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My epilepsy was hereditary, running in the family.
Sally, the woman my husband Madison has always admired, happens to specialize in epilepsy research.
Recently, her team developed what they called a breakthrough drug, and they wanted me as their test subject.
“Not,” I said firmly.
To help his beloved Sally achieve her goals, Madison secretly replaced my medication with their experimental drug.
The switch triggered severe complications, including brain edema, landing me in the ER.
Despite being a neurosurgeon, Madison refused to operate on me.
“Honey,” I struggled to speak through excruciating pain and dizziness, “you won’t do my
surgery?”
Madison just stared at me blankly. “Sally should handle this operation. She needs one more
case study to complete her research paper.”
After nine years of marriage, many saw us as the perfect couple.
But in Madison’s eyes, I was just a stepping stone.
My only purpose was to help him advance his beloved goddess Sally’s career.
Madison not only switched my medication, endangering my life but also insisted on letting
Sally, who barely had any clinical experience, perform the life–or–death surgery.
Was he insane, or had the whole world gone mad?
Tears rolled silently into my hair.
The crushing weight of death loomed over me.
Thankfully, after pressure from other hospital administrators, Madison agreed to the surgery
with one condition. I had to be under general anesthesia.
In the operating room, Madison looked down at me under the surgical light, his once–loving gaze now filled with contempt.
As the anesthesia took effect, I hazily watched a graceful figure replace Madison at the
operating table. At the same time, he gazed at her adoringly throughout the procedure.
At that moment, I could barely breathe.
Sally leaned close to my ear, her voice dripping with smugness. “Don’t worry, Bella. While I
may not have Madison’s clinical experience, my theoretical knowledge is quite extensive.”
- me.
Just before losing consciousness, I heard Madison’s voice, filled with devotion and worship.
“Don’t sell yourself short, Sally. You’re the most exceptional talent in the entire medical field.”
The next moment, darkness engulfed me.
Time seemed to stretch endlessly as hushed whispers and urgent voices filled the air around
Someone pried open my eyelids to check my pupils.
08 21 Thu, 13 Feb
“Dr. Harris, Dr. Brown’s incision was completely off! If you don’t take over as lead surgeon, we’ll have to report to the hospital board about you letting him operate without authorization!”
Before Madison could respond, a shrill cry pierced the air.
“Oh no! The patient’s vitals are crashing! Dr. Harris, that’s your wife on the table! Are you going
to stand there and watch her die?”
As expected, Madison remained unmoved.
He locked eyes with a pale–faced Sally, his voice steady. “Don’t worry, Sally. I’ll guide you
through this. You can do it!”
He stood rooted to the spot, only giving verbal instructions to Sally.
With the situation critical, the other medical staff had no choice but to stop arguing and
focus entirely on saving my life.
When I finally regained consciousness in the ICU, I overheard the nurses gossiping about how
the surgery had lasted nine grueling hours.
No wonder I came so late.
But barely two hours after waking up from the botched operation, I suffered another brain
hemorrhage.
The monitors screamed their warning as chaotic footsteps rushed toward my room.
“Where’s Madison? The patient isn’t out of danger yet. Where the hell did he go?”
“Didn’t they just say the surgery was successful? How did the patient end up with a brain hemorrhage? What kind of botched operation was this?”
Thanks to my frequent hospital stay over the years, I recognized the furious voice of Donald
Rowe, the hospital director.
The resident doctor beside him was pacing anxiously, his voice cracking.
“Right after surgery, Dr. Harris left with Dr. Brown, saying she needed to record some urgent
data…”
“Sally? What’s Sally got to do with this?” Donald’s anger intensified.
The resident trembled. “Dr. Harris said the surgery data was crucial for Dr. Brown’s research,
so he let her…”
“What?!” Donald was thunderstruck.
But my condition was too critical now for anyone to dwell on these details.
Everything was getting hazy.
Two hours later, I was wheeled back into the operating room.
This time, the operating table’s voice was familiar and strange.
Yet, somehow, it filled me with an unprecedented sense of calm.
He said softly, “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”
Soon, I slipped back into unconsciousness under anesthesia, but this time with less fear‘
before.
I
When I came, they wheeled me out of the operating room.
That figure was nowhere to be seen.
08:21 Thu, 13 Feb
That figure was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, I was greeted by Madison’s irritated face.
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“You kept blowing up my phone like crazy. I thought you were dying and needed me to sign your death certificate!”
His voice boomed so loud it made my ears ring.
People in the hallway stopped, and the nurse pushing my bed spoke angrily, “Dr. Harris, of course we had to contact the surgeon when complications arose, but you wouldn’t even pick up your phone! Ms. Wills nearly died from a brain hemorrhage, and you have the nerve to say something like that? She’s your wife!”
Madison shot the nurse a contemptuous look.
“What would a nurse know about any of this? Ever heard of the boy who cried wolf? That’s exactly what she’s like,” he rolled his eyes and said. “Heaven must be blind to let you survive this
one!”
With those cold words, Madison walked away without looking back.
The nurse cursed under her breath, but it was pointless.
During those grueling days in the ICU, Madison never showed up once.
The only familiar faces I saw were the dedicated nurses caring for me. Word had it that someone had specifically requested them to look after me.
At first, I foolishly thought Madison was behind it.
