Chapter 1
Ever since I overheard that conversation in the hospital hallway, I started acting cold towards him.
The first time he complained to his colleague, it was because he was sticking up for the new nurse. He sounded downright irritated.
He said, "Four years of long-distance, always going out of my way for her. I'm honestly worn out from trying to please her. Pulling night shifts with Alice feels like a breeze in comparison."
I tossed the soup I'd spent three hours making straight into the trash and stopped reaching out to him for good.
Half a month later, I bumped into him by chance outside the traffic police station.
My subordinate had just finished sorting out the accident for me. He glanced at Caleb and asked offhand, "Who's that?"
I kept my cool. "Just a friend."
*****
Last Friday afternoon. I skipped the meeting at headquarters and took an earlier high-speed train.
I was carrying a sky-blue thermos.
Inside was the soup I got up at six to simmer for three hours.
The hospital corridor was bustling with people coming and going.
Sunlight filtered through the blinds, leaving crisp stripes of light and shadow across the terrazzo floor.
The door to the surgical lounge was left slightly ajar.
I stopped in my tracks, my knuckles paused just before touching the door.
I could hear voices drifting out from inside. "Dr. Maxwell, you've been shuttling between Ostville and Yronbert a lot lately, huh?"
There was a teasing tone mixed in with the rustling of papers.
The voice said, "Running around every week to keep that princess happy. Must be wearing you out, right?"
I stood there, rooted to the spot.
On my toes, barely touching the floor, I held my breath.
There was a brief silence inside.
Caleb Maxwell spoke, his voice a little rough. "It's been four years, always trying to please her. Honestly, it's exhausting."
He paused. Judging from the sound, he was probably rubbing his temples.
He added, "You guys only see her looks and family, but the way she always acts like she's better than everyone else is suffocating."
My fingers tightened unconsciously.
The plastic handle pressed into my palm, the cold slowly spreading through my fingers.
A soft laugh drifted out from inside. "So, what about the new nurse in our department?"
His colleague dragged out the words, teasing. "Alice has been dropping by your office every day lately. Looks like you two are getting pretty cozy."
My throat felt like it was stuffed with wet cotton, and I couldn't breathe properly.
I stared at the finger-width gap in the door, my gaze going unfocused.
Caleb didn't say anything to deny it.
When he spoke again, his voice relaxed. "Alice is different. She comes from a regular family, and it's tough for her to make it on her own here. She's got her head on straight and isn't afraid of hard work.
"With her, I don't have to pretend, and I don't have to worry about people thinking I'm just living off her. Having her around during night shifts makes everything feel way lighter."
My chest felt tight, and every breath came out shaky.
For four years, I was running back and forth between two cities every week, with my parents always breathing down my neck.
I handled all the chores back home for Caleb and even pulled strings to smooth his path.
But to him, none of that was love. To him, it was just condescending charity.
There was a brief silence inside.
His colleague let out a couple of awkward laughs. "Yeah, I guess. Ms. Hartley is a company exec, and we're small-time doctors. No way we could ever measure up."
Nobody replied. The only sound from inside was a cup tapping softly against the table.
"I just want a relationship where we're equals," Caleb said.
His tone was heavy, somber. "Not one where I'm reminded every single day that everything I have is because of her family's money and influence."
That was enough.
I unclenched my jaw. A faint metallic taste spread across my tongue.
My gaze dropped, settling on the thermos in my hand.
Inside was the soup I'd made, and the four years of genuine devotion that were worthless to him.
I walked to the trash can at the end of the hallway.
I let go. The thermos fell deep inside, the dull thud echoing through the empty corridor.
My heels clicked steadily against the terrazzo floor as I walked toward the exit.
The gentle filter I'd used to soften everything was gone for good.
Since Caleb thought I was oppressing and suffocating, I would let him go.
After tossing the soup, I should've just walked away. But my car keys were still sitting in the doctor's office.
I pushed open the frosted glass door.
The sharp smell of formaldehyde mixed with the cloying scent of cheap perfume hit me right in the nose.
The ER was as noisy as ever.
The murmur of family members and the clatter of metal carts echoed down the narrow hallway.
Caleb was sitting at his desk by the window.
His head was down as he flipped through medical records.
He absently tapped his knuckles against the desk, now and then.
Alice West stood beside him.
She had a loose, dark gray blazer draped over her shoulders.
It was the blazer I'd flown to Pinepool last month to have custom-made by an old tailor. It was made of top-grade 140-count wool.
Under the cold white fluorescent lights of the ER, it shimmered with a subtle glow.
Inside, the lining was hand-embroidered with "C&M."