: Heartless Beast

Cole Alden knew this perfectly well.

Usually, whenever I was bone-tired, he would wrap his arm around my shoulders and comfort me:

"Miranda, you're the hero of this family. The luckiest thing that ever happened to me was marrying you."

"Mom's illness could get serious at any moment. It's a good thing we have you."

"Don't worry, honey. I'll work hard and earn money, and I'll be a thousand times better to you in the future..."

Back then, Cole Alden's face was full of sincerity as he held my hand, his words heartfelt.

In those moments, I felt like all my sacrifices were worth it.

For all these years, Mrs. Alden hadn't had a single episode under my meticulous care.

This time, her heart condition relapsed because she suddenly stopped taking her medication. It was a completely unavoidable accident.

It was something no one wanted, predicted, or could have prevented.

I knew Cole Alden was worried as a son, but I never imagined he would say such things, much less blurt out the word "divorce."

In an instant, my heart felt like it was drowning in bitterness.

But time was of the essence. With Mrs. Alden's sudden attack, I knew this wasn't the time to argue over such things.

I could only suppress the bitterness in my heart and tell Cole Alden to give his mother her medicine before things got worse:

"Hurry—go to our bedroom. There's a bag on the third shelf of the closet."

"Do you remember it? The crocodile skin Hermès I bought for myself as a reward after I was promoted to Chief Physician."

"Mom's medicine is inside. It's a small green bottle with capsules. Quick, give her one!"

"Be careful she doesn't choke when you give her water to take it..."

I hastily explained the procedure for giving her the medicine.

But my husband, who had been so furious just a moment ago, suddenly went silent for a long moment.

When I didn't hear a response, I thought he had gone to get the medicine. But then, a cold sneer came from the other end of the line:

"Miranda Rhodes, are you serious?"

"Yes, I gave it to Roxy behind your back. You have so many bags, are you really going to miss this one?"

"Be mad at me, fine. But Mom is having an attack right now!"

"Have you no conscience? How can you be so passive-aggressive and split hairs with me over a stupid bag at a time like this?!"

"Mom treats you like her own daughter! Miranda Rhodes, you're an inhuman monster!"

With that, he furiously hung up the phone.

Listening to the sudden dial tone, I stood stunned for a long while before I understood what he meant.

Roxanne Young was Cole Alden's Old Flame from college whom he'd had a secret crush on. Unfortunately for him, she went abroad, got married, and rarely came back.

This time, she had returned to stay for the long term with her child, claiming she had stomach cancer.

Cole Alden told me he was long over her, but ever since Roxanne Young was hospitalized, he spent more time at the hospital than he did at home.

Later, Roxanne Young was moping around every day, saying she couldn't stop worrying about Toby Young, afraid he would be cold, hungry, or neglect his studies while he was home alone.

The moment she got anxious, Cole became even more concerned than she was and, unbelievably, came to me first.

At that time, the city was putting together a medical task force to tackle a difficult problem, and I was supposed to be invited as the lead specialist.

To make me quietly go to Roxanne Young's house and babysit her kid, Cole Alden used his status as my spouse to decline the invitation on my behalf.

I only found out about it when my colleagues called to express their regrets. I was so angry I went home and had a huge fight with him.

But Cole Alden was completely unfazed. Instead, he accused me of being selfish.

"You're a doctor, for crying out loud! Can't you have a little self-sacrificing spirit?"

"Roxy is in the hospital, and Toby is just a little kid at home all by himself. What if something happens?"

"You doctors are always forming teams and going on business trips, but I've never seen you solve any difficult problems! I've seen this kind of empty formality before. It's just an excuse to use public funds to eat, drink, and slack off, isn't it?"

"Miranda, you can't be this selfish! Ignoring a patient's difficulties right in front of you and just taking off to have a good time!"

His words, dripping with disdain and disrespect, made the veins on my forehead throb with anger.

I wanted to say that no medical breakthrough is achieved overnight. The medical task force trips were for exchanging information and learning new techniques, not for gallivanting on the public dime as he claimed.

I also wanted to say that Roxanne Young wasn't my patient, and doctors aren't responsible for handling their patients' personal affairs.

Besides, her condition didn't look at all like someone with terminal cancer.

But the words reached my lips, and I swallowed them all back down.

: 3

Ever since he unilaterally decided to take responsibility for Roxanne Young, it wasn't just me—even Mrs. Alden rarely saw him.

She was afraid of worrying me, so she always forced a smile and kept her troubles to herself.

But I heard Mrs. Alden's lonely sigh in the middle of the night as she gazed out the window.

I knew she missed her son.

Mrs. Alden had been both mother and father to Cole, raising him all by herself. Now, she could only watch as he drifted further and further away, leaving his aging, ailing mother far behind.

I knew perfectly well that the reason he stayed out so often was because his mind was entirely focused on Roxanne Young.

But Mrs. Alden didn't know.

She just assumed he was busy with work, so she didn't dare even mention how much she missed him, afraid of being a burden.

If I didn't agree to take care of Roxanne Young's child, Cole would undoubtedly go himself.

The medical task force was already at capacity, work at the hospital was slow, and Mrs. Alden's health was stable.

Rather than get into a stubborn argument with him, I might as well use this as a chance for him to spend more time with his mother and lift her spirits.

I looked at Cole and asked tentatively,

"Mom isn't well. If I go take care of Roxanne Young's son, who will stay home and look after her?"

Cole frowned.

"What could be wrong with Mom? She's been getting stronger and stronger. How long has it been since she's had an episode?"

"You say you're staying home to look after her, but aren't you really just using it as an excuse to be lazy?"

"Fine, I'll stay home and take care of Mom, alright? Roxy is already having a hard enough time at the hospital. Stop being so jealous and manipulative!"

His entitled tone made my blood boil.

But the thought of Mrs. Alden made me force it down.

'Whatever. I'll just do it to make her happy.'

I never could have imagined at the time that this very decision would cost Mrs. Alden her life.

After Roxanne Young was hospitalized, Cole never forgot to bring a gift every time he visited.

Everything from snacks and flowers to designer jewelry.

He said that as a cancer patient, Roxanne Young needed to stay positive, and gifts would lift her spirits.

In the name of "lifting her spirits," our bank accounts were nearly drained. I'd fought with him about it countless times.

He insisted on playing the big spender and refused to compromise, but we didn't have the money to support his extravagant spending.

This Hermès bag, the one with the medicine inside, was a gift I bought for myself three years ago when I was finally promoted to Chief Physician.

Three years later, it was still pristine. I treasured it, keeping it free of the slightest scuff.

Back then, he'd even berated me for being a spendthrift, calling me wasteful and vain.

I never thought he'd take advantage of me not being home to take my bag and regift it to her.

And all I did was tell him the medicine was in the bag. He, however, thought I was being passive-aggressive and mocking him about it.

My fists clenched at the thought of what he'd done.

But with Mrs. Alden in critical condition, I had no time to worry about material possessions.

All I wanted was to call him back immediately. I was even willing to swallow my pride and explain, as long as I could get Cole to give Mrs. Alden her medicine quickly.

But I dialed his number and waited for a long time, only to find it wouldn't connect—

Cole had actually blocked me!

I was so frantic I could barely think straight!

'What is Cole thinking?'

'Mrs. Alden is having an episode! How could he block me, her doctor?!'

I had no other choice. Remembering he'd given the bag to Roxanne Young, I had to find her number in my contacts and try calling her instead.

This time, it went through.