“Dr. Harris took leave the day you were admitted to ICU. Said Dr. Brown’s research project was taking a toll, and they needed a getaway. Haven’t seen him at the hospital since.”
A doctor skipping work for weeks, all to accompany another woman! What a doctor!
The young nurse fell silent when she saw my expression darken.
In the ICU, only my breathing and the hum of machines filled the air as I stared blankly at the ceiling, feeling like the biggest fool alive.
Back when my parents divorced, they treated me like a hot potato, tossing me back and forth, providing just enough money to keep me alive but nothing more.
Then I met Madison, fell in love, and got married.
I believed he’d be by my side during our wedding vows for the rest of my life.
But life had other plans…
Tears streamed down my face, one after another.
And now, I didn’t even have the strength to wipe them away.
After spending two weeks in the ICU, my condition finally stabilized enough to move to a
regular ward.
The reality of my situation hit me like a truck when the nurse wheeled me down to handle the
payment.
That was when I truly understood what it meant to be wholly cornered.
Despite Madison’s hefty salary as a neurosurgeon, we’d kept our finances separate since
marriage.
cato bo a duti
wife
08:21 Thu, 13 Feb
I’d deliberately taken a lower–paying job near his parents‘ place to be a dutiful wife.
Over the years, I’d barely managed to save anything.
Madison hadn’t given me a dime. I hadn’t even seen his bank cards.
The wheelchair came to a stop by the billing window.
I kept calling Madison repeatedly, but my calls were either rejected or met with silence.
When someone finally picked up, Sally’s voice was on the other end.
“Hey Bella, Madison’s in the shower right now. If it’s urgent, try calling back later.”
The fact that she could answer his phone while he was showering spoke volumes about their
relationship.
Thank God I hadn’t lost my mind and handed over all my assets to Madison.
I still had one card with one hundred twenty thousand dollars, savings from the child support
my parents had paid since their divorce until I turned eighteen.
Returning to the hospital room, I retrieved the card and handed it to the cashier.
Within moments, she awkwardly pushed the card back across the counter.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but this card’s declined. There’s no money in the account…”
My heart stopped. “Impossible! Please check again,” I pleaded. “All my savings are in there.
I’ve never touched that money!”
She shook her head apologetically. “I’m sorry, but the account is empty.”
The room started spinning.
Then, a voice cut through the chaos.
“Use mine.”
twhirled around.
Standing there was Charles Smith, my childhood friend who’d drifted away after my parents‘
divorce.
He slid his card across the counter without looking at me, his face a mask of indifference.
After paying, Charles walked away without a backward glance.
Back in the hospital room, I called the bank to trace my missing funds.
“Hello, Ms. Wills. According to our records, the entire balance was transferred two months
ago to a Ms. Sally Brown. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
My heart sank deeper.
“No, thank you…” I whispered.
After hanging up, my heart clenched painfully, making breathing hard.
Then I saw Sally’s latest post: [Thanks, Madison! It is the most thoughtful and favorite gift I’ve ever received.]
It was posted with a photo of a handbag.
I checked the price, and it was precisely one hundred twenty thousand dollars.
I couldn’t even afford my hospital bills and surgery fees.
Yet Madison used my life–saving money to buy his goddess the latest Hermès.
In my anger, I hit like on Sally’s post.
D
08:21 Thu, 13 Feb
Within seconds, Madison called me, fuming.
“Bella! Sally bought that bag with her own bonus! Why don’t you earn your own awards instead of being so passive–aggressive!”
Meanwhile, Sally played peacemaker with fake concern.
“Don’t be mad, Madison. I’m sure Bella didn’t mean it that way. You know she’s always struggled financially, so it’s natural for her to feel envious. As her husband, you should be more
understanding, right?”
Her words seemed conciliatory, but the implication was crystal clear.
Once Sally spoke up, Madison completely forgot about scolding me, and their voices drew
closer, making nauseating sounds.
Knowing the call was still connected, Sally feigned innocence.
“Don’t get the wrong idea, Bella. Madison and I were just joking around.”
I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm.
Madison’s voice drew closer. “Sally, ignore her. She’s always making a scene. You…”
“Madison.” I cut him off, fighting back tears. “You said Sally bought that bag with her bonus. So
how come it costs exactly one hundred and twenty thousand dollars?”
Madison snapped impatiently, “So what if I bought it with that money? We’re married; what’s
yours is mine, isn’t it? Sally won an award. As her junior colleague, shouldn’t I show my support? Stop nagging me about this!”
I couldn’t take it anymore.
“That was my money! My life–saving money!”
But all I got in response was the dial tone after Madison hung up.
The person I thought I’d grow old with had hurt me the deepest.
I collapsed onto the bed, feeling dead inside. Memories of my time with Madison flashed
before my eyes as tears streamed down my face.
Suddenly, my phone buzzed with a security camera alert.
I opened it and saw Madison and Sally locked in an embrace, tearing off each other’s clothes
between passionate kisses.
How disgusting!
Madison started to turn off the security camera, but Sally stopped and pressed Madison’s hand against her chest with a seductive smile.
“Leave it on, baby. I love living dangerously,” Sally purred.
They stumbled into the bedroom together, and soon, inappropriate noises echoed through the hospital room.
My blood was boiling as I dialed 911 with trembling fingers.
“Hello, I want to report prostitution happening in my house right now.”
