Chapter 3Gaslit by Everyone in My Life

I hurriedly called the hospital dean, Dr. Henry Pratt, to ask what was going on.

His voice was icy and steely on the other end of the line. "I used to think quite highly of you, Mr. Mercer, but I never imagined that you would actually fake your research paper.

"If Ms. Winters never sent in evidence of your misconduct to report you, we would have all been completely deceived by you."

It was Erina.

Anger surged to my head at once. I ignored my parents' attempts to stop me and rushed to the hospital immediately.

Erina was leaning against Dustin as she was soothed to sleep. I flung the door open violently, causing the baby in the crib to start wailing.

"Erina Winters! What right do you have to report me to the hospital?" I roared. "You knew that my dream was always to be a doctor! And you knew exactly how much effort I put into this!"

Erina hurriedly held the wailing baby in her arms and glared at me in displeasure.

"There's only one opening at Seafare Hospital this year, and Dustin wants it too. It's the perfect way to boost his credentials."

My anger and accusations meant nothing to her, apparently. She didn't care about me and just thought of them as a passing breeze not even worth mentioning.

I was so mad that I couldn't even breathe properly anymore. I gripped her sleeve tightly and growled, "You are coming with me to that hospital right now to clear things up. If not, I will sue you for defamation!"

"Go ahead and try," she replied nonchalantly, a faint, calm smile playing on her lips. "I guarantee you that nobody in all of Cantonia would ever dare to take your case.

"It's not like we're short on money anyway, so you don't really need to work. You just have to stay home and help me look after the baby like a good househusband."

I stared at her in complete shock. My lips trembled uncontrollably.

"I will hate you for this…"

Erina met my pained gaze and softened her expression. She reached out to take my hand. But suddenly, Dustin approached us and said softly, "Here, Erina, let me talk some sense into Sebastian."

He then wrapped his arm around my shoulders and dug his nails painfully into my flesh, whispering in my ear, "Listen here, Sebastian. Your parents, your best pal, your wife, and even your job—they all belong to me now.

"Did you think it was an accident when your patient reported you and got you fired from your last hospital? Erina was the one who orchestrated it all—she was just afraid you'd run into us while I was accompanying her to her prenatal checkups.

"Just accept your fate. You'll never beat me in this lifetime."

"Shut up!" I yelled at him, my eyes bloodshot as I raised my hand to strike him. However, someone suddenly grabbed my wrist and twisted it.

Erina glared at me with a warning look in her eyes. "You dare to lay a finger on him?"

She immediately shielded Dustin behind her and turned to me with a steely look in her eyes.

"Get out."

I tilted my chin and sneered. "I will show you today that there is nothing that I, Sebastian Mercer, will ever stop at."

I went back home, dug out my laptop, and compiled the evidence of Erina's affair with Dustin, including photos of them in bed, and put them into a 128-page PowerPoint presentation.

Then, I posted the whole thing in the comments section of his social media account.

The news exploded instantly and went viral online. Media outlets even messaged me privately, asking me if I was willing to speak to them for exclusive interviews.

But before I could reply to a single one of them, Erina came rushing to me. She then slapped me across the face with reddened eyes.

"Are you trying to ruin Dustin, Sebastian? The hospital is swarming with reporters right now! You're coming with me right this instant to clear the air and apologize!"

"Why should I be the one apologizing?" I demanded.

She gripped my shirt tightly, her face twisted into an ugly scowl. "If you don't come with me now, I swear that I will make you rot away in prison for the rest of your life."

I stared at her in disbelief, a sharp, stabbing pain searing in my heart. I couldn't believe that Erina was actually threatening me and my future like this for someone like Dustin.

I gritted my teeth as the taste of blood filled my mouth.

"Fine. I'll go."

Back at the hospital, a crowd of reporters had gathered at the door, and camera flashes were going off incessantly. Dustin stood in the middle of the crowd, shielded by Erina.

I sneered as I took the microphones from the reporters and said, making sure to enunciate every word clearly, "What makes you think I'd let an ungrateful wench off the hook?

"The rumors are all true! Dustin Nielson is a homewrecker. I was the one who brought him out of the mountains and paid for his education, yet he climbed into my wife's bed and even fathered an illegitimate child with her as a thank-you!"

The room erupted in an uproar.

Dustin's eyes turned red at once. "I've been putting up with you constantly pestering my wife, Sebastian, and I even did nothing when you drugged her and climbed into her bed instead. What more do you still want from me?"

With that, he pulled out a marriage certificate from his jacket that clearly displayed Erina's and his names on the document.

"I am the one who's Erina's lawfully wedded husband!"