The phone finally connected.Mr. Kingston's expression changed slightly when he saw that the call had been answered. Without wasting any time, he pressed the speaker button and held the phone in front of him so that everyone in the room could hear the conversation clearly.“Hello, Mr. Randy,” Mr. Kingston greeted, his voice respectful but firm.The moment the name came out of his mouth, I noticed an immediate change in Dr. Smith's wife.The color drained from her face.Her eyes widened, and for several seconds, she simply stood there staring at the phone as though she had suddenly heard the name of someone she never expected to encounter under such circumstances. Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out immediately.Then she slowly turned toward her husband.“Harry,” she whispered, her voice trembling with fear, “we are doomed.”Dr. Smith frowned at her reaction. He turned his head toward her with a mixture of irritation and confusion, although I could already tell that he und

Then Mrs. Smith's composure completely collapsed. Without saying another word, she suddenly dropped to her knees in front of Mr. Kingston.The sudden movement shocked everyone in the room.“Please,” she begged, clasping her hands together as she looked up at Mr. Kingston. Her voice trembled badly, and tears began rolling down her cheeks. “Please, Mr. Kingston, reconsider.”Mr. Kingston looked down at her with a serious expression. He did not appear angry or pleased by what was happening. Instead, he looked disappointed.She continued pleading. “I am begging you. Please don't do this to my husband. His medical career is everything to our family. He has spent more than twenty years building his career. Everything we have depends on his work. If he loses his license, you will destroy our future.”Her voice cracked as she spoke, and she wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand before continuing.“Our family depends on him. Our children depend on him. We have built our entire life around

LEONARDS POV Mrs. Smith remained standing for several seconds, staring at me as though she was trying to gather enough courage to do what she knew she had to do. Eventually, she took a slow step toward me. Then another.Her movements were hesitant, and I could see the embarrassment written clearly across her face. Behind her, Dr. Smith remained standing with his arms hanging stiffly at his sides. His face was filled with anger and humiliation as he watched his wife approach me. Mrs. Smith finally stopped directly in front of me. She looked up at my face.For a few seconds, she did not speak.Her lips moved slightly, but no words came out.I remained calm.Then, slowly, Mrs. Smith lowered herself to her knees.The moment she touched the floor, Dr. Smith’s expression became even darker.She lowered her head briefly before looking back up at me.“Mr. Storm,” she began, her voice trembling, “I know my husband behaved arrogantly.”Tears rolled down her cheeks again as she continued.“I

After Dr. Smith and his wife finally left the hospital, the atmosphere inside the room immediately became lighter. The tension that had filled the ward during the argument slowly disappeared, leaving behind a strange but peaceful silence. I watched as Mr. and Mrs. Kingston turned their attention back to their daughter, and the moment they looked at her again, the expressions on their faces softened completely.For the past several minutes, their attention had been divided between Dr. Smith, the bet, and everything that had happened after Emily regained consciousness. Now that the matter was over, they seemed to remember that their daughter was awake again after five long years.Mrs. Kingston quickly moved toward the bed and sat beside Emily. She reached out with trembling hands and gently touched her daughter’s face as though she was still afraid that this was a dream from which she would suddenly wake.“My baby,” she whispered, her voice filled with emotion.Emily looked at her m

“Harry, stop!” she shouted, her voice filled with frustration and desperation as she hurried toward us. “Please, just stop and come with me. We should leave.”Dr. Smith did not even turn around. His shoulders remained stiff as he continued walking toward me with hurried steps. His face was still filled with the anger and humiliation he had carried out of the hospital.And every movement he made suggested that he had not accepted what had happened inside the ward.“Harry!” his wife called again, breathing heavily as she tried to catch up. “We have already embarrassed ourselves enough today. Please, let us go home. You have humiliated yourself enough for one day.”This time, Dr. Smith stopped for only a brief moment, but he still refused to look back at her. His hands tightened into fists beside his body before he slowly continued walking.“I am not going anywhere,” he replied coldly, his voice filled with enough irritation to make his wife stop for a moment. “Not until I speak to him