My Husband Gave The Sole Antidote To His First Love

When we hiked deep in the mountains that day, my husband’s first love, Cindy Pepper, and I were both bitten by venomous snakes. Only one of us could be saved. There was only one dose of the antidote in the first-aid kit. Whoever received it would have a chance of surviving. At that critical moment, my husband, Gary Sapien, who was the head of the emergency department, injected the antidote into Cindy Pepper without hesitation. He also gave her the only stretcher and the satellite phone. “Cindy has a heart condition. She won’t make it down the mountain. You work out all the time, and you’re in good shape. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to wait a little longer.” A torrential downpour cut off the mountain. No one rescued me until the following afternoon. By then, the venom had already spread throughout my body. My right leg was necrotic, my kidneys had failed, and I had no choice but to undergo an amputation high above the knee. Gary signed the surgical consent form on my behalf. His expression was still detached. “It’s only a leg. You can still live a normal life with a prosthetic. “You’re already my wife. You don’t need both legs to make a living. Cindy, on the other hand, is a dance teacher. She can’t afford to lose her legs.” I swallowed the metallic taste of blood in my throat and let out a cold laugh. So, it looked like my life and my legs were worth less to him than Cindy’s dream of dancing. That night, I called a number I had not contacted in five years. “Tommy, I’m sorry. I lost. “Come take me home and withdraw all of our investments from Sapien Hospital. “Also, please get the divorce agreement ready for me.” Chapter 1 There was silence on the other end of the phone. A moment later, I heard Gary take a deep breath. Then, he spoke in a voice that sounded like he was suppressing his emotions. He asked me slowly, “Are you sure?” I closed my eyes for a moment. I was sure. Of course, I was sure. Gary just signed the consent form authorizing my amputation. At that time, he stood beside the doctor. His white coat was stained with blood from Cindy’s wound. His handsome, composed profile remained as cold and aloof as ever. It was as if the woman about to lose a leg right in front of him was not his wife at all, but simply another patient whose case he had a professional duty to handle. I had once turned my back on my family for Gary. Five years ago, he was nothing more than an unknown resident at an affiliated hospital. I, on the other hand, was the sole heiress to Oakley Group. That year, Gary’s mother had fallen seriously ill. As a result, they racked up an enormous amount of medical debt. Without telling my family, I sold the first house I had ever owned and gave him every penny. Later, he told me he did not want to rely on me. So, I persuaded my father to put him in charge of Oakley Group’s most important medical project. In just a few years, Sapien Hospital grew from a small private clinic into the largest hospital chain in the city. Half of that success had come from his ability. The other half had come from my family’s capital and resources. However, he never acknowledged the latter. He only said that everything he achieved had been through his own ability. I never tried to explain otherwise. I believed that as long as two people loved each other, it did not matter who gave more. Then, Cindy returned to the country. Cindy was Gary’s first love. She had stayed by his side during his youth. He had kept her name buried in his heart for ten years. After all that time, Cindy had finally come back. She said she had a congenital heart condition. In light of that, she could not handle anything too stressful. Since then, Gary started to break his own principles for Cindy, again and again. She was afraid of the dark, so he drove through the night to pick her up. She had no appetite, so he canceled my birthday dinner and personally went out to buy her sandwiches. When Cindy had a fall outside the hospital, Gary was in the middle of preparing to propose to me. Upon learning about it, he dropped everything, including the ring, and rushed over to her side. I only asked him one question. I asked, “Gary, do you still love her?” His expression immediately turned cold. “Diana, can you stop being so unreasonable?” I had always believed he simply felt a little guilty toward his old flame. It was not until this day that I finally realized the truth. “Diana, don’t be afraid.” Tommy’s voice pulled me back from my thoughts. “I’m sending a helicopter over right now. “I’ll withdraw every last investment we have in Sapien Hospital today. “I’ll bring the divorce agreement to him myself.” I held the phone in