\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 9\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 9\u00a0<\/p>\n
I walk out without looking back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sunlight hits my face-blinding, but for the first time in months, I feel light.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The divorce goes through without a fight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zach signs his name like a zombie. Gives up almost everything.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Walking out of the courthouse, I stare at the divorce certificate in my hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It feels like I just dropped a thousand-pound weight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t go back to our old place. List it immediately. Sell it fast. Cut ties with that rotting memory.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Over the next few months, Emma feeds me scraps of news.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zach left town after his discharge. No one knows where he went.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Naomi barely graduated. Couldn\u2019t get hired anywhere decent. Rumor is she\u2019s back in her hometown, working at some hole-in-the-wall clinic. Reputation destroyed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When the dust settles, I get promoted to Deputy Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I lead my own team now. Save lives every day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sometimes, late at night, I think about that failed marriage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There\u2019s still a scar. Faint, but permanent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A reminder to stay sharp. Stay independent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A year later, I\u2019m invited back to the medical school for a guest lecture.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Afterward, I wander the campus. End up at that field.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Same sunlight. Same grass. Different people.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Students running, laughing, full of life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It feels like a lifetime ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Husband\u2019s Affair\u00a0<\/p>\n
6.86\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 9\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Ashford?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A nervous voice behind me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turn. Recognize her-one of the interns who defended Naomi that day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looks at me with guilt and admiration.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Ashford, I\u2019m so sorry. We didn\u2019t understand anything back then. We were wrong about you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her voice is small.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I smile. \u201cIt\u2019s in the past. You stayed for grad school?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She nods quickly. \u201cYeah. And\u2026 I keep thinking about what you said to Naomi that day. You were right.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her eyes shine. \u201cI really hope I can work with you after I graduate.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I look at her for a moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn medicine, what you see and hear isn\u2019t always the truth.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat matters is using your training and judgment to figure out what is.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether we work together or not, I hope you become a damn good doctor.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She nods hard, eyes bright.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I give her a small nod and keep walking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The wind carries the scent of fresh grass.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The past is gone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The future? Right in front of me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
(0)\u00a0<\/p>\n
(0)<\/p>\n
Joseph King is an editor and storyteller who ensures every chapter is clear, polished, and engaging for readers.<\/p>\n
Hot Shower, Cold Heart by Mark Twain 9 \u00a0 Chapter 9\u00a0 Chapter 9\u00a0 I walk out without looking back.\u00a0 Sunlight […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-giving-my-husband-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22877\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}