Hailey didn’t notice Yasmin’s expression and placed the breakfast on the table, saying, “You have to eat it.”

Without waiting for Yasmin’s response, she turned and left.

Yasmin furrowed her brows, staring at the breakfast on the table, her breathing shallow and uneven. The spread was generous—seafood porridge, eggs, and pancakes. It was clear that Caleb had put thought into making it.

But as she looked at it, all she felt was a bitter sense of irony. After five years of marriage to Caleb, she had no idea he was even capable of cooking.

She stared at the breakfast for what seemed like forever, until her eyes began to sting.

With a deep breath, she gave a cynical smile and tossed the meal straight into the trash.

Just then, an early-rising colleague entered.

“Director Jenkins, I heard the little girl you saw yesterday is quite a big deal.” Isabella Claire, a resident, looked at Yasmin and continued, “She’s a senior at Hawthorne Medical Academy. She originally applied to join our hospital but didn’t pass the exam and was rejected by the director. But she’s got connections—her boyfriend is Caleb, so who knows, she might’ve just batted her eyelashes at him to get in.”

Yasmin scoffed inwardly. She had already seen how Caleb indulged Hailey. If Hailey gave him a little pout, he’d go out of his way to get her whatever she wanted.

She forced a smile. “No matter how you get in, if you don’t have the skills, you won’t last long.”

“Well, she’s fine,” Isabella shrugged. “She’s got a rich boyfriend, so she can skip ahead by decades. But even if she gets in, she’ll have to fend for herself. No skills? She’ll be kicked out sooner or later.”

The hospital’s evaluation standards at St. Mary’s were extremely strict.

Yasmin worked the whole day, and by the time she returned home, she looked pale and sickly. Doctors who worked day and night were always physically drained, and after being called to the hospital in the middle of the night, her exhaustion was even worse.

She’d spent the whole day performing two surgeries in a row. Most people couldn’t handle such a schedule, let alone a pregnant woman like herself. She felt utterly drained, her body and mind completely worn out. The moment she stepped through the door, she collapsed on the couch, too tired to move.

Her temples ached as her mind was foggy and disoriented.

“How come you’re so late today?” Caleb’s voice appeared from somewhere, laced with dissatisfaction and reprimand.

He ignored her pale, sickly condition, and in a tone that was almost commanding, he said, “Go make dinner. I want fried ribs.”

He was giving orders as usual. After all, this was how things had always been with them.

Yasmin hadn’t expected Caleb to be home. He should have been at Hailey’s side, taking care of her during her pregnancy.

She lifted her tired eyes to him, noting how he looked so distinguished in his black silk robe.

Her voice was hoarse. “Where’s Housekeeper Emma?”

“She quit.” Caleb spoke from above her, emotionless. “Didn’t you say you like cooking and doing housework? I’m fulfilling your wishes.”

“Like?” Yasmin couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

So all her efforts to do everything for him—her constant striving to please him—was just seen as her personal preference.

She lowered her gaze, her discomfort slowly consuming her, like a rising tide that was about to drown her.

“I don’t feel well.” Her lips, pale and trembling, parted as she shakily stood up. “You can take care of dinner yourself tonight.”

She turned to head upstairs, eager to avoid further confrontation, wanting only to wash up and rest.

But just as she turned, Caleb grabbed her delicate wrist.