my hand and said softly, “Okay.” Chapter 2 Not long after I hung up, someone pushed open the door to the ward. Gary walked in with a cup of warm water in his hand. He held it out to me. “Cindy is asleep. “Your surgery is in ten minutes. Drink this and keep your strength up.” I did not take it. He looked at my pale face. His voice bordered on impatience. “Diana, what exactly do you want from me? “I gave Cindy the antidote because she has a heart condition. Her condition was more critical than yours at that time. “Only one person could’ve used the stretcher and satellite phone. Of course, I had to prioritize her.” I looked at him and asked quietly, “Then, why didn’t you stay with me?” Gary frowned. “The rescue team was already nearby. “If I’d stayed, I would’ve only gotten in the way. Cindy, on the other hand, needed to get down the mountain immediately.” “So, you thought I wasn’t going to die?” I asked so softly that even I could barely hear myself. He fell silent for a second before looking away. “The doctors just said you’re in good physical condition.” I nodded. “I see.” Slowly, I turned my gaze away and stared at the fluorescent light overhead. Gary finally seemed to realize that something was wrong. He reached out as if to touch my hair, but I shifted away. His hand stopped in midair, and his expression darkened. “Diana, don’t ask for a divorce over one leg. “You’re not thinking clearly right now. I can understand that. “When you wake up, you’ll realize that everything I did was to save a life.” I said nothing, not bothering to explain myself to him. I did not divorce him because of losing a leg. The reason I divorced him was that I finally saw the truth. He never considered me someone who needed saving. From beginning to end, I had been the one suffering. Yet to him, one tear from Cindy was enough to make her the victim of some terrible injustice. Even after I lost a leg, all I was to him was a woman who had lost control of her emotions. I remembered the first year of our marriage. During our first year, I was hospitalized with appendicitis. Before the surgery, I had been in so much pain that my face had gone pale. Gary was out of town attending an academic conference. I called him more than a dozen times, but he did not answer a single one. When he finally called me back, the first thing he said was, “Diana, can you stop causing trouble whenever I’m busy?” I signed the surgical consent form by myself and walked into the operating room alone. After the surgery, the anesthesia had not worn off, but my fever climbed to 102°F. The nurse asked when my family would be coming. I told her, “My husband is busy with work. He’s not coming.” Back then, I still made excuses for him. It was not until this day that I finally understood. If someone truly cared about you, they would rush over to you no matter how busy they were. It was not that he did not have the time. He simply chose not to make time for me. Chapter 3 The operating theater doors slowly swung open. I stopped at the entrance for one final check. The doctor looked at me. He seemed hesitant to say something. “Ms. Oakley, the anesthesiologist is ready. “But…” “But what?” “Your blood test report shows that the venom has already caused severe clotting problems and kidney damage. This is a high-risk surgery, and you’ll need dialysis for an extended period afterward. “If we can’t get the infection under control, you may also need a second debridement.” I nodded calmly. “I understand.” The doctor looked surprised. “Would you like to wait a little longer for your family?” “No.” I took the pen and signed my name on the surgical consent form. The nurse pushed my bed farther inside. The operating room doors slowly closed behind me. Just before the anesthesia took effect, I vaguely heard my phone vibrating. The nurse brought it over to me. It was a message from Tommy. [The helicopter has taken off. It should be there in about forty minutes.] [Diana, don’t be afraid. I’m here.] I stared at those few lines for a long time. All along, the people who would rush over to me when I needed them most had always been right there. It was just that five years ago, I pushed them all away for Gary. The anesthesia slowly entered my bloodstream. Just before my consciousness slipped away, I remembered our wedding day. Gary had held my hand and sworn in front of all our family and friends, “Diana, you’ll be my only wife for the rest of my life. “Through poverty and wealth, in sickness and in health, I’ll stay by your side for the rest of our lives.” My father sat at the head table with an indifferent expression. He did not offer a single word of congratulations. Tommy did not show up at all. After the wedding, I asked Gary, “Do you