While working with the search and rescue team to save people trapped in an earthquake, an aftershock suddenly struck.

Without hesitation, I pushed a hospital intern, Serena, out of the way. However, the force of the movement sent me to the ground, where a steel rod pierced my back, leaving me unable to move.

When the aftershock ended, my husband, Derrick, came down with the others.

Yet, instead of coming to me, he rushed to cradle Serena, who only had a few scrapes. Then he turned to glare at me.

“What are you still sitting there for? Are you dead? Serena’s hurt, and you can’t even help her up?!”

I was in so much pain I could barely speak, only able to force out a faint sound.

“Honey, I… I’ve got a steel rod in my back… Please… help me.”

Serena suddenly burst into tears in fear.

“Mr. Nelson, I was so scared. Just now, Ms. Jones pushed me forward. If I hadn’t shifted direction, that huge rock would’ve crushed me!”

Derrick, furious, shouted at me. “Gwen! You’re a doctor! What about your ethics? Your humanity?”

Tears streamed down my face as I shook my head. “I didn’t. Please, just save me. I really can’t move…”

One of the medical team members who came down with him checked my condition and looked worried.

“Director Nelson, the steel rod seems to have pierced her spine. If we don’t treat her now, there’s a risk of paraplegia!”

However, Derrick yanked him aside. “Save her? Let her walk herself! Gwen, we’re saving lives right now. If you want to act, I’ll put on a show with you when we get home!

“Serena’s injured. Since there’s only one stretcher, we’re taking her up. You can walk up on your own.”

His cold, departing back left me in utter despair.

He’d barely taken two steps before one of our coworkers, who’d just been checking my injuries, stopped him.

“Mr. Nelson, Gwen really was impaled by a steel rod! If you don’t believe me, go see for yourself!”

However, Derrick Nelson shoved him off.

“I know the people in your department are close outside of work, but now is not the time for your nonsense! If you keep helping her put on this little act, I’ll make sure you’re written up when we get back!”

My coworker stomped his foot in frustration. “I’m not lying! Just look at her lab coat. It’s soaked through with blood!”

Serena Moore spoke up weakly. “That blood’s from earlier, when we were treating another patient.”

Even one of the rescue team guys carrying a stretcher could tell something was wrong with me.

“Mr. Nelson, Dr. Moore only has a minor injury. She doesn’t need a stretcher. We should prioritize Dr. Jones.”

Still, Derrick threw a mocking jab my way, his eyes full of disgust.

“Impressive. No matter where you are, you’ve always got a way to charm men into lying for you!”

He then turned to the rescue worker and barked, “I’m ordering you to carry Serena out right now, or I’ll report you to your team leader!”

Then he said to my coworker, “As for you, you’re fired the moment we get back!”

By then, I could already feel life slipping away.

The blood inside me was draining fast, leaving my limbs cold and heavy.

With the last bit of strength I had, I lifted my gaze to the man I’d loved for ten years, and thought it ridiculous.

Back in medical school, I was the campus beauty with top grades. I’d turned down an offer from an overseas hospital just to be with him.

Later, when we were working, I even gave up a promotion so he could take it, willingly staying as his subordinate.

This man I’d sacrificed so much for was now standing there, watching me bleed out, unwilling to even spare me a glance.

Smiling, I slowly raised a hand to the bullet casing pendant around my neck.

With a small tug, the chain snapped. The casing clattered to the ground, bounced once, then rolled into a crack and vanished without a trace.

Derrick froze for a second, then gritted his teeth and snapped, “Don’t regret this later!”

That pendant was from the time we’d volunteered in a war zone together. He’d taken a bullet for me.

I hadn’t really needed him to do it, but I’d been touched all the same. I was so sure he must have loved me enough to die for me.

Now, I understood it had only ever been a stepping stone for his promotion.

My coworker and the rescue team were still trying to argue on my behalf, but I shook my head at them.

“Forget it. Do as he says.”

Then I looked calmly at Derrick. “If I make it out of here alive, let’s get a divorce.”

He gave a cold snort. “This place could collapse again any minute. If you want to keep playing your little drama, I won’t stop you. When you really get impaled by a steel rod, no one will save you!”

With that, he took everyone and left for good.

My coworker’s eyes were red as he hurried to me. “Your condition’s too serious. Only Director Nelson has the skills to minimize the damage. I’m going to beg him right now. Wait for me!”

He left, leaving me sitting alone in the wreckage. I’d never imagined my grave would end up being a pile of ruins.

My vision was starting to blur when a flash of white suddenly rushed in, followed by two of the rescue team members Derrick had chewed out earlier.

It was my intern, Mike Levine. “Gwen! Stay with me! Don’t fall asleep! I’m here to get you out!”

