After the Divorce, I Became a Super Doctor

Four years. That's how long Caelan Voss spent behind bars for something that was never his fault. He wasn't the one who was drunk that night. He wasn't the one behind the wheel. But when Serena stood in front of him, trembling, and said, "Please, Cael, my career will be over if I go to prison," Caelan handed himself over without a second thought.

He gave up four years of his life and his career as a doctor so that Serena Hale's name would stay clean. So that not a single scandal would touch the career of one of the country's top actresses and singers.

And today, he came home.

But there was no embrace. No tears of relief. Just a white envelope, slid toward him with cold hands, the same hands he had once held at their wedding altar.

"What is this?" Caelan asked.

"Just read it."

Serena stood in the middle of the living room in a red dress she had never bought to welcome her husband. Her black hair was tied back beautifully. Her face was flawless. But her expression was cold as marble.

Caelan opened the envelope. His eyes stopped at the first line.

Petition for Divorce.

"What is this supposed to mean, Serena?" Caelan asked, his expression disbelieving.

"It means exactly what it says." Serena crossed her arms. "You're an ex-convict, Caelan. You have no job. No future. And your name is already ruined." The corner of her lips curved slightly. "So why would I stay with someone like you?"

Something pressed hard against Caelan's chest from the inside. "Aren't I like this because of you? I spent four years in prison for something that wasn't my fault."

"I don't care."

Serena said it without hesitation, without a trace of guilt on her face.

"Besides," she continued, "I already have someone else in mind, and he's better than you in every way."

Caelan's jaw tightened. "Who?"

As if answering his question, the roar of an engine outside cut through the silence, the unmistakable sound of a high-end sports car. Serena's face changed instantly. The cold melted away, replaced by a smile Caelan had never received even on their wedding day.

She stood up, walked to the door, and opened it wide.

A man stood at the threshold.

Tall, sharp jaw, and a dark suit that didn't need to announce itself because it already spoke for itself. Black hair combed neatly with one strand falling naturally onto his forehead. The watch on his left wrist alone could have bought an apartment in downtown Velmont.

Caelan recognized him in an instant.

Harrison Blake.

That name was familiar to anyone who lived in Velmont. The CEO of Blake Medical Group, the largest hospital network with a grip on half the city's healthcare facilities. His name was on buildings. His face was in business magazines. His power existed in places you couldn't see but everyone could feel.

And now he was standing at the front door of Caelan's own home.

Serena didn't wait for a single word. She stepped forward, grabbed Harrison's lapel, and the two of them kissed. Long, shameless, without caring that Serena's lawful husband was standing four steps behind them. Harrison wrapped his arm around Serena's waist like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Fire crawled up through Caelan's chest. His hand gripped the divorce papers until the paper crinkled.

Finally, Harrison released Serena and glanced toward Caelan. Just one second, but it was enough to say everything. A look that held no hostility, no guilt. Just disgust, like looking at a stain on the floor.

"Can we go now?" he asked Serena.

"Of course." Serena grabbed her bag from the sofa.

They walked out together. Caelan didn't move, didn't speak, standing in the middle of his own living room like a stranger who had wandered into the wrong place.

One step before getting into the car, Serena turned around.

"Sign those papers soon, Cael." Her voice was light, like reminding someone to pay a bill. "Don't waste my time. You have nothing left to be proud of, so don't embarrass yourself by thinking there's still something worth holding on to."

Click. The car door shut.

The engine started. The car drove away.

Caelan stood in the open doorway as the evening wind of Velmont swept across his face. In his hand, the divorce papers were still clutched, the paper now wrinkled where he had squeezed it without realizing.

Slowly, he took a long breath.

He would go see his in-laws. Tell them everything. They had always treated him well. Surely they didn't know yet what had happened.

Caelan folded the letter, tucked it into his pocket, and walked out of the house with long, hopeful strides.

But what he hoped for was the exact opposite of what he found.

Caelan stood in the same living room where he had once been welcomed warmly. But this time, after he had told them everything, Serena, the divorce papers, Harrison Blake, not a single face turned angry on behalf of justice.

There was only silence, followed by a short laugh from Gerard, his father-in-law.

"So?" Gerard set his cup down casually. "What exactly did you come here expecting? For us to take your side?"

Caelan said nothing.

"Listen, Caelan." Margaret, his mother-in-law, crossed her legs and looked him up and down like she was appraising secondhand goods. "We never truly considered you a son-in-law to begin with. We only tolerated you for as long as Serena was willing to put up with you. And it turns out her patience has run out."

"I spent four years in prison for your daughter."

"And that was your choice." Gerard cut in coldly. "Nobody forced you. Don't come here acting like a hero waiting for applause."

Margaret added, "Did you think we were proud to have an ex-convict for a son-in-law? Every time Serena's name comes up in the media, yours follows like a stain. You embarrass this family just by breathing."

"Caelan." Preston's voice came from the corner of the room.

Caelan looked at his brother-in-law, the guy who used to run to greet him every time he visited, always dragging him in to play video games.

Preston stood with his hands in his pockets, a thin smile on his face. "Honestly, we're all relieved. Serena deserves better than a man who can't even take care of himself. Harrison Blake can give her everything. But you?" His eyes swept from head to toe. "What can you offer? A criminal record?"

Something cracked inside Caelan's chest.

"Sign the papers." Gerard stood up, his voice final. "Don't make Serena's life harder than you already have."

"She's already wasted enough of her time on you." Margaret held out a pen. "Now go, and let our daughter live properly."

Caelan stared at the pen for a long moment, then he took it.

His hand didn't tremble when he put his signature on the paper. One long stroke that closed five years of marriage and everything he had sacrificed.

He set the pen on the table and handed over the papers without a word.

Margaret snatched it quickly, her eyes gleaming. "Finally. Serena's future is going to be so bright now." She glanced at Caelan one more time. "Without a burden like you dragging her down."

Gerard had already turned away, no longer interested.

Caelan walked to the door.

"Hey!" Preston called from behind, his voice full of laughter. "Don't forget to close the door on your way out. You've already brought enough prison air into this house."

Margaret's laughter followed him out.

Caelan closed the door quietly. Not slamming it, and not because he didn't want to, but because something was moving inside him. Something colder than anger.

The evening wind of Velmont swept across his face as he walked away. At his back, every insult still rang in his ears.