The Kiss of Life Killed Our Marriage

The scene erupted into chaos. Everyone had thought I was joking, but clearly, I was serious.

Shock crossed Wendy's face as she frowned at me. "Rowan, you're always the first to care for patients at the hospital. You saved me once, and that's why I fell in love with you and married you.

"Now I'm carrying your child. You're about to be a father. You should understand how an elderly parent feels. Have you really been so stressed about that promotion that you've lost sight of what's important?"

After hearing her words, the people who had been pointing fingers at me slowly began to relent.

"He isn't completely irresponsible after all… Perhaps he's dealing with too much pressure."

"Divorce is just talk. Don't take it seriously."

Wendy pulled me into a hug and whispered, "Come on, honey. I'm just trying to earn merit for our baby. You love me—you wouldn't actually want a divorce, would you?"

I shoved her away and said coldly, "I'm serious. I'm not joking. You can play the saint if you like, but the divorce is final. The sooner we sign, the sooner it's done."

A middle-aged woman couldn't hold back anymore and said, "This doctor has no professional ethics. How did someone like him even become a doctor? He must have pulled some strings."

A pregnant woman stomped her foot in frustration. "Exactly! He's watching someone die and doing nothing! Where's the justice in that?"

An elderly lady chimed in, "A man like this isn't worthy of a doctor's wife. She should leave him before it's too late."

At that moment, the drowning man's face turned progressively paler.

The elderly woman fell to the ground, wailing loudly. "Please, someone save my son! If he dies, I can't go on living!"

People around tried to steady her while shouting at me.

As a concerned citizen tried to help the elderly woman up, he shouted at me, "Even if an ambulance is on its way, it'll take at least 20 minutes to get here! You're a doctor! If you don't act now, are you just going to watch him die?"

Wendy took a quick look at the drowning man, then gave me a sharp, unwavering stare. "Rowan, listen carefully. The ambulance hasn't arrived yet. I have to keep doing CPR, so stop messing around and get out of the way."

She continued chest compressions and rescue breaths. Water slowly expelled from his stomach, but he still remained unconscious.

The crowd assumed I had wasted the critical window to save him. The accusations grew louder and louder, almost overwhelming me.

"How can a man like him even be a doctor? Doesn't he care about human life?"

"He's not even a man! What kind of grudge keeps you from saving someone?"

The elderly woman banged her head hard against the ground. "I beg you! Please don't let my son die! Stop standing in the way of saving him!"

Wendy suddenly slapped me across the face. "Rowan, are you happy now? You've made a complete fool of yourself!"

I pressed a hand to my stinging cheek, picked up the divorce papers from the floor, and said, "The man's been saved. Can you sign now?"