Love Counterattack

Chapter 1

Three years married, and Mark Evans hadn’t ever given me a second glance.

Then his high school sweetheart, Ashley, blew back into town, and those two were suddenly thick as thieves.

Mark conveniently forgot to mention to Ashley that he was married.

Ashley, naturally thinking I was the other woman, went ballistic, hitting me, calling me names, and even posting a video of the whole thing online.

Mark, instead of setting her straight, just played along, letting me take the fall as the “homewrecker.”

Then, when a nasty flu bug ripped through town, Mark snatched the last bottle of Tamiflu right out of my hands.

“My patient needs this to survive, Mark! Give it back!” I pleaded.

Mark just sneered, “Who cares who dies? Ashley’s the only one who matters.”

Except Ashley’s case was super mild; she could easily wait for the next shipment.

Without that medicine, my patient didn’t make it through the night.

And that’s when the real kicker hit me: the patient was Mark’s estranged mother, the one he secretly pined for.

1.

I was in the middle of seeing patients when this woman barges into my office, yelling, “So, you’re the chick Mark Evans has been messing around with?”

Mark Evans is my husband, and the woman causing a scene? That’s Ashley, his first love.

I’d never met her in person, but I knew her face from the rotating screensaver on Mark’s phone.

He had a whole album of Ashley pics, from her laughing to her pouting to her looking all doe-eyed.

Each picture screamed the same thing: Mark would never love me.

Except, last time I checked, Mark and I had a marriage license. What gave Ashley the right to call me a homewrecker?

I had patients waiting, so I tried to keep it professional.

Swallowing my anger, I told her, “Making accusations like that can get you in trouble. I have patients to see. Please leave.”

Ashley’s eyes bugged out like I’d just flipped her off.

She lunged at me, grabbing a fistful of my hair and yanking so hard I went down, chair and all.

My scalp was on fire, and I cracked my head on the floor. I was a mess.

Ashley started clawing at my face with her long, fake nails, screaming, “I’ll ruin your face, you tramp! See if you can steal someone’s man then!”

She wasn’t done yet. She pulled out her phone, recording everything, saying, “A total slut, pretending to be an angel in white. Disgusting!

“I’m posting this online so everyone can see what a home-wrecker looks like!”

Finally, the security guards showed up and pulled her off me.

For some reason, they were a lot slower to react than usual.

There was no way I was letting this slide. I gathered my things, ready to call the cops, get a medical examination, and sue the pants off her.

Mark, my so-called husband, heard about the attack and came running.

He took one look at my injuries and sighed, “Ashley was a bit out of line. I apologize on her behalf.”

I glared at him. “Did you forget to mention to Ashley that we’re legally married?”

Mark said, “Ashley’s family just went bankrupt, and she’s been sick. I didn’t want to upset her.”

I just about choked on my own spit. “So you’re letting Ashley think I’m the other woman?”

This private hospital I work at is funded by the Evans family, so the security downstairs is tighter than Fort Knox. You need an appointment to even get in.

Ashley didn’t get in without Mark pulling some strings.

It was clear he set me up to take the heat so Ashley would feel better.

“If you’re going to assault someone, you better be ready to face the consequences.”

I was about to call the police when Mark slapped my phone out of my hand.

I grabbed it off the floor, but it was already dead, the screen shattered into a spiderweb.

He glared at me, saying, “You are not going to hurt Ashley! My family’s never been cheap with you. Can’t you just suck it up for once?”

Then he turned to the butler and said, “Make sure Mrs. Evans rests at home the next few days, and doesn’t go anywhere.”

I gritted my teeth. By the time he let me out, my injuries would have healed, and I wouldn’t have a shred of evidence to use against Ashley.

I stayed cooped up at home for about a week, until I could finally go back to the hospital.

After Ashley’s attack, Mark told the security guards to stop any patients who’d recorded a video and bought the recordings off them.

Mark forbade anyone at the hospital from talking about the incident. Anyone who did would get fired.

When I got back to the hospital, I saw some strange looks, but heard no gossip.

But just three days later, I was “famous”.

I was trending online, depicted as a gold-digging doctor who deliberately seduced a rich man.

The video of Ashley attacking me, my personal information, and a few pictures of me were leaked online.

The hateful comments and insults sent me spiraling into a dark place.

There was no doubt Ashley was behind this.

2.

Mark and Ashley had a massive fight.

“Ashley, I’m trying to protect you! Why can’t you see that?”

“What you did could have legal consequences. Your reputation is at stake.”

Mark felt wronged.

He had already contained the situation, but Ashley had brought it up again and made it even bigger.

“So you still think I’m wrong, don’t you? Why is she still working as a doctor at the Evans’ hospital after being the other woman?”

“Mark, you have to give me an explanation today!” Ashley said tearfully, coughing until she nearly fainted.

“Ashley, you’re not feeling well. Can you calm down?” Mark said, holding Ashley tightly.

“Okay, then we need to have a wedding and fire Jamie!”

