Chapter 2

That night, Ethan didn't come back to our apartment in BackBay.

I didn't blow up his phone or demand to know where he was, like I used to.

I just sat quietly on the bed, playing that recording on repeat.

My heart shattered a little more every time I listened.

After my mom passed away from cancer, I thought I'd finally found someone I could count on. Ethan was Krynden State Hospital's youngest candidate for attending physician and a star lecturer at Cammordor University Medical School.

We had been supporting each other for the past four years.

Ethan always looked out for me. Whenever the senior doctors tried to pick on me during clinical rotations, he was the first to speak up for me.

He remembered how I liked my coffee when I was stuck on night shifts.

He'd order takeout for me after I'd been on shift for 36 hours straight.

We were practically joined at the hip.

Everyone envied us, calling us the "power couple of the medical world."

After four years of being together every single day, I'd gotten so used to Ethan being a part of my life.

I always thought I couldn't live without him.

I'd always pictured our future together. We'd match at a top hospital, finish our residency side by side, get married, have kids, and build a warm, loving home.

I always thought nothing could ever come between us.

But our peaceful, perfect life was turned upside down when Ethan's first love, Cecilia, returned from abroad.

Cecilia came back to Anauriands during my fourth year of med school.

Her dad was the chairman of the board at Krynden State Hospital, and her mom was a renowned plastic surgeon.

After finishing her master's in public health in Tymands, Cecilia returned and took up a position in operations management at her father's hospital.

She and Ethan had once been engaged, but broke things off when she left for further studies in Tymands.

Now that she was back, Cecilia made it clear that she wanted Ethan back.

The moment Cecilia walked into the room, I could feel the threat radiating off her.

She was dressed in a Chanel suit and Louboutin heels, looking like a princess.

Meanwhile, I was in wrinkled scrubs, my hair thrown up in a messy ponytail, and dark circles under my eyes from pulling all-nighters.

Cecilia said, giving me a once-over, "You must be Leah. Ethan has mentioned you before. Thanks for looking after him all these years."

Her tone was polite, but distant, like I was just a temporary presence in Ethan's life.

Cecilia said with a smile, "But now that I'm back, Ethan needs a partner who can help him shine at social events and boost his career. Do you get what I'm saying?"

In that moment, the gap between us hit me hard.

I was just a broke med student, barely making it through on scholarships and grants.

Meanwhile, Cecilia was born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

I thought Ethan would stand up for me and inform Cecilia about our relationship.

But he didn't.

He spoke softly. "Cecilia, Leah is a very important friend."

He said I was his friend.

I was not his girlfriend, not his soulmate, just a friend.

From that day forward, Cecilia put her plan into motion.

She'd "accidentally" buy two concert tickets and invite Ethan to go with her.

She'd mention Ethan's research at the hospital board meetings, making sure he got extra funding and support.

She'd host weekend gatherings for the doctors, never inviting me.

Gradually, Ethan started spending more and more time with Cecilia.

Ethan explained to me, "Her dad's the chairman of the board. I gotta keep things good with them. It could really help me out professionally.

"Besides, Cecilia's in the medical field too. We have a lot in common.

"Don't stress about it. It's just a work thing between us."

Every time, I chose to believe him.

Every time, I kept convincing myself it was just temporary.

One day, I realized that all my research from the past six months was gone.

Cecilia asked to meet me at the rooftop garden of Krynden State Hospital.

It was a quiet spot for the staff to unwind, with a sweeping view of the entire Anauriands skyline.

She put on her best helpless act as she insisted the data loss was just a total accident.

She said, "Leah, I swear, I didn't do it on purpose. I just wanted to see how your research was going so I could help you get more funding from the board. But my finger slipped and..."

As she spoke, her eyes turned red, tears welling up and threatening to spill over.

She said, "I know you and Ethan have been together since med school. How could I possibly get between you two? Please, don't make a scene. My dad just had heart surgery. He can't handle any more stress..."

Her tears finally spilled over.

My heart softened, and I reached out to steady her. "Cecilia, don't cry. I get it. It was probably just an accident..."

But the moment I reached out, Cecilia suddenly grabbed my hand, yanked me forward, and at the same time, let herself fall back.

Her scream caught the attention of a few nurses who were taking a break in the garden.

Cecilia was sitting on the ground, clutching her arm, tears streaming down her face.

I just stood there, completely dumbfounded.

"What happened?" one of the nurses called out as they hurried over.

Cecilia said weakly, "It's nothing. I just lost my balance and fell."

But when she looked at me, there was a flicker of satisfaction and challenge in her eyes.

Soon enough, Ethan got the call from the nurses and rushed up to the rooftop garden.

He spotted Cecilia sitting on the ground and hurried over right away.

"What happened?" Ethan asked, crouching down to check her arm.

One of the nurses whispered, "Did Leah push her? I saw them arguing, and then Cecilia fell."

I protested desperately, "I didn't! She fell on her own..."

Ethan cut me off, disappointment clear in his voice, "Leah, just tell me the truth. We can talk this through."

I said, "I am telling the truth. Cecilia grabbed my hand on purpose and then fell on her own!"

Ethan's voice turned icy. "Leah, look at her arm, it's all bruised. Why would you do this? Is it because of the research data?"

He didn't believe me.

He believed Cecilia.

I felt like the world was spinning, like everything I'd ever known was collapsing around me.

"Ethan, Cecilia didn't accidentally delete my data. She did it on purpose. She's trying to steal my research and hand it over to her bestie..." I finally blurted out what I'd been suspecting.

Ethan let out a deep sigh, his eyes full of disappointment.

