My Ex-Husband Is My Patient

On my last day before resigning, my ex-husband brought his fiance in for a prenatal checkup.

He helped her sit down with the devotion of a lovesick teenager.

The woman blushed and looked at me expectantly.

Doctor, is the baby healthy? she asked.

The heartbeat is strong. Her features look like her father's, I replied, my voice flat and professional.

Caleb Sterling glanced up at me briefly.

The woman clung to Caleb's arm, her voice honey-sweet.

"Honey, do you want a boy or a girl?"

Caleb wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Either is fine, as long as they're healthy."

Three years ago, I had asked him that very same question.

He had pulled me into his lap and told me he wanted a daughter.

He wanted her to look exactly like me.

I stared at the 4D scan, blinking hard to keep the tears from falling.

How ironic. It was a girl.

He finally got his wish.

But I wouldn't be around to see his daughter grow up.

I was dying.

After the two of them left, I shut down the ultrasound machine and prepared to clock out.

Suddenly, someone grabbed my wrist and yanked me back.

Caleb slammed me against the wall, his eyes burning with a terrifying coldness.

"Leila Harding, if you dare touch a single hair on Tessa's head, I'll make you pay with your life."

His grip was so tight it felt like my bone might snap.

I didn't struggle. I just looked at him.

It had been three years.

This was the first time I had been this close to him.

He no longer smelled like the cheap laundry detergent I used to buy.

He smelled like expensive, sophisticated cologne.

I forced a small, tired smile.

"Don't worry, Mr. Sterling. I know we're nothing to each other now."

"Nothing?" He let out a harsh, cold laugh.

His grip tightened even more.

"You've taken so much from me, and now you're playing the victim?"

He was talking about the children we lost.

I opened my mouth to defend myself, but a soft voice came from behind us.

"Honey?"

Caleb let go of me instantly.

The sudden loss of support sent me crashing to the floor.

My knees hit the cold tiles with a dull thud.

Tessa Vaughan walked over, looking at me with suspicion.

"Caleb, do you know Dr. Harding?"

Caleb looked down and brushed off his sleeve as if he had touched something filthy.

"I don't know her."

I dug my nails into my palms.

Once, he had fought his entire family for me.

He was a golden boy born with a silver spoon.

Because his parents refused to let him marry me, he walked away from his inheritance.

He cut ties with the Sterlings and we moved into a dingy basement.

Those years were lean, but they were the only happy moments of my short life.

The Sterlings tried to crush him to force him home.

He couldn't find a corporate job and his startup was sabotaged.

To keep us fed, he started delivering food on his bike.

I was still in medical school back then.

Every day after class, I'd wait in that damp apartment for him to come home.

He would pull me into his arms and make a solemn promise.

"Leila, I swear, I'm going to give you the life you deserve."

I didn't need a fancy life.

I just wanted to be with him forever.

But the universe is cruel, and it wouldn't even grant me that one wish.

The taste of blood rose in the back of my throat.

I swallowed it down.

The hospital dean appeared out of nowhere, bowing and scraping before Caleb.

"Mr. Sterling, is there anything you need?"

Caleb spared me a cold glance.

"Tessa is fragile during this pregnancy. She needs a personal doctor."

"Leila is qualified. I'll pay ten thousand a month for her to stay at my estate."

I opened my mouth to refuse, but the dean beat me to it.

"Of course, Mr. Sterling. Dr. Harding will be at your home tonight."

Caleb's gaze lingered on my pale face for a split second before he led Tessa away.

I looked at the dean in disbelief.

"Dean, I was supposed to leave today... my resignation..."

The dean sighed, looking at me with pity.

"Leila, Caleb Sterling is our biggest donor. If he pulls his funding, this place shuts down."

"Think about everything I've done for you. Please, just do this for the hospital."

I watched him walk away and swallowed another surge of blood.

My knees throbbed.

The wrist he had grabbed burned with a dull ache.

The pathology report had been in my pocket for three days.

Stage four.

I had maybe a month left.

I closed my eyes, hearing his words again: "I don't know her."

Maybe it's better this way.

If he thinks I'm a stranger, he won't be sad when I'm gone.

"Fine," I whispered to the empty room.

That night, I stood at the gates of the Sterling estate with my single suitcase.

Looking at the mansion, I felt a wave of dizziness.