Then Derrick walked back in.

He let out a mocking laugh. “What’s this? Couldn’t keep your lies straight, so you called someone in to save you? Then you’ll lie in a hospital bed for a few days and fake a miraculous recovery. Is that the script you’re going with?”

Mike’s face went red with fury. He shot to his feet and punched Derrick.

Derrick reeled, ready to swing back, but the two rescue workers grabbed his arms and held him tight.

“Director Nelson, you don’t deserve to call yourself a husband! We’re saving her, no matter what. Now, get out!”

Derrick stumbled back, fuming. “Fine! I’ll go report you all for wasting time here instead of rescuing others!”

The moment he was gone, tears streamed down Mike’s face. “Gwen, how am I supposed to get you out of here alive?”

…

I pushed weakly at his arm. “Go. It’s too dangerous. Don’t risk yourselves for me. I’m probably not going to make it.”

Both rescue workers’ eyes turned red to match Mike’s.

“Dr. Jones, we’re not giving up on you!”

The determination in their voices lit a spark of hope in my chest.

“Mike, get Chad here. Do exactly what I say, and it might work. Whatever happens, don’t blame yourselves. This is just my fate.”

Chad came running in moments later.

The truth was that Derrick wasn’t the only one who could perform this procedure. He’d learned it by practicing alongside me.

Back when the hospital director wanted to promote me to director of the department, I gave the opportunity to Derrick instead, even requesting a transfer to another department to put him at ease.

Following my instructions, they did some quick prep work, then braced my body. The rescue workers tried to cut the rebar behind me with bolt cutters. However, without a proper angle, they couldn’t get any leverage.

One wrong move, and pain ripped through my lungs so hard it felt like my soul was being torn apart.

In the end, they had no choice but to bring in a hydraulic cutter. The moment it powered on, the vibrations tore through my body, making it feel as if all my organs were shattering inside me.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake again. The pain in my body spiked, and I couldn’t stop coughing up blood.

Feeling the tremors grow stronger, I cried out to them through tears, “Just… go! Don’t worry about me!”

However, no matter what I said, not a single person was willing to leave me behind.

At last, the rebar behind me was cut in time. They lifted me onto a stretcher and sprinted for the exit.

The moment we reached solid ground, the floor behind us gave way.

Everyone went pale from the close call.

Mike squeezed my hand tightly. “Gwen, you’re going to make it!”

I was drifting in and out, but Mike kept talking to me, keeping me from slipping into unconsciousness.

We finally reached the makeshift operating room in the county hospital. Just as I was about to be wheeled inside, Derrick and Serena suddenly blocked Mike’s way.

“With the operating rooms so backed up, you’re really going to waste precious medical resources on this stunt? That’s a crime, you know!” Derrick snapped.

Mike’s eyes were bloodshot as he shouted back, “Can’t you see she’s actually hurt? How can you call yourself a doctor?”

Serena muttered under her breath, “Well, Ms. Jones has been a doctor for years, too. She knows how to fake it so it looks real.”

One of the rescue workers who’d brought me in stomped his foot in anger.

“Director Nelson! Looks to me like the woman dying in front of you is your wife. Why won’t you believe your own wife, yet you’ll take the word of a girl you barely know?”

…

Derrick just gave a cold, mocking laugh. “This has nothing to do with Serena. I know she’s faking because those doctors in front of you could never have gotten her out alive. They don’t specialize in that kind of procedure. There’s no way they’d know how to keep a patient’s vitals stable in this situation!”

Mike clenched his fists. “That’s because Gwen was the best in the field, and she switched departments for you! I came to this hospital just to learn from her. She was famous for her skill in neurosurgery. But when I arrived, I found out she’d given up her career for you.

“Now, standing here and seeing her at death’s door, can you live with yourself after everything she’s sacrificed for you?”

Then he turned to Serena. “And you, Serena! I heard she put herself in danger to save you. Could you drop the fake innocence for once? Do you think someone’s life is a game?”

At that, Serena clung to Derrick’s arm, bursting into tears.

“Mr. Nelson, they’re framing me! I really almost died back there. Sure, I usually ask you for help more often, and Ms. Jones has always been cold to me because of it.

“She wanted to kill me, so there’s no way she’d really let herself get hurt. Isn’t that right, Mr. Nelson?”

Seeing Serena cry, Derrick’s anger flared hotter. He jabbed a finger at me and shouted, “Not only are you petty and manipulative, but now you’re egging others on to attack Serena verbally!

“Apologize!”

I forced a bitter smile and asked, “You keep saying I’m manipulative, but I really don’t understand. Back when you were chasing me, you said I was the purest and kindest girl in the world. How is it that now I’ve become petty and small-minded?”