The Ex-Wife He Couldn't Afford to Lose

Synopsis

On the day I went in for the induced labor, the doctor asked me why I didn't want the baby. I said, "I'm getting a divorce. I don't want to have the baby." The doctor pulled down her mask. It was Alysha Hudson. Ethan Hudson's younger sister. She stared at me for a long moment before finally forcing out a question. "Ophelia... does Ethan know?" "No." My voice was calmer than I had imagined. "And he doesn't need to know." Alysha set the medical chart on the desk and flipped to the ultrasound report. She asked, "You're almost five months along. Induced labor isn't a minor procedure. Have you really thought this through?" "I have." "Ophelia—" "Dr. Hudson." I cut her off. "Right now, you're my attending physician, not a member of my husband's family. I've signed everything that needs signing, and I've already put my fingerprint on the informed consent form." Alysha fell silent. She put her mask back on, wrote a few lines in my chart, and handed me a pre-operative examination form. She said, "The day after tomorrow, 8:00 am. Come on an empty stomach and bring someone with you." I replied, "Okay." I took the form and stood up to leave. Just as I reached the door, Alysha called after me, "Ophelia, you've been with Ethan for three years. He does have feelings for you." I didn't turn around. Three years, it had been one thousand and ninety-five days since I married into the Hudson family. The sentence he'd said to me most often was, "I have a business engagement tonight. I won't be coming home." I didn't know what kind of feelings that was supposed to be. As I left the hospital, my phone rang. It was Ethan. He said, "Come with me to a party tonight. Dress formally." He didn't ask where I was. He didn't ask how my day had been. In three years of marriage, there had only ever been two reasons for him to call me: to inform me of something or to give me instructions. I said, "Okay." It was the last time I said yes to him.