He had fought his family for me, but he was their only heir.

They couldn't stay angry forever.

Caleb had bought this villa for me right after his first big business success.

I remember coming home from my part-time job that day.

He had covered my eyes, telling me he had a surprise.

His voice had been so warm back then.

Leila, this is our home now.

Growing up in foster care, I had spent my life longing for a place to belong.

That day felt like a dream I never wanted to wake up from.

The front door opened, pulling me back to reality.

Caleb stood there, looking thinner than I remembered.

Are you going to stand there all night, or do I need to carry you in?

I walked past him into the house.

The air smelled like a perfume I didn't recognize.

The ivy plant I had nurtured for three years was gone.

In its place stood a trendy fiddle-leaf fig.

It felt like a physical blow to my chest.

Tessa came out of the bedroom and draped herself over Caleb.

Honey, Im hungry.

Caleb looked down at her, his voice instantly softening.

Dinner is ready. Want me to carry you to the table?

She giggled and nodded.

He lifted her effortlessly and walked toward the dining room.

I stood there, frozen.

We used to live in a building with no elevator.

Hed come home from delivering food, smelling like sweat and rain.

Hed insist on carrying me up the stairs anyway.

Id tell him to put me down, but hed just laugh and say a wife belongs in her husbands arms.

Back then, we had nothing.

Yet, it felt like we had everything.

Dr. Harding?

Tessas voice snapped me out of the memory.

I walked over to the table and began serving her soup.

As I handed her the bowl, her hand suddenly darted out.

The bowl shattered on the floor.

Hot liquid splashed all over my hand.

My skin turned an angry red instantly, the pain searing through my nerves.

Ah!

Tessa screamed, throwing herself into Calebs arms.

Caleb, it hurts! Look!

She held up her hand, showing a tiny, microscopic scratch from a shard.

It hurts so much!

Calebs face went pale. He rushed to grab a first-aid kit.

He knelt before her, treating the tiny scratch as if it were a mortal wound.

Tessa looked at me with watery, accusatory eyes.

Dr. Harding, do you hate me that much? Why would you do this?

I tried to find my voice. I didn'tD

Ive always been delicate, she sobbed, cutting me off.

My blood doesnt clot well. Even a small cut could be dangerous for me.

Youve seen my charts. You knew that. What were you trying to do to me?

She had framed me perfectly.

I shook my head. It was an accident. I didn't do it.

Caleb stood up slowly.

He turned to face me.

I recognized that look in his eyes.

It was the same look he gave me three years ago.

The day he chose to believe I had intentionally ended our first pregnancy.

He didn't believe me then. He wouldn't believe me now.

Leila Harding, years haven't changed you. Youre still just as vicious.

Get on your knees. Stay there until youve reflected on what youve done.

My throat felt like it was closing up.

I wanted to explain.

But where would I even start?

He had already made up his mind about who I was.

Two security guards appeared from the shadows and forced me down.

My knees hit the floor hard, and a muffled groan escaped my lips.

Caleb hesitated for a fraction of a second.

Then, he picked Tessa up and carried her upstairs without a backward glance.

The mansion was dark and freezing at night.

Ive always been terrified of the dark.

I curled into a ball on the floor, trying to keep myself warm.

Since Caleb left me, I had learned to live with the cold.

I told myself I just had to endure it. It would be over soon.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway.

I looked up to see Caleb standing at the top of the stairs in a silk robe.

For a moment, the past and present blurred together.

You finally have the life you wanted, he said, his voice dripping with icy contempt.

Why couldn't you just be grateful for once?

I lowered my head.

How could he think I wasn't grateful?

When his startup took off and his family finally agreed to meet me, I was overjoyed.

He loved his parents, and I knew how much it hurt him to be estranged.

I never told him how his mother treated me when he wasn't looking.

Then came the child.

I had just found out I was pregnant.

I was so excited to tell him.

But that same day, he brought home a young boy.

He told me the boy was the orphan of an old friend.

Later, I found out the truth.

The boy was the son of his first loveDhis high school sweetheart.

I saw a photo of her once. We looked almost identical.

She had left him to go abroad, breaking his heart.

I realized then that I had probably just been her replacement all along.

The truth shattered me.

I wanted to scream, to ask him why.

