Chapter 3
Joel came to his senses and grabbed my hand.
"I'll transfer Tamsyn to the subsidiary right away. From now on, I won't see her again," he said. "Tracy, let's not divorce, okay?"
His tears fell onto the back of my hand. He was genuinely heartbroken.
My heart softened. "This is the last time," I said softly.
When he saw me relent, Joel brushed the tears from his cheeks and called HR right away.
With me watching, he told HR to transfer Tamsyn to the subsidiary.
That night, Joel also returned the bracelet to me.
For the next two weeks, Joel really seemed like a different person.
He came home right on time every day, wearing an apron and bustling around the kitchen.
"Try this," he said, putting some baked ribs on my plate. "I spent all afternoon learning how to make it."
I looked up at him.
There was still flour on his forehead, and he looked at me nervously, almost like he was afraid I'd reject him.
"Sure," I murmured, keeping my head down and continued to eat.
When I was working the weekend shift, Joel showed up at the hospital carrying an insulated lunchbox.
"Dr. Neely, looks like your husband's back again?" the nurse joked with a grin.
Joel set out the lunchbox and even brought me a cup of freshly ground coffee.
"Your stomach's sensitive, so skip the hospital's instant coffee," he said softly.
I watched Joel's busy figure from behind. The divorce agreement in my drawer was slowly being forgotten, gathering dust.
Life was back to normal, and my career was quietly taking off.
The hospital notified me that I'd be heading overseas with their expert team for a medical conference.
It was a rare chance, so I jumped at it.
After I told Joel about the trip, he sweetly helped me pack my suitcase.
On the last day of the international conference, I received a message that shocked me.
It was from the cardiology head nurse at our hospital.
She wrote: [Dr. Neely, could you please talk to your mom and ask her not to give the nurses on duty a hard time?
[We have a lot of patients in our department, most of them elderly. The nurses can't look after your mom alone. You're a doctor too, so please try to be understanding.]
I was caught off guard. Nobody at home ever mentioned my mom was in the hospital.
Besides, my mom has always had a good temper. She'd never make things difficult for the nurses.
Feeling confused, I called home.
"Mom, are you in the hospital?" I asked.
"Nonsense," Mom replied, her voice full of energy. "I'm scuba diving in the Hoskin Islands!"
After hanging up with Mom, I texted the head nurse back. [Hey, my mom isn't admitted. Is there a mix-up?]
The nurse replied: [Dr. Neely, your husband personally brought her in. He's brought you lunch before, so we've seen him plenty of times. There's no way we'd mix him up with someone else.]
Soon after, the head nurse sent me a short video.
In the clip, a curly-haired old lady was pointing right at a nurse, shouting, "My son-in-law is the CEO of Coffman Group. If you don't treat me right, he could buy out this hospital and fire you.
"Aren't you nurses like servants back in the day? Serving people is your job, so what's the big deal about washing my underwear?
"My son-in-law paid for this VIP service, so you have to do whatever I tell you. If I say jump, you jump."
I zoomed in on the video.
I didn't recognize that nasty face at all.
I was anxious and confused over this matter. I couldn't wait for my colleagues. I flew back to the country the very day the conference ended.
As soon as my flight landed, I rushed to the hospital.
The old lady was still in the VIP room, snacking, making herself at home and dirtying the floor.
"So, ma'am, you claim you're connected to Joel Coffman, the CEO of Coffman Group. What's your relationship with him?" I said, blocking the head nurse before she could blow up.
"He's my son-in-law," the old lady said loudly, throwing more rubbish on the floor. "My daughter is..."
I flashed my marriage certificate. "What a coincidence. My husband's Joel Coffman too, and he's also the CEO of Coffman Group.
"I don't know when my husband ended up with an extra mother-in-law, or when I got a new mom."
The room went dead silent.
The old lady stopped snacking. "You... you're Dr. Neely?"
"So you recognize me," I said. I picked up the name tag from her bedside. "Ruth Delver, what's your daughter's name?"
Suddenly, she snatched up the call button and threw it at me. "Why the hell do you care? My daughter's got way more going for her than you ever will."
I dodged to the side and nodded at the head nurse. "Call the police. Report her for medical resource fraud."
The police showed up in no time.
While Ruth was making a scene, kicking and screaming on the floor, her daughter stormed into the room.
She had on a white dress and a mulberry silk scarf, the exact one I lost last year.
Of course, it was Tamsyn Forrest.
"Dr. Neely?" Tamsyn's face went ghostly pale. "Wait, you were supposed to be overseas. When did you get back?"