Chapter 2
Their reunion was really warm.
When Louisa mentioned her ex-husband, tears streamed down her face, and Ryan gently tried to soothe her.
I could tell Ryan was deeply pained for Louisa as he supported her pale, fragile body.
He said softly, "If you don't want to talk about it, that's okay. I'll go with you for any other tests."
After a moment, he finally seemed to remember me and turned back. "Vera, I'll have the driver take you home. Louisa is a childhood friend. I can't leave her here alone."
He didn't even wait for me to answer. He helped Louisa toward the elevator, leaving me frozen in place, staring blankly at the crowd moving around me.
Suddenly, I felt like everything we'd shared over the years had just been something I imagined.
It felt as though my heart was being torn apart piece by piece, and I could barely stand.
I called Ryan, and he hung up immediately.
I called again, and his phone was off.
I pushed myself to the obstetrics department on the second floor, searched every room, and still found no trace of them.
By the half-open stairwell door, I saw Louisa crying as she grabbed Ryan's hand, and he didn't pull back.
She said, "Why didn't you stop me back then? If you'd just shown you cared, I would never have left with him."
She wept softly, her tears making her look heartbreakingly pitiful.
Ryan frowned, and he said, "I didn't want you to go through hard times with me. You deserve so much better."
In that instant, I felt a chill all over.
I felt like the biggest joke of all.
I once believed those hard days were proof Ryan's for me, but it turned out they were just the life he didn't want his true love to live.
He treated her so differently.
That day, Ryan didn't get home until late.
When he finally came back, he carefully explained that Louisa's husband had cheated on her during her pregnancy and was utterly despicable.
He said he and Louisa had grown up together, and as friends, he could not turn a blind eye.
He said even if it had been just a regular friend, he wouldn't have ignored them.
I nodded, showing that I understood, and told him to take care of her.
He was just glad I played the good wife, never bothering to notice how off I really was.
After that, he started coming home late every few days, and then he'd just shut off his phone altogether.
The day I went to the hospital, I called him, and it was Louisa who answered.
She said, "Hi, Mrs. Cooper. Ryan is in the shower. I'll have him call you back in a bit."
Her gentle tone carried a quiet provocation, but I refused to play along.
"Thank you for taking care of my husband while you're pregnant," I said, then hung up.
An hour later, Ryan burst through the door, looking all anxious and flustered.
He explained that while he was walking with Louisa, it started pouring, and she worried he might catch a cold, so she insisted he shower before leaving.
I simply smiled and told him not to worry about it.
Ryan relaxed and let out a long breath of relief.
On the way to the hospital, he was still distracted, glancing at his phone now and then.
The moment we arrived at the hospital, Ryan picked up a call.
I could hear Louisa sobbing through the phone, her cries cutting right through the line. "Why does she have to treat me so badly? Ryan, my stomach hurts so much."
After hanging up, Ryan looked anxious and conflicted, but he made his decision quickly.
He said, "Vera, something urgent came up at work. How about I ask my mom or my assistant to go with you for the checkup?"
I answered with a blank face, "It's fine. I can do it myself. Just make sure to pay the bill."
Satisfied with my composure, he took the card and hurried away without a second glance.
More than ten minutes later, he returned out of breath and handed me the receipt.
"How much did you pay?" I asked, not really caring.
Ryan replied absentmindedly, "About 3 thousand dollars."
He didn't even glance at the receipt; he just turned on his heel and walked away.
He didn't know he had just cut the last tie between us himself.
Maybe even if he did, he wouldn't care at all.
When Ryan disappeared down the hallway, I turned around and walked straight into the operating room.