In the eighth year of Gerry Hudson was entrusted to taking care of me, after a night of drunken passion, we conceived a child. I thought it was a gift from the heavens.

But he rushed into the obstetrics and gynecology department, holding a woman with signs of miscarriage, pleading with me to save their child. I hid my ultrasound results and did everything I could to save the baby he called his first. But in the end, we couldn’t save it.

Larissa Jones sobbed in Gerry’s arms, delicate like a rain-drenched flower, "Gerry, that medicine felt wrong. Not long after taking it, I started having abdominal pain and bleeding!"

Gerry’s sharp gaze fell on me, "Is this what you call doing your best? I’ll report this to your supervisor!"

I didn’t have a defense against the false accusations. So I was blamed for the loss of his first child and as he wished, I disappeared from his world.

——

The director was shocked when Gerry complained about me misusing the medication, “Selena would never make such a careless mistake. Could there be some misunderstanding?”

After knowing him for eight years, even with the pain of losing a child, Gerry trusted neither the director nor me. All because Larissa insisted that after taking the first pill I gave her, she felt something was wrong. But I clearly remembered when I checked on her, she said the pain had eased.

When I confronted Larissa about her lies, Gerry frowned and shielded her behind him, looking at me with disappointment, “Selena, you gave the wrong medicine and still have the nerve to blame others? Luckily, it was my child that paid the price for your negligence this time. If you don’t reflect on your mistakes, it’s only a matter of time before someone else dies!"

I never imagined that my first medical malpractice incident would involve Gerry. He didn’t even bother to verify the facts, convinced it was my fault.

But when Larissa was admitted to the hospital, I had clearly stated that I could only do my best.

I didn’t tell him that the likelihood of saving the baby was slim. He knew exactly why there were signs of miscarriage.

I swallowed my pain and told him that pregnant women should be cautious during the first three months. He blushed with embarrassment and couldn’t meet my gaze, only begging me to help him. Now, with fury in his eyes, he was adamant that the hospital punish me, determined that I learned a lesson.

The incident reached the hospital director, who, after a thorough investigation, found no fault in my treatment.

Larissa then tugged at Gerry and said, "After all, you two are teacher and student. It doesn’t look good for things to escalate like this. Besides, the baby is already gone… Maybe it's just fate that I wasn’t meant to have this chid.”

Her so-called plea for leniency only poured fuel on the fire, making Gerry even more furious.

"Selena, you’ve let me down! You disappoint me so much"

He forced me to apologize to Larissa and insisted that the remaining medication be sent for testing. By all accounts, since the incident happened under my watch, I should apologize. But the video of me bowing and apologizing went viral online.

Suddenly, both the hospital and I were caught in a storm of public criticism. The results of the medication test weren’t ready yet, but on my way home from a late shift, I was ambushed and beaten.

"Quack doctor! No wonder my wife miscarried twice, you must have been behind it!"

Fists and kicks landed relentlessly on my body, especially my abdomen, leaving me in so much pain I couldn’t even cry out. After the man’s rage subsided and he left, I picked up my broken phone, only to find that only the '1' key still worked.

I called repeatedly, but Gerry didn’t answer.

A kind passerby heard my plea for help and took me to the hospital.

“With this amount of bleeding, it’s likely the baby won’t survive. Let’s admit you for observation first.” Doctor Swift from the same department gave me a look full of curiosity.

Pale-faced, I rejected her suggestion, “No need to save it. Just proceed with the surgery.”

From the moment Gerry asked me to save Larissa’s baby, I knew my own child wasn’t meant to exist.

My parents had moved abroad for their business and Gerry, who lived next door, had been asked to look after me, a left-behind child. In my senior year of high school, he gave me free tutoring sessions.

So technically, we were teacher and student. But it was this teacher-student relationship that made me bury my feelings for him deep inside for many years.

Until that night, when we were drunk…

At the height of passion, he called me "Larissa." I thought it was just a slip of the tongue in his excitement. But in truth, he mistook me for Larissa. Just like the woman in the photo on his phone’s screensaver—running with twin ponytails in a pure white dress—was Larissa, not me.

I had foolishly believed for years that it was me.

Even more ridiculous, I used that drunken night to confess my love to him. Since it was all a misunderstanding, I decided to suppress my feelings and help save the child of the woman he truly loved. What I got in return were false accusations, a beating that landed me in the hospital and surgery.

Doctor Swift asked me to find a family member to sign the consent form. She was curious to see who my secret boyfriend was. I smiled bitterly and signed it myself. After getting off the operating table, the results from the laboratory department had already come out.

After hanging up the phone with the lab, I felt like I had plunged into an icy abyss. There were abortion pills mixed into the medication bag I gave to Larissa. Ignoring Doctor Swift’s attempts to stop me, I hobbled my way to the lab.

“How could there be abortion pills? Are you sure there's no mistake?”

The lab technician pressed her lips together, her gaze toward me now full of suspicion. “We triple-checked it. There’s no mistake.”

Cold sweat dripped down my back—how could this have happened? The director had investigated everyone involved. When the medication left the pharmacy, it matched exactly what I had prescribed to protect the pregnancy. How could it have turned into abortion pills by the time it reached Larissa?

While I was in a daze, Gerry suddenly appeared, yelling at me, “This is the medication you prescribed to protect her pregnancy? Selena, I’ve always treated you well. Why would you kill my child?”

Doctor Swift, who had followed me, looked back and forth between Gerry and me, her eyes full of confusion.

But I couldn't care less about her confusion—I urgently tried to explain to Gerry, “It’s not possible, I didn’t prescribe the wrong medication…”

My pale face only confirmed Gerry’s belief that I had swapped the medication to harm Larissa.

