His usually calm voice was now panting with rage.

I simply asked him, "Are you really in such a hurry to leave because of the flying knife surgery? Was Kelly's post on Instagram really a drunken family member forcing you to play games? Or are you in such a hurry to leave just to accompany your young disciple to Disneyland?"

His breathing suddenly stopped on the other end of the line. There was silence for two seconds.

"What nonsense are you talking about? It's not happening. You're really... delusional..."

Then came Kelly's voice, "Doctor Steven, the fireworks are about to start. You finally came out to relax and I don't want your mood to be affected by my situation. When I get back, I'll personally apologize to your wife, even if I have to kneel down."

The phone was immediately disconnected. I guessed he was afraid of missing the beautiful fireworks?

I held the children's urns, tears streaming down my face. "Mom will never let them go."

I didn’t remember when I fell asleep; I only knew I cried until I was out of breath.

I woke up the next day, my eyes so swollen I couldn’t open them. I simply put on my sunglasses and went downstairs, only to see a busy figure moving around below.

Steven came out with porridge. He was stunned for a moment when he saw me, but then smiled nonchalantly.

"Are you up? I made you breakfast, have some. I know you’ll be thinking too much about what happened yesterday. I didn’t even bother to rest and flew back overnight."

I opened my mouth, about to say no, when a brisk figure in my pajamas rushed out of the bathroom. She threw herself into Steven’s arms, saying sweetly, "Doctor Steven, you look so much like a married man. I love men who look like married men."

Steven quickly pulled her off him, his tone flustered, "You’re so grown and you still act like a child."

He turned to explain, "It was raining when we landed and we got soaked. I asked Kelly to go home and change clothes, but she insisted on coming with me to apologize to you, so I took out your clothes for her to change into."

Kelly stuck out her tongue and said to me, "Mrs. Brandy, I’m here to apologize. I was really joking yesterday! If you’re worried, I’ll find someone to date this weekend and get married quickly. It won’t affect your relationship at all."

"Kelly! Don’t mess around!" Steven called out, then noticed my sarcastic smile and quickly added, "What I mean is, my wife has always been gentle and kind. She’s definitely forgiven you. There’s no need for you to randomly date men."

Then he turned to me, "Isn’t that right, Milena? Let’s just leave yesterday’s matter behind and let it go, okay?"

My child’s body was still warm and he was already flirting with his new love beneath the fireworks. And now he wanted me to let it go? Of course.

I put on a sarcastic smile, "It’s okay. I don’t mind."

Anyway, he would be leaving for Africa soon too. What their relationship was, where they went last night, or what they did—I didn’t care.

Hearing me say this, Steven seemed relieved, pushing his gold-rimmed glasses up, "I’m glad you’re sensible. I’ve postponed all the surgeries I’m currently doing and will be with you for the time being. I’ll go back to work when you’re feeling better and the children’s seventh day of mourning has passed."

I calmly replied, "Okay."

He was the child’s father; he should be by the urn, accompanying them through the seventh day of mourning.

A hint of displeasure flashed in Kelly’s eyes. With a quick roll of her eyes, she suddenly snatched the bowl of soup from Steven’s hand and walked toward me.

"Mrs. Brandy, try Doctor Steven's seafood porridge. I ate it once when Doctor Steven and I went to the beach. I said it was delicious and Doctor Steven said he wanted to learn how to make it. I just tried it and it tastes exactly the same as it did then."

Steven looked at me with a hint of panic.

He always said his hands were meant for saving lives and he never did any cooking or housework. Last month, he had started coming into the kitchen after getting off work and making a mess.

At the time, my child was seriously ill and I was exhausted. I thought he felt sorry for me and wanted to share some of my burden.

While cleaning up his mess, I held onto a bittersweet hope that he would cook for me and my child again. It turned out he was just trying to recreate Kelly’s seafood porridge.

The stench of that fishy smell I hated so much nearly made my skin break out in a rash.

I covered my mouth, stepped back and said coldly, "I'm allergic to seafood. Take it away."

Kelly’s hand suddenly trembled, spilling the scalding porridge onto her chest. She screamed and tumbled down the stairs.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Brandy. I didn’t know... Doctor Steven, it hurts so much..."

"Milena! Are you crazy?" Steven roared. "Kelly didn’t know you were allergic. How could you push her down like that?"

"I didn’t!" I retorted, suppressing my urge to gag. "You still don’t believe me? Could Kelly have spilled her porridge on her own?"

He looked at me with disgust and said, "You look like a madwoman right now."

He lifted Kelly in his arms and walked out, "I’m warning you, remove Kelly and me from the list immediately. Otherwise, I’ll never let you go!"

Of course, I ignored his threat.

The third-party management company called and said they had taken over completely. All personnel matters had been handled and the list of those assigned to the African branch hospital had been issued.

