Her Husband, The Final Case Study

After hanging up, I composed myself, forcing my breathing to even out. Less than a minute later, the door was pushed open, and Sienna rushed in, a mask of perfect anxiety on her face.

"Blake, what are you doing out of bed? You just stabilized. This is dangerous."

Watching her walk toward me with such practiced concern, I couldn't help but wonder, Is she worried about me, or is she worried about her flawless plan?

I gave a bitter smile and sidestepped her touch. "I'm fine. Just had a nightmare."

For a split second, her eyes narrowed. She was always the one who flinched away from me. I'd never been the one to dodge her touch, even though I was the one who paid the price in agony every single time.

"If you're feeling better, let's go home," she said. "I hate these places."

Back at our penthouse on Fifth Avenue, she carefully took my hand—through my clothes—and placed it on her belly. She whispered to the child inside, "Little one, be good for Mommy, okay? Daddy just got back from the hospital. He's been through so much for us."

In the early days of our marriage, this would have sent me over the moon. I would've thanked my lucky stars for a loving wife and our precious child.

But now, every word was a knife plunging into my heart. My chest ached as if it were bleeding.

As usual, Sienna brought me a warm drink with a faint, fragrant aroma. Her eyes crinkled in a practiced, gentle smile. "I brewed you some special chamomile tea. Drink it and get some sleep. I'm going to the study to finish some work."

Her soft tone and familiar gentleness should have been comforting. Now, it just chilled me to the bone.

I knew what was in it. I took the cup, playing along. The moment she turned to get a blanket, I dumped most of the tea into the potted plant by the bed before pressing the rim to my lips for show.

Before long, I feigned that the drug had taken effect, letting my eyelids grow heavy and my breathing become even.

Once she was certain I was "asleep," Sienna tiptoed out of the bedroom. A few minutes later, the sound of a video call came from the study.

"Carter, don't worry. I'd never let him touch me. You know how I feel about him, how repulsive I find him," Sienna's voice cooed.

"And I'll make sure you shine at the Caldwell Foundation gala next week. You'll become the rising star of the entire medical community. Trust me, Blake will definitely play his part."

I barely had time to process the implications of her words.

This was the same Sienna who always publicly declared that "the Caldwell Group is a meritocracy, we don't even hire male interns to avoid any suspicion." And here she was, personally paving the way for a pretty-boy colleague with nothing to his name.

So, what did all her excuses about overtime, meetings, and being busy really mean?

I didn't dare to let myself think about it.

The most ridiculous part was that everyone seemed to know except me. I was the court jester, playing the part of the devoted husband.

I vaguely heard the sound of suggestive kisses over the call, followed by a loud crash as the custom art frame from our wedding fell to the floor.

What a joke.

"What happened, Blake?" Sienna's anxious voice suddenly came from the doorway. She looked genuinely worried, but the glossy sheen on her lips, meticulously applied for her video call, was a painful, glaring detail.

I forced myself to stay calm, pretending I had just been woken up. "Sienna... the picture frame fell."

She let out a long sigh of relief. Tugging uncomfortably at her wrinkled silk robe, she quickly turned away.

"I'm going to take a shower."

As she disappeared down the hall, an impulse drove me to pick up the phone she'd left behind.

I gambled on the unlock code. Her password was pathetically simple: Carter's birthday. Notifications from an encrypted group chat were popping up frantically on the screen.

Every message was like a heavy punch to my ribs.

Carter: "Everything is set."

One of her friends: "Don't worry, just waiting for the gala."

Sienna: "Blake will attend as a special case study. Carter, as the lead physician, will publicly demonstrate how he overcame this rare immune rejection, which will secure him the chief researcher position at the foundation."

Another friend: "And then Sienna will announce her pregnancy afterward, attributing it all to Carter's treatment plan. God, it'll be the top story in the medical world, the highlight of the whole event!"