I Saw His Promise I Filed For Divorce

I was on duty at the hospital over the holiday when a call came in about a serious crash on the highway. I hung up and headed to the scene. My husband was supposed to be overseas on business. Instead, he was there, at another woman's side. Her leg was trapped, and she was sobbing against him. "Derek, is my leg going to be okay? What am I going to do if I lose it?" "Don't be scared. You'll be okay. Even if you do lose your leg, I'll carry you wherever you need to go." I stopped instinctively and looked down. The metal on my own leg gleamed coldly. When I'd needed an amputation after a car accident three years earlier, he'd said, "I'm not a doctor. I can't save your leg." When I'd broken down in tears, he'd told me, "Crying won't solve anything. I can't stand weak women." I hadn't cried since. Only now did I understand that he didn't hate people who cried. He simply didn't love me. ***** The rescue crew soon freed the woman. I took out my medical supplies and calmly dressed her wound. Her leg was only scraped, and she had no life-threatening injuries. Derek Voss froze when he saw me, his expression tightening. Coralie Wrenford asked between sobs, "Doctor, my leg's going to be okay, isn't it? My engagement party is tomorrow. I don't want to show up limping. I'd be so embarrassed! But my fiancé loves me. Even if I can't stand tomorrow, he'll carry me through the whole thing. Won't you, Derek?" Derek instinctively glanced up at me. When I didn't react, he nodded. "I'd never let people gossip about you." I paused for a moment. After my amputation three years ago, my prosthetic leg hadn't been ready in time for our wedding. I'd spent our entire wedding in a wheelchair. I'd told him I didn't want to go through it that way, but he'd said I was too heavy for him to carry. People had pointed and whispered, and all he'd told me was to stop overthinking it. It wasn't that he couldn't carry me. He just hadn't thought I was worth it. "Keep it dry, and it should heal quickly. I don't think it'll interfere with your engagement party." I packed up my supplies and was about to move on to the next patient when Coralie's mother, Nadine Holt, grabbed my arm. "Doctor, are you sure my daughter's leg is okay? She and my future son-in-law are so much in love. They've been together for six months, and they're about to get engaged. We were on our way back to our hometown for the engagement party, and afterward, we're planning to go abroad for their honeymoon. What will we do if this holds everything up?" They'd been together for six months? That was quite a coincidence. It was exactly when Derek had started taking frequent business trips. Just last night, he'd told me he'd be overseas for two weeks. I'd packed his passport, his clothes, and his toiletries myself. Now he was going to wear the suit I'd so carefully packed to his engagement party with another woman. He held Coralie without looking back at me once, as if he hadn't told me just last night that he was going abroad for two weeks. "She's fine. It's just a scrape. She'll have no trouble walking. And congratulations on your engagement," I replied with a smile that didn't reach my eyes. Derek's expression shifted slightly, but he said nothing. The car belonged to Coralie, and he handled everything as her fiancé. When Nadine saw that I was leaving, she caught my hand again and poured out her thanks. "Thank you so much, Doctor. We've never been through anything like this. Thank goodness my future son-in-law knows how to take charge. Without him, we wouldn't have known what to do. For the past six months, he's rushed to her side whenever Coralie's needed him. He absolutely adores her." Coralie blushed, looking bashful. "Mom, stop praising him. You're going to give him a huge ego!" "All right, I'll stop. Everyone knows you've found a wonderful husband. He's responsible, and he puts his family first." My mind went back to the accident three years ago. I'd had a promising future as a surgeon, and suddenly I was facing life without a leg. Every day had been agony. I'd wanted him there with me, but he'd always said he was too busy with work. "I'm not a doctor. I wouldn't be any help even if I came." Over those three years, I'd grown used to being alone. He'd known how to care for someone all along. I just hadn't been that someone.