But I was too afraid to lose the scrap of happiness I had.

I tried to care for that boy.

But one afternoon, while I was resting, the boy fell.

I don't know how it happened.

All I know is that I lost my own baby that same day.

When I woke up in the hospital, Caleb looked at me with pure loathing.

He choked me and asked how I could be so cruel to an innocent child.

Now that Im dying, theres no point in explaining.

I forced a twisted smile.

Ive always been selfish, Caleb. From the moment you brought that kid home, I hated him.

Im glad I finally got what I wanted.

The color drained from Calebs face.

He stormed over and gripped my throat.

Leila, how can you be so heartless?

He was squeezing so hard I couldn't breathe.

I didn't fight him.

In a strange way, dying by his hand felt like a mercy.

I looked into his eyes and let my lips move.

Honey... I whispered.

The word seemed to snap him out of it.

Tessa suddenly appeared behind him.

Caleb, stop! It was an accident. Just let her go.

Caleb shoved me away, and I hit the floor hard.

My forehead clipped the edge of a side table.

I felt something warm and wet trickling down my face.

He didn't look back. He just pulled Tessa close.

Dont look at her, babe. Shes disgusting.

They went upstairs together.

I crawled toward my room, my vision swimming in red.

The world went black before I could reach the bed.

In the middle of the night, my door was kicked open.

Caleb was there again, his eyes bloodshot with rage.

He hauled me up by my collar.

I underestimated you, Leila!

How dare you try to poison Tessa?

I struggled to open my eyes, my entire body feeling like it was on fire.

I... I didn't... I gasped.

I had no idea what he was talking about.

Caleb let out a bark of a laugh.

There are only three people in this house. Tessa is sick, and youre the doctor.

He dragged me out of the room by my hair.

He threw me into the car and drove like a maniac to the hospital.

He shoved me into Tessas private suite.

Apologize to her!

Tessa looked pale, but the moment she saw me, she found the strength to slap me.

The force of the blow made my ears ring.

I stumbled, catching myself against the wall to keep from collapsing.

I said apologize!

Caleb kicked the back of my knees, and I collapsed onto the floor.

I really... didn't do anything...

Before I could finish, Caleb grabbed my hair and slammed my head against the floor.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

A pool of blood began to form on the polished floor.

Calebs expression didn't soften for a second.

Shes carrying my child, and you tried to kill them. Are you really that desperate?

I couldn't speak anymore.

I tried to swallow the blood in my mouth, my body shaking uncontrollably.

Tessa let out a weak moan. Caleb... I feel sick...

He let go of me instantly to rush to her side.

Without his grip, I slumped onto the floor.

I thought the nightmare was over.

But I was wrong.

Calebs men dragged me to a warehouse behind the estate.

Four large security guards stood over me.

Dont blame us, one of them muttered. Mr. Sterling said you needed a lesson youd never forget.

They locked the doors.

Each of them held a heavy wooden bat.

The blows started falling.

I lost count after the first few hits.

At first, the pain was blinding. Then, it just became a dull numbness.

I looked down at my legs. They were a ruined mess of blood and bone.

My life began to flash before my eyes.

I remembered the dim light of our old basement apartment.

Caleb had come home with two cups of instant noodles.

He told me he got his paycheck and bought two extra sausages.

He put both of them in my cup.

Eat up, Leila. Youre too thin.

I had argued with him until we each took one, clinking our plastic forks together as if we were at a five-star gala.

His eyes had been so full of hope back then.

He talked about my graduation, about saving for a real house, about having kids.

The hitting finally stopped.

Someone kicked my side.

Is she still breathing?

Shes out cold. Lets go.

The footsteps faded away.

The heavy steel door groaned shut.

In the darkness, I twitched my fingers.

That warm, dim light from my memory started to grow brighter.

Someone knelt beside me.

It was Caleb.

But not the monster who had just tried to kill me.

It was the Caleb from three years ago, wearing his faded hoodie and smiling gently.

Leila, he whispered.

I looked at him. I looked at his outstretched hand.

Thank god.

You came to get me.

I used the last of my strength to reach out and take his hand.

It felt so warm.

Just like that winter when he ran home and rubbed his hands together until they were hot just so he could warm my face.

I closed my eyes and let go.

Caleb, lets go home.

Dont leave me behind this time.