granger up and down. He was no longer as handsome as he used to be, and had even gained a few wrinkles and dark circles under his eyes.

I said, "Granger, when did I ever beg you to marry me? If you want to get married, go find your student Melody. I'm sure she'd be more than willing to marry you."