Part 2The Surgeon's Final Cut，Walking Away from the Billionaire

The air was sucked from my lungs.

Seeing the raw agony in my eyes, Tristan seemed to realize he had crossed an unforgivable line. He fumbled, "I... I didn't mean it like that. I just—"

His sentence was cut short by a ringing phone.

His face softened into a gentle expression as he took the call, turning around and walking away without a backward glance.

I watched his retreating back, feeling my heart rip in two.

All those years of saying he didn't care... it was all a lie.

Back when we first started dating, Tristan's business rivals couldn't find any dirt on him.

He had proudly paraded our relationship, inadvertently turning me into a walking target.

To break him, his enemies hired someone to assault me.

That was the first time I saw Tristan truly see red. He nearly beat the perpetrator to death with his bare hands.

Within twenty-four hours, he drove the rival company into bankruptcy, sending the mastermind behind bars for life.

And now...

"Are you serious?" Evelyn's suspicious voice snapped me back to the present.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Yes."

"Fine. How much do you want?"

"Whatever you think getting rid of me is worth."

For the first time in our marriage, I hung up before she could finish speaking.

Infuriated, she blew up my phone with furious text messages.

When I didn't reply, she swallowed her anger and wired five million dollars directly to my PayPal.

It was nothing compared to the Hayes family fortune, but to me, it was more than enough.

Once the funds cleared, I blocked her number.

I immediately forwarded the signed settlement and my evidence to my divorce attorney, handing him full control of the proceedings.

I figured I wouldn't have to look at Tristan ever again. But that very evening, he showed up at my private apartment—with Chloe in tow.

Seeing them standing on my doorstep, my stomach churned.

Tristan casually pushed past me, giving Chloe a tour as if he owned the place. "This unit is closest to headquarters. You'll stay here from now on. It'll be convenient for me to drop by."

Chloe beamed. "Thank you, Mr. Hayes."

"Tristan," I said, my voice ice cold. "This is my apartment."

"Oh? We're drawing lines now?" Tristan smirked. "Fine. Then I suppose you'll be covering your parents' care facility bills on your own from now on? You don't need my money, right?"

"You—"

I couldn't believe he would sink this low just to please Chloe.

Seeing me cornered, Tristan's smirk deepened. "Relax, I won't leave you on the street. You can move into that apartment near your hospital."

My blood ran cold.

Had he completely forgotten?

That apartment near the hospital was where I was assaulted.

Back then, the trauma drove me to severe depression, leaving me on the brink of suicide. Tristan was the one who held me every night and pulled me back from the edge.

And now?

I stared at him in utter disbelief. "Where did you say I should stay?"

"What? Not good enough for you? It's bigger than this shoebox." Tristan paused, tapping his temple as if remembering a tiny detail.

He turned to Chloe with an amused chuckle. "Oh, right, I almost forgot. That's the place where she rolled around with another man."

"Smack!"

The slap echoed through the room. My hand stung, and my heart hammered against my ribs.

"Tristan, you bastard—"

"Smack!"

A sharp pain exploded across my own cheek.

Chloe stood between us, trembling with manufactured rage, her face flushed. "How dare you hit him! You cheated on him with his competitor, and Mr. Hayes was generous enough to keep you around! Who do you think you are?!"

Her frantic display of loyalty made Tristan laugh softly. "Alright, sweetie, don't waste your energy on her."

He then turned to me with an air of magnanimity. "You hit me, Chloe defended me. We're even. Learn to be a bit more gracious, Natalie. Whether we stay together depends entirely on how well you behave."