"Leah, listen, I understand you might be under a lot of pressure, but you can't just make accusations against others. That's not like you," Ethan said.

He told me that just a few days ago, Cecilia had come to him, saying she sensed hostility from me.

To avoid affecting my relationship with Ethan, Cecilia's father had even offered to step back from any board decisions regarding Ethan's promotion.

Ethan said, his voice full of accusation, "Mr. Williamson asked me if there was some kind of misunderstanding between you two.

"Cecilia even said that if her presence made you uncomfortable, she could request a transfer to the Khazaria branch.

"Leah, did you talk about Cecilia behind her back? Is that why she wants to leave?"

I was left with no way to defend myself.

Cecilia and her father's concessions only made them look even more generous.

But if I tried to call out Cecilia's scheming now, Ethan would just see it as jealous slander.

Ethan didn't believe me.

In the end, Cecilia's arm was just a minor scrape, but that incident made Ethan's attitude toward me shift for good.

In this whole mess, I ended up as the jealous, small-minded villain who just couldn't let anyone else in.

Meanwhile, Cecilia was seen as the gracious, kind-hearted victim.

I couldn't stand it. I desperately tried to clear my name, hoping Ethan would finally see Cecilia's true colors.

But Cecilia was way too sly.

Not only did I fail to expose her, but she also kept outsmarting me and making me look bad every single time.

My lab key somehow disappeared, so I missed a critical time slot for my experiment.

When people checked the security cameras, Cecilia conveniently caught someone hanging around my locker, making it seem like I was the one who lost it.

At a major academic conference, the night before my big presentation, my laptop suddenly died and all my slides were wiped out.

Cecilia acted all generous and lent me her laptop, but the next day I realized she'd already emailed my research highlights to her BFF.

I was way too naive to stand a chance against someone as manipulative as Cecilia.

Cecilia was always one step ahead. Every one of her schemes was more ruthless than the last.

No matter what I said, Ethan kept siding with Cecilia.

One day, I found out Cecilia had stolen the only necklace my mom left me, that little silver chain, and dumped it in the hospital's medical waste bin.

My mom bought it for me with her last paycheck as a Nurse's Day gift. It was all I had left to remember her by.

I totally lost control and charged straight at Cecilia, landing a slap right across her face.

The crisp sound rang out through the hallway.

Cecilia grabbed her cheek, her eyes instantly filling with tears.

Right then, Ethan stepped out of the OR and caught the whole scene.

He rushed over, stepping in front of Cecilia, his eyes blazing with anger as he glared at me.

"Leah, are you crazy?" Ethan snapped.

I yelled, my voice raw as I pointed at Cecilia, "It was her. She threw away my mom's necklace. That was the only thing I had..."

than cut me off, "Enough! Leah, I'm really disappointed in you."

He took Cecilia and walked away, leaving me standing alone in the hallway.

In that moment, my heart shattered into a million pieces.

After that, Ethan kept trying to break up with me because of Cecilia.

Every single time, I ended up apologizing and begging him to stay.

I was desperate to expose Cecilia, so Ethan would finally see her true colors.

But Cecilia was a master at playing innocent.

When Cecilia found out Ethan and I had made a promise to match at Krynden State Hospital, she immediately started plotting ways to ruin my application.

While I was stuck on night shift, she used her master key to sneak into my office and tried to tamper with my ERAS application after I'd already submitted it.

Thankfully, a nurse on duty spotted her just in time, so her scheme didn't turn into a total disaster.

Cecilia was utterly shameless and despicable.

She'd use every dirty trick against me behind the scenes, but in public, she kept up a flawless facade.

She'd play the helpless victim at the slightest provocation, tears always ready to fall, constantly mentioning her dad's heart condition and all she'd supposedly done for Ethan's career.

I couldn't tell if Ethan had really moved on, or if he was just taking advantage of her family's influence.

All I knew was that Ethan kept hurting me again and again because of Cecilia.

I kept swallowing my pride, trying to win him back, humiliating myself over and over.

I honestly couldn't bear to let go of my feelings for Ethan.

After four years of Ethan guiding me and caring for me, he'd become such a huge part of my life. I honestly couldn't picture myself without him.

Letting him go would break my heart more than anything.

So every time Ethan got cold because of Cecilia and tried to end things, I just kept swallowing my pride and apologizing.

But this time, when I listened to that recording, I could really hear the impatience and carelessness in Ethan's voice.

That was when I finally realized just how pathetic and foolish I'd been.

It wasn't because Cecilia was so manipulative. Ethan just didn't believe me because, deep down, he'd grown tired of me.

He wanted to be free of me, so he kept siding against me, no matter what.

That night, I sat in my room, playing that recording over and over again.

My tears dried up, and my heart felt empty and dead.

Since we had come to this point, I would grant Ethan's wish.

This time, I would no longer beg him to stay.

I would no longer try to salvage the research project that Cecilia and Ethan trashed.

I picked up the phone and called Obadiah Mallin, the residency director at Sterlkand University Medical School in Sterlkand. He had offered me a spot.

I said, "Professor Mallin, I've made up my mind. I accept your invitation. I'm joining Sterlkand University for my internal medicine residency!"

Obadiah sounded genuinely pleased.

"That's what I like to hear, Leah. Given your unique situation, we'll make sure you get a generous living stipend, so you won't have to stress about money," he said.

I fired off a formal acceptance email to Sterlkand University's residency director, and at the same time, withdrew my application from Krynden State Hospital.

Once it was all done, I flopped onto my bed.

That night, I slept soundly.

I didn't lose sleep over Ethan not coming home, and I didn't blow up his phone asking where he was.

The chains that had bound me for four years were finally broken.