think you’ll ever regret marrying me someday?” He lowered his head and kissed my forehead. “The only thing I’ll ever regret is not meeting you sooner.” Back then, I believed him without a doubt. When Cindy returned to the country, I kept convincing myself that she was just someone from his past while I was his wife. Apparently, even a wife could be deemed replaceable someday. The surgery lasted six hours. When I woke up, it was already late at night. A sharp pain shot through the place where my right leg had been, as if countless knives were twisting through the bone. I instinctively tried to lift my leg, only to find an empty stretch of blankets beneath my hand. At that moment, I finally understood with absolute clarity that my right leg was gone. The hospital room was silent. Gary did not come. A bouquet of white lilies sat on the bedside table. There was only one sentence on the card. [Get some rest and don’t overthink things.] Gary had written that. As I stared at the card, I found the whole thing absurd. I lost a leg, but he did not stay outside the operating theater. I barely escaped death, but all he did was have someone deliver a bouquet of flowers. Meanwhile, Cindy had only suffered a snake bite. Yet she received the antidote, the stretcher, the satellite phone, and Gary’s company overnight. When the nurse came in to change my dressing, she could not help whispering, “Ms. Oakley, Mr. Sapien really cares about Ms. Pepper. “I heard she isn’t feeling well again because of her heart condition. Mr. Sapien has been by her side the whole time. He hasn’t even eaten yet. “Are you two having problems?” Partway through saying that, she realized she had said too much. Then, she awkwardly kept quiet. I said calmly, “No. We won’t be husband and wife for much longer.” The nurse was puzzled for a moment. She did not dare to ask anything else. I picked up my phone and sent Tommy one last message. [Is the divorce agreement ready?] Tommy replied almost instantly. [It’s ready. I’ve frozen all of Sapien Hospital’s shares and investment funds.] [I’ll come to the hospital to pick you up tomorrow.] I stared at the word [tomorrow] on the screen before slowly closing my eyes. Chapter 4 Just then, someone pulled open the door of the ward. Gary stood in the doorway. He still wore the same white coat stained with Cindy’s blood. He looked exhausted. Clear impatience was etched across his face. “Diana, what have you been telling the nurse? “Cindy heard that you want a divorce. She got so worked up that she nearly had a heart attack. “She needs to rest right now. Can you stop upsetting her like this?” I looked at him. The faint ache in my chest felt sharper than the pain from losing my leg. Even at a time like this, I still was not the first thing on his mind. Instead, he was concerned whether our impending divorce had upset Cindy. “Gary,” I said calmly. “I already signed the divorce agreement.” His expression changed slightly. “What did you say?” “I said we’re getting a divorce.” He strode over to the bed and grabbed the documents from the bedside table. When he reached the final page, his brows drew tightly together. “Diana, what are you doing? “I only gave Cindy the antidote. Do you really have to take this spat all the way to a divorce?” I looked at his tightly clenched fists as I said softly, “This isn’t about the antidote. “It’s because I finally realized that, in your heart, my leg isn’t even worth as much as her dream of dancing.” Gary’s expression turned cold. “Do you really have to make it sound that harsh? Cindy is a dance teacher. If she loses her leg, she’ll lose her entire life.” “What about me?” I pointed to the empty space beneath the blankets. “So, losing a leg is just an inconvenience to you, huh?” “Diana, stop being unreasonable!” He slammed the divorce agreement on the table. “I’m not signing it.” I looked at him and smiled slowly. “You don’t have to. From now on, I’ll let the court decide.” Anger finally surfaced in Gary’s gaze. “Do you think that there’s really someplace you can go once you leave me? Your family already gave up on you. Without me as your husband, you’re nothing.” I looked down at the divorce agreement. Five years ago, I had given up my position as an heir just to marry him. Five years later, he used that very identity to threaten me. He had no idea that Tommy was on his way. My family had never truly abandoned me. I looked up and met his gaze without flinching for the first time. “Gary, you’ll find out soon enough. You’ll find out exactly who I am outside of our marriage.” Right after I finished my sentence, we heard hurried footsteps outside the ward. Tommy’s icy voice rang out. He asked, “Gary, who gave you the right to lay a hand on Diana?”