Chapter 1

Late that night, exhausted after a surgery, I saw my phone light up with a notification. It was from my intern.

"I'm getting married tomorrow. Everyone must come!"

Too tired to argue, I replied.

"Congratulations. Unfortunately, I have a prior commitment."

But my intern threatened me.

"You dare refuse? My fiancé is a major investor in this hospital. One word from me, and your career here is over. But if you show up tomorrow and work the serving line, I might reconsider."

Then, she flooded the entire hospital staff chat with wedding photos.

I froze.

The groom in the photos was my husband.

The man I had lifted from nothing. The man I had built a life for. And here he was, throwing a wedding for his mistress?

I immediately replied in the group chat.

"Sweetie, I'll be at your wedding tomorrow, right on time. I've prepared a grand gift just for you!"

I arrived home to an empty house.

It seemed my husband, Daniel Hayes, was still busy with his wedding preparations.

When we first met, he was a broke college student. The investor he'd become existed only because of my family's money.

I smirked and called Mr. Jenkins, our butler.

"Freeze all assets under Daniel's name. Cancel every credit card. And prepare a grand gift for me. Have it delivered to the hotel hosting the wedding tomorrow."

The next morning, as I was walking out the door, a text from Daniel came through.

"You've been working so many surgeries lately, you must be exhausted, my love. I'll bring you a gift when I return from my business trip."

He played the role of the caring husband as usual.

I replied. "Sure, I've got a little surprise for you too."

At the wedding reception, my intern, Tiffany Miller, held court in her white gown, glowing with triumph as she held court before our hospital colleagues.

"My husband is the biggest investor in our hospital. I promise he'll give everyone a raise soon."

Someone spotted me and immediately mocked.

"Well, look who finally showed up. Dr. Reed, weren't you too busy to attend?"

A nurse beside her, eager to curry favor, tittered. "Oh, I heard she came to work. As part of the serving staff for Tiffany."

I couldn't be bothered with these pathetic clowns.

But when Tiffany saw my haute couture Chanel dress, her eyes flared with jealousy.

"Fake designer? This is what you should be wearing!"

She threw a grease-stained server uniform at me.

Before I could react, she lunged, tearing at my collar, a sneer twisting her lips.

"Old hag, nobody wants to see your body anyway, why don't you just strip and change right here in front of everyone!"

My strap instantly loosened, a large patch of skin exposed to the air.

Gasps filled the room, and several leering, disgusting gazes immediately latched onto me.

I shoved her away, clutching my dress. Then I grabbed her arm and dragged her toward the massive gift box.

A foul, rotting smell drifted from it.

I opened it slowly, deliberately.

Inside were rotten cucumbers, black-spotted, soft and shriveled.

Tiffany's face instantly turned ashen.

"Rachel Reed!"

I replied.

"Don't you love used, rotten cucumbers? Here are 365 of them. One for every day of the year. That should be plenty to satisfy you."

Tiffany erupted in a furious scream.

"Rachel! What are you saying? Who wants rotten cucumbers? You came here today just to start a fight!"

"You're just an old hag dumped by a man, jealous that I'm young, beautiful, and marrying well!"

"I'm telling you, my husband will be here any minute, and with one word, he can get you fired from the hospital!"

Tiffany was trembling with rage, lunging at me, trying to slap my face.

I sidestepped, a cold smirk playing on my lips. "We'll see who gets fired."

Tiffany exploded.

"You bitch! You lunatic!"

"You're just jealous I snagged a rich man like Mr. Hayes, so you're resorting to these pathetic tricks just to get attention!"

I rolled my eyes. Her voice was grating on my nerves.

"Tiffany, let me just confirm something. Are you absolutely sure you want to marry this man?"

She lifted her chin, a picture of arrogant triumph.

"Obviously. My Daniel is the hospital's primary investor. Billions. The kind of wealth a doctor like you could never earn in your lifetime. Money comes easy to him."

"Marrying him makes me the rightful Mrs. Hayes, someone all of you will have to look up to!"

A chorus of eager agreement rose from her clique.

"Tiffany was born for this life. Unlike some, who at her age are still gold-digging!"

"Dr. Reed, after this spectacle, how do you plan to stay in the department?"

"Offending the investor's wife? Your career here is finished."