They Thought I Was Just Her Husband

CHAPTER 9

Theo Hanks sat at the bar and drained his glass in one single, burning gulp.

He hadn't expected Tracey to be this shameless. She was so infuriating.

Even after running the paternity test through her own channels, she still stubbornly refused to accept the result. He had explicitly reminded her that Hope must have been conceived around the exact same month they got married, yet she still refused to admit a single thing.

He had even told her again that he didn't want a single dime of her money and only wanted a quiet, clean divorce, but she just kept playing her emotional cards. What else did she want from him?!

Was it simply because she had money and power, while he was nothing more than an insignificant, replaceable clinical doctor?

That had to be it. In her eyes, he was easy to control. As long as she kept him obediently at home to maintain her perfect public image, she could do whatever she wanted outside while he remained in the dark like a puppet.

Damn it.

Theo gripped the empty glass, his knuckles turning white. You make me wear the horns while you're out there living the high life, making more money than you can spend, and enjoying other men at the same time.

Tracey, the woman he'd built sixteen years of his life around, was a monster—the most vicious woman he had ever known in fact.

Theo decided he couldn't let her off that easily. If she continued to refuse a peaceful divorce, he would drag the entire scandal out into the open, demand every cent of the financial settlement he was owed, and leave Oakridge State University behind forever. He would move somewhere far away where no one knew his name and live the life he actually wanted.

While eating a late lunch at the bar grill, his phone buzzed with a voice message from Jake Gerber, a senior colleague at the hospital.

Jake told him to return to Oakridge General that afternoon for a mandatory medical theory exam, asking Theo to sit directly beside him so he could copy his answers.

Trying to take advantage of me again...

Theo scoffed dryly and typed back: "What medical theory exam?"

Jake quickly sent another voice note, his tone rushed. "The hospital leadership decided on it at the absolute last minute. I asked around, and apparently the results might heavily impact this round of professional evaluations and promotions." Jake laughed awkwardly through the speaker. "Theo, man, I haven't seriously opened a textbook in years. I can't remember half this stuff anymore. I'm counting on you again. Same as always."

Theo stared at the screen, a bitterness rising in his chest. You don't know a damn thing anymore. All you do is mess around, play politics, and chase women. You should've been knocked down a rank years ago.

Theo asked Jake for the exact time and location, then he ended the conversation without actually agreeing to help.

While he was finishing his meal, a server's panicked voice echoed through the dining room.

"Is anyone here a doctor? Please, is there a doctor here?!"

Theo glanced around the room. When no one else moved, he finally raised his hand. "I'm a doctor at Oakridge General Hospital. What happened?"

"Could you please come take a look?" the server gasped, terrified. "There's a child choking in one of the private rooms!"

"Take me to him. Now." He ordered immediately.

Theo didn't hesitate for even a second. He hurried into the private dining room and found an eight-year-old boy turning blue, gasping frantically for air. Standing beside the child were two women—one older, one younger—both in absolute panic, paralyzed by fear.

Theo assessed the boy's posture in a split second, stepped behind him, locked his hands below the ribcage, and delivered swift, hard thrusts upward.

On the fourth thrust, a dislodged fish ball flew from the boy's throat onto the floor.

The child immediately drew in a harsh, ragged breath, crying out as his color slowly returned.

Theo checked his pulse and airway, then turned to the younger woman, "He's all right for now, but his airway sounds constricted, and his underlying asthma doesn't look well controlled. I strongly recommend taking him to the hospital for a full workup."

Theo looked at the boy again, his expression growing stern and precise. "Take him now. As quickly as possible, don't delay."

The young woman watched him intently, her augite blue eyes gleaming with fascination. She had already noticed how remarkably professional his movements had been, but more than that, he had identified the boy's chronic condition almost instantly without being told. That made her trust him implicitly.

Theo was handsome, with a calm, refined, and steady manner that made him seem exceptionally dependable.

Desperate to stay in touch, she pulled out her phone to ask for his contact information. Theo couldn't help but notice the device—a custom-made model encrusted with real diamonds—and the subtle, ultra-luxury tailoring of her clothes. She clearly came from an extraordinarily wealthy family.

As she repeatedly thanked him with tears in her eyes, Theo felt an unexpected wave of relief wash over him.

More than that, he felt a profound sense of self-worth he hadn't experienced in years. It was as if he had finally remembered who he really was beneath the shadow of his wife's career.

My medical skills have always been something I can rely on, he realized, walking out into the afternoon air. Why did I ever need to live according to Tracey's arrangements? For the sake of a fake family, I wasted so many precious years.

Fortunately, medicine was a discipline built on accumulation and experience. His core skills hadn't vanished. If he left Tracey now, he could still live exceptionally well on his own terms.

Letting out a quiet breath, Theo returned to his hotel to rest before heading over to the hospital.

When he arrived for the exam, he deliberately chose a seat near the front, far away from Jake. Looking around the packed auditorium, he realized staff from virtually every department in Oakridge General had been called in to sit for the paper—a massive, unusual directive that struck him as odd.

Still, he didn't dwell on it. He picked up his pen, answered the complex clinical scenarios effortlessly, handed in his paper early, and left.

***

The following morning, Hospital Director Martin Zahn sat alone in his top-floor office, staring down at Theo's completed examination paper.

He read through the flawless, highly sophisticated diagnostic answers a second time, tapped his desk thoughtfully, and picked up his phone to make an important decision.