The emergency room doors closed behind me.
The noise outside faded, replaced by sharp voices and fast footsteps. Monitors beeped. Nurses moved around with speed.
"Female, forty five years old. Sudden chest pain,blood pressure unstable."
I put on my gloves.
"Prepare for ECG. Oxygen first."
My voice was calm. Steady.
This was the world I belonged to.
Ten minutes later, the patient's condition stabilized. The danger passed for now.
"Good work, Doctor Carter," the nurse said with relief.
I nodded and stepped back.
Only then did I realize my back was damp with sweat.
I walked out of the emergency room and removed my gloves.
The corridor was quieter now.
And then I saw him again.
Adrian Blake was still standing there.
He had not moved.
His eyes followed me as if I was the only thing in the hallway.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
The distance between us was less than two meters.
Yet it felt farther than ever.
"You work here," he said finally.
"Yes."
His voice sounded hoarse.
"When did this happen"
I looked at him calmly.
"That is not something I need to explain to my ex husband."
The word ex husband hit him hard.
"I did not know," he said. "You never told me."
I almost laughed.
"I did not know I needed permission to exist," I replied.
A nurse passed by and looked at us curiously.
I took a step back.
"If you have no medical business here, please leave," I said. "This is a hospital."
He looked at me for a long time.
Then he asked, "Who was the patient"
"A stranger," I answered. "Like us now."
His face stiffened.
Before he could say anything else, Sophia's voice sounded from behind him.
"Adrian"
She walked toward us, her face pale, her hand pressed against her chest.
"I am feeling dizzy again," she said softly.
His attention immediately shifted to her.
"Sit down," he said, supporting her arm.
He turned to me.
"Check her," he said. "Now."
I looked at his hand on her arm.
At the protectiveness in his eyes.
It was the look he never gave me.
"I am not her attending doctor," I said calmly. "Please register at the front desk."
Sophia looked at me then.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"You are"
She stopped mid sentence.
Recognition flashed across her face.
"So it is you," she said softly. "Adrian's wife."
"Ex wife," I corrected.
Sophia bit her lip.
"I am sorry," she said. "I did not mean to cause trouble."
I smiled faintly.
"You did not."
Another doctor walked over.
"Doctor Carter, Director Lin asked for you."
"I will be there."
I turned and walked away without looking back.
Behind me, Adrian watched my back disappear again.
The same way it had disappeared outside the civil office.
But this time, the feeling in his chest was stronger.
Sharper.
Almost painful.
That night, Adrian did not sleep well.
The image of me in a white coat kept appearing in his mind.
Confident,cold and untouchable.
He remembered how I used to wait for him at home.
How I lowered my head when he spoke.
How my voice was always gentle.
But the woman he saw today did not look at him with love.
She did not look at him at all.
He sat up in bed and rubbed his forehead.
"This is just temporary," he said to himself. "She is acting strong."
That had to be it.
She had always been good at pretending.
The next day, the news spread quietly through the upper circle of the city.
Doctor Yvonne Carter had returned.
Not just returned.
She was now the head of the emergency department at Bright Star Private Hospital.
People were surprised.
Some remembered her.
Some did not.
But one thing was certain.
She was no longer just someone's wife.
At the hospital, my days became busy.
Meetings,surgeries,emergency calls.
I barely had time to breathe.
And I liked it.
For the first time in years, I felt alive.
During lunch break, Auntie Lin sat across from me.
"You saw Adrian yesterday," she said casually.
"Yes."
"And?"
"And nothing," I replied.
She studied me.
"You sound calm."
"I am calm."
She smiled.
"Good. That means you are truly over him."
I did not answer.
Was I truly over him
I did not know.
But I knew one thing.
I would never go back.
That afternoon, a luxury car stopped outside the hospital.
Adrian stepped out.
This time, he came alone.
He walked straight to the emergency department.
The nurse stopped him.
"Sir, you need an appointment?"
"I am here to see Doctor Carter."
The nurse hesitated.
"She is in surgery."
"I will wait."
He sat down on the bench.
One hour passed.
Then two.
People came and went.
Finally, the surgery room door opened.
I walked out, removing my mask.
My eyes met his again.
"You are here again," I said.
"Yes."
"For Sophia?"
"No."
That surprised me.
"Then why?"
"I came to see you."
I looked at him quietly.
"Is that necessary"
"Yes."
I walked to the sink and washed my hands.
When I turned back, he was standing closer.
"Yvonne," he said. "Why did you never tell me you were a doctor?"
I dried my hands slowly.
"Why did you never ask"
He frowned.
"You never talked about it."
"You never listened," I replied.
Silence fell between us.
"I thought you were just a housewife," he said honestly. "I thought you needed me."
I looked at him and smiled.
"That was your biggest mistake."
His chest tightened.
"I gave up my career for that marriage," I continued. "Not because you asked, Because I chose to."
He opened his mouth, then closed it again.
"I regret it," he said suddenly.
The word regret made my heart skip.
But my face remained calm.
"You regret divorcing me?" I asked.
He hesitated.
"I regret not knowing you," he said.
I laughed softly.
"That is even worse."
He stepped closer.
"Can we talk somewhere else"
"There is nothing to talk about."
"Yvonne"
"Doctor Carter," I corrected.
He stiffened.
I turned to leave.
He reached out and grabbed my wrist.
The touch sent a shock through both of us.
I froze.
He froze too.
Slowly, I pulled my hand back.
"Do not touch me," I said quietly.
The warning in my voice was clear.
People around us started to look.
He lowered his hand.
"I am sorry," he said.
I nodded once.
"Goodbye, Mr Blake."
That night, Adrian stood alone on the balcony of the villa.
The city lights shone brightly.
But the house behind him was dark,quiet and filled with loneliness.
For the first time, he poured himself a cup of soup.
Instant soup.
He took one sip and frowned.
It tasted nothing like mine.
He suddenly realized something.
I did not just leave the marriage.
I took warmth with me.
At the hospital, I finished my shift late.
As I walked out, my phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
I answered.
"Hello"
"Doctor Carter," a male voice said. "This is James Moore from Zenith Medical Group. We would like to invite you to join our international medical project."
I stopped walking.
Zenith Medical Group was the top medical group in the country.
"You want me?" I asked with surprised
"Yes," he replied. "We have been observing you for a long time."
My heart beat faster.
"When would you like to meet"
"Tomorrow, if possible."
I looked up at the night sky.
"Tomorrow is fine."
I hung up the phone.
I did not know it yet.
But this call was about to change everything.
And when Adrian found out where I was going next, he would finally understand.
Divorcing me was not the end of his problem.
It was the beginning.