After My Hidden Husband Ignored Me, I Married My Harvard Senior

Riverdale General Hospital. Maurice York brought the woman he had always loved, Mia Lane, over to me. "This is Mia. She's our new cardiologist," he said in a businesslike tone. "Show her the ropes." I looked at his calm, professional face. It was hard to believe the man standing before me was the man I'd been secretly married to for five years. Then, I remembered the email I'd received the night before. I swallowed back the pain and nodded. "Of course." After I finished showing Mia around the hospital, I headed alone to the hospital director's office. "Sir," I said, placing an envelope on his desk, "I'll be leaving next month for an advanced training program at Hartford Medical College. This is my resignation letter." The director looked at me in surprise. "Ariel, this came out of nowhere. Why are you leaving so suddenly?" I gave him the explanation I'd already prepared. "My daughter's father has been assigned to Armista for work. I'm planning to move there so we can finally be together as a family. Since I'll be there anyway, I decided to continue my studies." After handing in my resignation letter, I walked out of the director's office. The moment I looked up, I saw Maurice striding toward me in his white coat. My feet stopped in their tracks. I froze for a second. Maurice was the youngest associate chief physician in cardiothoracic surgery. He was talented, successful, and strikingly handsome. Plenty of people in the hospital had a crush on him. As for me, I had been his junior in medical school. I'd secretly loved him for years. At an alumni gathering during my second year after graduation, one reckless night changed everything. I unexpectedly became pregnant with our daughter, Bella. We had no choice but to get married. I truly believed that once we were married, I could melt his icy heart. However, ice could never be changed. Maurice refused to make our marriage public. Whenever we were outside, he even made Bella call him "mister" instead of Daddy. Seeing him now, I instinctively called out, "Maurice..." He scowled. "Dr. Tyler," he replied coldly. The polite yet distant title was a clear reminder. We were at work. To him, we were nothing more than coworkers. A sharp pain tugged at my heart. I wanted to tell him I'd resigned. Before I could say a word, he hurried right past me without even slowing down. I turned around. Mia was standing by the elevator in her white coat, holding a patient's chart with a smile on her face. A bitter laugh escaped me. Mia had been Maurice's classmate in medical school. After graduation, she'd gone abroad for further studies. She had returned to the country two months earlier and joined our hospital. Back then, they were practically inseparable. Maurice wore an icy expression around everyone else. Only she could bring out his gentle side. Even now, after becoming a husband and father, nothing had changed. I watched Maurice say something to Mia. The tension left his face, and a trace of warmth appeared in his eyes. He even held the elevator for her and let her step in first. I lowered my eyes and swallowed the bitterness rising inside me. I'd never seen Maurice treat me with that kind of tenderness. If his heart could never be warmed, then so be it. I would divorce him. I'd give him the freedom he'd always wanted. There were no surgeries scheduled that day, so I got off work on time and went to Bella's kindergarten. "Mommy!" Bella's eyes lit up the second she saw me. She ran over and threw herself into my arms. "You're here so early today!" Her bright smile made me smile too. "Were you really that eager to see me?" I asked with a laugh. Bella nodded so hard. "Of course! I want you to pick me up this early every single day!" Those clear, innocent eyes made my chest tighten. The words I wanted to say refused to come out. In the end, I simply patted her head. "I'll do my best to pick you up early every day from now on." "Yay!" Watching Bella beam with joy over one small promise filled me with guilt. The loveless marriage between Maurice and me had dragged Bella into all of this. She'd been forced to suffer right along with me. At that moment, my resolve became even stronger. One month from now, Bella and I would leave together. From then on, I would give all my love to my daughter. I'd make sure she grew up happy and healthy. When we returned to our apartment complex, I unexpectedly ran into Maurice and Mia downstairs. They were in the middle of moving Mia into her new place. My first instinct was to avoid them. However, Mia spotted me first and greeted me with a smile. "Dr. Tyler! You live here too? Looks like Maurice picked a great neighborhood for me. We ended up living in the same place!" I froze. I glanced at Maurice, whose expression hadn't changed at all. A dull ache spread through my chest. When we'd bought our marital home, Maurice had complained that house hunting was too much trouble. I'd searched everywhere by myself before finally choosing this neighborhood. Now that Mia needed a place to rent, he suddenly didn't mind going to all that effort. I forced a smile and started to leave with Bella. Then, Mia looked at Bella with surprise. "Dr. Tyler, you're actually a year younger than I am, yet your daughter is already this big. I can't believe it." She gently patted Bella's head. "So, what does her father do?" It was just an innocent question. Still, Maurice immediately stiffened. His eyes locked onto mine, carrying a silent warning. When our gazes met, my heart gave another painful twist. I stayed quiet for a moment. Then, I smiled at Mia. "He's a doctor," I said calmly. "A cardiothoracic surgeon, just like Dr. York."