My hands paused for a moment as I packed up the tools. Then I looked up and said to the others, "You guys can go. I’ll handle post-op observation myself."

Soon, the recovery room was quiet as we were just the two of us.

Looking at the girl I had been sponsoring since right before her college entrance exams, my emotions were a mess.

"Go ahead. What is it you want to talk about?"

The fragile, tearful look on her face vanished instantly, replaced by smugness and provocation.

"What do you think we’re gonna talk about?" she said with a mocking smile. "Elaine, are you really gonna keep pretending? So what if you’re married? You’re just an aging woman now. Milton loves me now. You should just get divorced already and stop trying to hold on to him with a marriage certificate or a kid."

My heart sank as I took in her expression.

"I helped you go to school, gave you a chance to escape that poor, backward village and study in the city. Not so you could turn around and become someone’s mistress without an ounce of shame."

She just shrugged, indifferent. "And where do you think that money came from? You think you could afford to support me on your own? Wasn’t it all because of Milton supporting you? But now, he loves me. Do you have any idea how wild he is in bed? You’re old news. He probably doesn’t even want to touch you anymore, does he?"

Listening to her smug rambling, I suddenly realized that no matter how far I’d brought her away from poverty, away from ignorance, I’d failed to teach her a thing.

I let out a soft, humorless laugh and brushed her damp bangs from her forehead. Leaning in, I whispered into her ear, "Laura, you might be younger now, but how long do you think that'll last? And tell me, how could you possibly trust me to perform your surgery? Aren’t you afraid something might end up missing or added?"

I watched as the satisfaction slowly drained from her face, her eyes growing wide with panic.

I gave a slight smirk.

Of course, I would never risk my career for her. But making her squirm for just a moment? That gave me a tiny bit of satisfaction.

Back in the ward, Laura was hysterical, demanding a full-body examination.

I ignored her and turned to Milton, who was standing stiffly just outside the door. I calmly but firmly said, "Come to my office. We need to talk."

He followed me without a word. Once inside, he shut the door and locked it behind him.