Chapter 4

After leaving, I deleted all contact information for Jack.

I rented an apartment and returned to my normal life, commuting between the hospital and home.

One day, on my way to the cafeteria.

I saw a familiar figure.

I wasn't sure if it was him, so I quickened my pace to follow, but Lily blocked my way.

"Sis, if you have time, I'd like to ask you some questions."

"I'm busy," I replied curtly.

She followed me like a dog. "Jack loves the soup you make. I'll pay top dollar for your recipe."

"Haha, I thought you had him wrapped around your finger. Guess you'll be dumped sooner or later."

Lily's face changed instantly. "Emma, I'm being nice here. Don't push your luck!"

I chose to ignore her and walked straight ahead.

To my surprise, she caught up and poured her coffee all over my head.

"You homewrecker! Have you no shame?" she shouted loudly, drawing everyone's attention in the hall.

"I can't believe someone like you can be a doctor!"

I wiped my face and slapped her hard. "Go ahead and report me if you dare."

Lily wasn't about to back down.

"Just you wait!"

Soon after, I was called to the medical affairs department.

I was instructed to apologize to Lily.

"Emma, without Jack, what are you worth?" she taunted.

As we left the department, she slapped me across the face.

"You ill-bred thing! I won't let you off easy!"

Watching her walk away, I laughed bitterly at myself.

I wondered if Jack was really indulging her or using her to humiliate me.

For the next week.

Whenever I had patients, there would inevitably be troublemakers.

These people would either cry and make a scene or smash things.

The outpatient department was in chaos.

All the complaints received by the medical affairs department were about me.

The director came to question me about how I was doing my job.

"Sir! All these people were hired by Lily to cause trouble!"

The director wouldn't listen. He told me to reflect for a week and docked a month's performance pay.

Resting at home, that familiar figure kept haunting my mind.

After much deliberation, I dialed that number that had never been answered before.

That familiar voice entered my ear.

"Hello, who is this?"

At that moment, my whole body trembled.

"Alex, it's me, Emma."

The next second, the call was abruptly ended, leaving only a dial tone.

Soon after, I received a call from my friend.

"Alex is having a book signing event at the Grand Hotel tomorrow. Don't forget to go!"

Looking at the e-ticket she sent, my heart ached.

He really was back.

"Thank you, Zoe."

I stayed up all night.

I tried on over a dozen outfits and learned many makeup tutorials online.

The next day, I arrived at the Grand Hotel early to wait.

However, I ran into two of Jack's friends in the lobby.

They stumbled towards me, drunk:

"Sis-in-law, are you here to see Jack?"

"No," I replied.

But they grabbed me, pulling me towards a private room on the second floor.

"Jack's waiting for you."

Before we even entered, I could hear Jack ranting inside:

"Emma is just my doormat. She'll come crawling back after a few days of throwing a tantrum."

"She's pretty, sure, but I'm tired of her."

"Just worthless trash, that's all she is."

His friends pushed open the door, and everyone's eyes turned to me.

"Well, well, my obedient dog is back?" Jack sneered.

Lily was sitting on his lap, half-dressed. She looked at me with a challenging gaze.

"Sis, have you come to your senses?

Can't survive out there on your own?

I remember you were quite tough the other day."

Jack pushed the girl aside and came to me, grabbing my chin roughly.

"Emma, it's okay to throw a little tantrum, but know your limits.

Who do you think you are to defy me?"

"I'll let the other day slide. Lick this glass of wine clean, and we'll call it even."

During this time, he had tried various ways to contact me.

But I avoided him, which must have angered and humiliated him.

He poured the red wine in his hand onto the floor.

"Lick it clean!"

I shook off his hand because the book signing downstairs was about to start.

"What? You won't take the olive branch I'm offering?"

"Do you think you're some chaste woman? Don't you know how slutty you are?"

I picked up a glass of wine from a nearby table.

Then I threw it forcefully in Jack's face.

At that moment, everyone fell silent.

I met his eyes and said:

"Let me tell you again, we are broken up!

I wish you and her all the best, so stop bothering me!"

I turned to leave but was blocked by Jack's friends and pushed back.

"Emma! You're really pushing it!"

These people held me in the room and humiliated me for nearly an hour.

"Let's go, I have another party to attend," Jack finally said.

"Emma, remember, you can't escape me.

I'll always be with you."

With that, Jack left with his group.

By the time I got downstairs, the book signing was almost over.

I appeared disheveled at the end of the line.

Alex was wearing a baseball cap and mask, earnestly signing books for his fans.

"Oh my God, you've dirtied my bag!"

The girl in front of me screamed, drawing everyone's attention.

Her white bag was stained with the dirt from my clothes.

"Couldn't you at least change before coming out? Who would sign a book for someone so filthy?"

My face burned with embarrassment as I apologized profusely.

The commotion grew louder, and security came to escort me out.

"Wait, she's Mr. Yang's friend," a staff member intervened.

The staff member took me to change into clean clothes.

When I came out of the room, I saw Alex standing at the door.

"Are you in some kind of trouble?" he asked.

His voice was familiar yet stern.

It reminded me of when he used to scold me for not solving math problems correctly years ago.

"No, no trouble at all," I replied.

He didn't say anything more, just instructed his assistant to call a car for me.

"Alex," I called out as he was about to leave.

"Why did you lie to me back then?"

I almost shouted these words.

But he didn't even turn back, just said softly, "Go home."