Suddenly, I remembered the day I found out I was pregnant. Uncertain of Gerry’s reaction, I had secretly bought abortion pills for myself. When Gerry rushed into my department with Larissa in his arms, I hastily shoved the pills into my pocket.

Later, when Larissa miscarried, I was too overwhelmed to remember the pills. I should never have gone to retrieve the medication for Larissa myself. By touching it, I left room for suspicion to fall on me.

Realizing this, I rushed back to my office. The abortion pills I had bought were now gone from the pocket of my lab coat. It was as if I had been struck by lightning.

“What’s going on? I clearly had the pills…”

Gerry followed closely behind, his face cold as he interrogated me, “Clearly what? You bought abortion pills and switched them with Larissa’s, didn’t you?”

His tone was filled with certainty.

The other staff members on duty were now looking at me with changed expressions.

I opened my mouth to explain, but Gerry’s eyes, burning with resentment, rendered me speechless.

“I trusted you so much and this is how you repay me? If you didn’t want to help Larissa keep the baby, you could’ve just refused to help me! Why bother pretending to agree, only to play dirty tricks behind my back?”

I never knew that love for someone could turn into a dagger aimed straight at your heart. And Gerry was the one holding the dagger. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I stubbornly stared at him, refusing to let them fall.

“In your eyes, am I really someone who would disregard a human life and abandon my medical ethics?”

After eight years of being by his side day and night, this was how little he trusted me. Faced with my question, Gerry merely glared at me in anger, saying nothing.

I couldn’t accept it. I continued to ask, “If I told you those pills were for me, would you believe me?”

His gaze grew even more disgusted and a scoffing sound escaped his throat. “You don’t even have a boyfriend. Who would believe it if you said so?”

Doctor Swift furrowed her brows, about to speak on my behalf, but I grabbed her arm.

Gerry was right. I didn’t even have a boyfriend, yet I was pregnant. If this news got out, it would be another bombshell. Given Gerry’s sense of responsibility, he would certainly want to know who the father was.

How could I answer that? Should I tell him the child was his? That would only give him more reason to believe I had a motive to harm Larissa’s baby.

When someone wants to accuse you, they’ll always find an excuse. I suddenly lost the desire to explain myself. Those who trust me wouldn’t need my explanation. Those who don’t, won’t believe me no matter what I say.

In Gerry’s eyes, my guilt was sealed the moment he began to doubt me.

“Believe whatever you want.”

The moment those words left my mouth, I felt completely drained. If Doctor Swift had not been holding me up, I would have collapsed on the spot.

Cold sweat trickled down my forehead, but Gerry took it as a sign of my guilt, now that the truth had supposedly been exposed. Our eyes met, but he still remained silent. His gaze, however, was like a blade, cutting me apart piece by piece.

I refused to show weakness, lifting my chin defiantly, even as his fists clenched and unclenched before he finally sneered, "Selena, your love for me disgusts me."

So, he had known all along. He knew I loved him. Yet he had deliberately carried Larissa into my clinic. His reasons were clear now. My pale face drained of any remaining color after that biting remark.

Doctor Swift, who had been holding my arm, tightened her grip unconsciously. “Gerry, Selena isn’t lying to you. She really…”

Before she could finish, Gerry had already turned and stormed off, leaving the rest of her words to dissolve into the disinfectant-scented air of the hospital hallway.

Doctor Swift, with her eyes red, asked me quietly, “Selena, that baby…?”

I forced a weak smile, watching Gerry’s retreating figure as I replied softly, “It’s just an unwanted child.”

Doctor Swift was wise enough not to press further.

I spent the night at my office, barely holding myself together.

***

At eight in the morning, a colleague came by to tell me that the hospital director wanted to see me.

On my way to the office, people pointed and whispered as I passed. I knew the video had gone viral by now.

“How could a doctor do something like that?”

“Who knows? Maybe she can’t have kids of her own and is jealous of pregnant women!”

“Ugh, people like her deserve to never have children!”

It would be a lie to say their words didn’t hurt. But I kept my face expressionless as I walked into the director’s office. Gerry and Larissa were already there, waiting for me. The half-closed door did nothing to block out the gossip. Gerry could hear every word clearly.

I remembered when people used to gossip about me, calling me a wild child left behind by my parents. Back then, Gerry would confront those busybodies, his eyes red with anger as he defended me. Now, he just stood there, watching coldly as others ridiculed and cursed me.

The director cleared his throat, gesturing for me to close the door. But those hurtful words still echoed in my ears, cutting deep into my heart.

“Selena, this incident has caused quite a stir. You should apologize to the patient first.”

Gerry held Larissa gently, his eyes full of concern for her. Larissa, with her swollen eyes, glanced at me with a fleeting look of smugness and provocation.

After a sleepless night, I had reviewed all the possibilities. I was now certain—Larissa had stolen my pills and placed them in her own medication bag.

“I did nothing wrong. Why should I apologize?”

As a doctor, I had already apologized for not being able to save her baby. But I would not apologize for something I didn’t do.

The director, clearly surprised by my stubbornness, sighed heavily and bowed to Gerry and Larissa on my behalf.

Seeing the elderly director, with his graying hair, bow for my sake made my eyes sting with unshed tears.

I turned to glare at Gerry. He responded with a faint, mocking smile. It was strange how that smile, so at odds with the cultured, refined man I once knew, didn’t seem out of place at all now.

“Director, I’m here on behalf of Selena’s parents. As her guardian, I believe she should be punished for this grave mistake.”

With what they called “irrefutable evidence,” even the director couldn’t protect me. I was suspended from my work and duties then forced to apologize to Larissa once again.

She stepped back hypocritically and feigned modesty. “Selena, I hope you can find your way back from your mistakes,” she said, her smile full of hidden meaning.