Chapter 2

The next day, at the hospital, someone called out from the doorway, "Dr. Rivers, your fiancé's here to bring you lunch."

Emily looked up and met Andrew's gentle, affectionate gaze.

He set the lunchbox on her desk, then casually took the pen from her hand, half-scolding her. "Emily, you always forget to eat when you get busy. That's not good for your stomach.

"From now on, I'll bring you lunch every day and make sure you eat on time," he added.

As he spoke, he opened the lunchbox.

The mouthwatering smell of the food made the colleagues crowding around go green with envy. "Seriously, Dr. Rivers must have saved the world in a past life to land a guy this perfect."

Everyone in the department could see just how deep Andrew's feelings for Emily ran.

Someone once joked that even if every man on earth turned rotten, Andrew would still be the last decent guy standing.

After all, Andrew would lay down his life for Emily.

Hearing everyone praise Andrew, Emily's heart ached with bitterness.

She just couldn't wrap her head around how the man who once risked his life for her could end up loving someone else on the eve of their wedding.

Andrew gave the application form on Emily's desk a quick glance. "Emily, are you heading out of town for work?"

She'd had to fill out similar paperwork before whenever she went to training sessions or workshops.

He didn't seem to notice anything was off, so Emily just nodded.

"When?" Andrew asked.

"In seven days," Emily answered truthfully.

Andrew froze for a moment, then looked genuinely surprised. "But that's the day of our wedding. What kind of bride goes on a business trip right after tying the knot? Was this Ms. Blount's idea?"

"No, I signed up for it myself," Emily said.

Emily nearly blurted out that she wasn't going to go through with the wedding at all.

Andrew's face fell. "Emily, have I indulged you too much all these years? You can do whatever you want most of the time, but marriage is serious business. I won't let you go on a business trip the day we're supposed to get married."

His eyes burned with anger as he grabbed the application Emily was filling out and ripped it apart.

Emily lifted her eyes slowly, the corner of her mouth twitching with a hint of irony.

Just yesterday, he was ready to ditch the wedding for Sophia, but now he wouldn't even let her walk away.

"Andrew, I think we should break—" Emily began, but the words hung unfinished in the air.

Before she could actually say "break up," Andrew's phone started ringing in his pocket.

He gave her a quick "shh" gesture and picked up the call right in front of her.

Andrew's face stayed perfectly neutral. He just answered, hung up, and turned to Emily. "Something's up with the decorations at the wedding venue. I need to go check it out."

Emily replied evenly, "Go ahead."

She let the subject drop, not mentioning what she'd almost said.

Andrew was about to ask her more, but when his eyes landed on the shredded application form scattered across the desk, he felt his temper flare up all over again.

He didn't say another word and just turned on his heel and strode out.

Emily watched Andrew walk away, her gaze growing colder and darker with every step he took.

She opened the lunchbox he'd brought, and the moment she saw the fried fish inside, a wave of nausea hit her.

She hated fish. Obviously, this meal wasn't meant for her.

Without a second thought, Emily picked up the lunchbox and dumped the whole thing straight into the trash.

Without missing a beat, Emily grabbed a fresh application form from her drawer and, with steely resolve, began filling it out in swift, bold strokes.

As she headed upstairs to drop off the completed form with Candice, she walked past Sophia's room and caught a whiff of something delicious.

Sophia's voice floated out. "My boyfriend's a great cook, right? He always looks so serious and tough around other people, but he's actually super sweet to me.

"Every day after work, he comes home with groceries to cook for me and doesn't let me do any housework. He says he wants to spoil me rotten."

Inside, voices of envy echoed from the other patients.

Outside the door, Emily couldn't help but let out a bitter, self-mocking smile.

Turns out, all those nights Andrew was "working late" like clockwork, he was actually out there being the perfect boyfriend to his other woman.

All of Sophia's gushing brought a wave of memories rushing back for Emily.

There was a time when Andrew had put in six months of hard work in the kitchen, all so he could cook her favorite meal.

He'd promised her that from then on, he'd only ever cook for her. That it was something special, just for her.

But now, that special promise wasn't hers alone anymore.

And suddenly, Emily didn't even want it anymore.

"Who's eavesdropping?" Sophia called out from inside the room.