I was very pleased with their efficiency and only asked them to check the operating room surveillance footage from the day the children went into surgery.

The footage hadn’t been available a few days ago because Steven wouldn’t allow it. The HR staff sided with him and when they heard I wanted to review the footage, they all shirked their responsibilities.

Now, no one could stop me.

The management staff went to check the footage and called back a few minutes later, sounding apologetic saying, "The surveillance footage from that day has been deleted."

My hand, gripping the phone, turned pale. There was no need to guess who had deleted it. To protect his beloved apprentice, he truly would have done anything.

"But don’t worry, our technicians can attempt to restore the file."

I breathed a sigh of relief and immediately promised that if they succeeded, everyone’s bonus would be doubled.

As soon as the list was released, my phone started ringing off the hook. The doctors who once addressed me with “Mrs. Parker, thank you for training me to become a doctor,” now sent me curses.

[Milena, you can’t catch the mistress, so you take it out on us. Don’t try to use me as a scapegoat. I’m going to expose your actions to the media. I won’t give you any money and I won’t go to Africa.]

[Mrs. Parker, please have mercy on me. I’m getting married soon and have a mortgage. Don’t drag us into your affairs with Doctor Steven.]

[You old witch, just wait. Wait until Doctor Steven divorces you and my best friend takes over. Then we’ll see how you can still act tyrannically.]

I checked their resumes one by one and sent them to the management company.

"Calculate how much I’ve spent on training each person. If they don’t want to go to Africa, then according to the contract, triple the compensation."

I had been very kind. Training a doctor wasn’t easy and it wasn’t easy for them to become good doctors either.

I didn’t want to ruin them. I just wanted to take back what I deserved.

When the list was finally released and he saw that he and Kelly were still on it, Steven completely lost his patience.

When the call went through, his tone was already full of anger.

"How long are you going to keep making this a fuss? You're not going to stop until everyone's complaining and the hospital is shut down. Do you know how many surgeries are scheduled today? How can you expect these doctors on the list to work peacefully?"

"This is a hospital, a place to save lives, not a place for you to vent your anger and make trouble. Take down the notice immediately and come to the hospital to apologize to everyone! Each person will receive a year's worth of performance compensation as compensation!"

I replied calmly, "They signed the funding agreement and agreed to comply with any transfer orders from the hospital. If they receive a transfer order and can’t function normally, they’re unworthy of being doctors."

On the other end of the line, he began panting and swearing, "You're crazy! Fine, since you won't be persuaded, don't blame me for being rude. Milena, remember, you were the one who started the falling out."

After the call ended, I felt no relief. Only bitterness and sorrow.

I had tried to convince myself that it wasn’t that he didn’t love me or the children, but that he just had a cold temper. But it turned out he could also lose control of his anger. It turned out he really had never loved us. I had wasted ten years of my life with someone who didn’t love me.

I watched helplessly as he destroyed my two children.

I didn’t respond to any of the insults.

As if to provoke me further, Steven began to retaliate publicly. He openly brought Kelly to various academic conferences and dinners. They wore matching outfits and held hands during interviews.

Even at the press conference for a project I had successfully funded, he exclaimed, "Kelly has made a significant contribution to this project. Without her, this project wouldn't have been possible."

They exchanged a smile and the media captured their moment. The photo was published with the headline:

"Cardiologist Steven and his wife appear at a research conference."

"Loving couple. Extraordinary. Let’s create a wonderful story together."

He forwarded the news, saying only, "I'm very happy about the new drug release."

He didn’t mention the reporter’s misunderstanding that Kelly was his wife.

The comments were filled with praise for their perfect match and messages of congratulations.

Someone questioned. [Doctor Steven, this isn't appropriate.]

But the next second, the comment was deleted.

I calmly watched it, took a screenshot and sent it to my lawyer.

Perhaps my lack of reaction bored them.

Someone sent me a secretly filmed video. In the dressing room, Kelly’s burns were exposed and Steven was applying medication with a cotton swab.

Kelly groaned, "Doctor Steven, it hurts. Why don’t you just use your finger?"

Steven’s Adam’s apple bobbed and he threw the cotton swab away.

The video ended there.

The person who posted the video sent a laughing emoji with a hand covering his mouth.

[Mrs. Parker, don’t misunderstand. It’s just a change of medication.]

I replied calmly, [No. They’re going to Africa together anyway, so I don’t care what they do.]

On the seventh day after my children’s death, I decorated the house in an Ultraman theme. Their biggest wish had been to have an Ultraman-themed birthday party.

They had waited for a long time, but every year Steven vetoed it, "Why decoration is that important? It’ll mess up the house. Just have cake."

But he rarely even ate birthday cake with them. He always said he was busy and didn’t have time for the children.

But he was free to spend an entire day with Kelly at Disneyland.