“Make the woman who was the other woman lose everything and rot in a ditch. Okay?”

Seeing Mark agree, Ashley gave me a smug smile.

“I’ve said it a lot of times. I’m not the other woman!”

“Mark and I are legally married!”

I was done with their charade, so I took out the marriage certificate from my bag.

Mark took it first and warned in a low voice, “If you tell Ashley, I’ll fire everyone in your department.”

The Evans family was generous, and the doctors wanted to work there for a long time. I didn’t want them to be hurt because of me.

I compromised again.

After that, Mark and Ashley held their wedding as promised. Ashley flaunted pictures of her in her wedding dress, arm-in-arm with Mark, sending them all to me.

Mark and I had an invisible marriage, only registered but with no wedding.

Most people didn’t know about our relationship because it was never made public.

Mark said, “I promised my first love that she would be the most beautiful bride. Even though we’re separated now, I don’t want to have a wedding with another woman, as that would be a desecration of our vows.”

I accepted this, as I didn’t want to attract too much attention as the Evans’ daughter-in-law.

After Mark’s betrayal, I was labeled as the other woman who destroyed a relationship.

Many nosy people got my contact information and sent me countless messages of abuse.

Mark’s treatment of me had already made my heart freeze.

But I couldn’t get a divorce now, as the Evans family’s kindness hadn’t been repaid yet.

I was a poor kid from the mountains, struggling to make ends meet.

Mark was the only son of the chairman of the Evans Group and grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth.

When Chairman Evans decided to fund my studies at a top medical school abroad, my fate and Mark’s became intertwined.

The year I graduated, Chairman Evans proposed that Mark and I get married.

I couldn’t refuse such great help from the Evans family.

Chairman Evans hoped that Mark’s childish behavior would disappear under my influence and that he would become a qualified heir to the Evans family.

But three years passed, and I still couldn’t do it.

Mark was cold to me, and we separated into two bedrooms on the second day of our marriage.

He hated his father’s interference in his marriage and regretted that he and his first love, Ashley, couldn’t be together.

Chairman Evans finally realized that Mark and I couldn’t be a good match and said remorsefully, “You’re a good kid. I was too stubborn back then, and that made you two hate each other.”

“Jamie, divorce Mark and find your own happiness. I’ll give you the hospital and a large sum of money.”

He had liver cancer last year and wouldn’t live much longer, so he began to reflect on his life.

I nodded, “We’ll get divorced, but I’ll take care of you to the end.”

Chairman Evans’ kindness was too great. Without his strong help, I couldn’t have left the mountains to pursue my medical dreams.

When I paid off the debt to Chairman Evans, I would no longer have any relationship with the Evans family.

3.

“Jamie, don’t come to the hospital. Stay at home. The Evans family has money to support you.” Ashley hadn’t vented her anger yet and asked Mark to fire me.

“Mark, don’t go too far! I’ve already given you enough face by not exposing you.”

“This department at the hospital was built from scratch by me. Why should I leave just because you said so?” I burst out.

“Jamie, don’t forget that everything you have was given to you by the Evans family.”

“You’re a dog. You can’t resist anything I want you to do!” Mark said coldly.

“Don’t forget that everything you have was given to you by your dad.” I retorted.

Mark was a useless second-generation heir and extremely afraid of his father.

If I told Chairman Evans, who was still unaware, Mark would face a storm.

Chairman Evans had never looked up to the Smith family and hated Ashley.

Mark was taking advantage of his father’s illness to bring Ashley back into his life.

Sure enough, Mark flinched instinctively when I mentioned Chairman Evans.

“Okay. But try not to show your face too much, so Ashley doesn’t cause me any more trouble.” He sighed.

I sneered and asked, “I’m innocent. Why should I hide?”

“If you let Ashley cause me any more trouble, I’ll immediately complain and make sure you get your comeuppance.” I impatiently said and left.

The reason I didn’t tell Chairman Evans everything was that I didn’t want the old man to get angry and affect his condition.

After that warning, Ashley and Mark didn’t bother me again, but the matter continued to escalate.

“Is that the other woman doctor who was beaten up online?”

“She’s so educated, but she still became the other woman. She’s shameless!”

After the incident, many busybodies came to the hospital to make trouble, deliberately registering with me but not seeing a doctor, just to come in and record a video to scold me.

Even old patients who always came to me for medical advice would persuade me, “Dr. Jamie, we admit that your medical skills are excellent, but you need to work on your morals.”

“Dr. Jamie, being the other woman is a dead end. Don’t get too deep into it.”

My colleague, Dr. Smith, crossed her arms and mocked me, “Female doctors are not only bad at their skills, but they also like to get involved in such scandals, which is a disgrace to our hospital.”

Many people scolded me, but I believed that there were more people who needed me.

I was one of the best doctors of my age, and many patients who couldn’t get an appointment with a specialist came to me for help with their difficult cases.

For these patients who needed me, I would never back down.

Since Ashley thought I was an eyesore, I would stay right in front of her.